Oldsmobile Silhouette Second Generation 1997–2004
| Second generation | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Production | 1997–2004 |
| Assembly | Doraville, Georgia, United States |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | 3-door minivan 4-door minivan |
| Layout | Transverse front-engine, front-wheel drive / all-wheel drive |
| Platform | U-body/GMT200 |
| Related | Pontiac Trans Sport Chevrolet Venture Pontiac Montana Buick GL8 Opel Sintra Vauxhall Sintra Pontiac Aztek Buick Rendezvous Buick Terraza |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 3.4 L LA1 V6 |
| Transmission | 4-speed 4T65-E automatic |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | SWB: 112.0 in (2,845 mm) LWB: 120.0 in (3,048 mm) |
| Length | SWB: 187.4 in (4,760 mm) LWB: 201.4 in (5,116 mm) |
| Width | 72.2 in (1,834 mm) |
| Height | SWB: 67.4 in (1,712 mm) LWB: 68.1 in (1,730 mm) |
| Curb weight | 3,710 lb (1,680 kg)—3,832 lb (1,738 kg) |
The redesigned 1997 Silhouette was built at Doraville Assembly.
The first 1997 Silhouette rolled off the assembly line on August 6, 1996. Canadian sales began as a 1998 model. Unlike the Venture and Trans Sport/Montana, the roof rack was standard on all Silhouettes. GM continued to offer the Silhouette as their premium luxurious minivan, the Montana as the sporty one, and the Venture as the basic version. The base model (only offered for 1997) was the only model to offer short-wheelbase and a driver side sliding door being only optional, when all the other trim levels of the Silhouette were in long-wheelbase extended version and offered a standard driver side sliding door.
Having achieved second place in sales to Chrysler, General Motors brought out an entirely new U platform series of minivans, theoretically based on the lessons learned from its previous mis-steps. Still stinging from the criticism of the "dustbuster" minivans, the new Silhouette would be completely conventional in all respects. The vehicle would be of steel unibody construction, and styling would be as conservative as possible. The previous generation was a little too large for comfortably navigating European streets, so this new range of models would be narrower and slightly smaller than was the norm for the United States in order to produce a single range of minivans that GM hoped would fill the needs of both the North American and European markets.
New for this generation, cabin air filters were installed, and the filters can be accessed from behind an access panel easily accessed from inside the glove compartment.
During the development of this generation of the U-body minivan, General Motors extensively benchmarked the then current Chrysler minivans. The resultant vehicles more closely resembled the immensely successful trio of Chrysler minivans; However, Chrysler would launch a completely redesigned minivan line a year before GM.
Two different wheelbase lengths were offered as well as dual sliding doors. Silhouettes, in keeping with their luxury positioning, offered many features as standard that were optional on competing makes and on its platform mates. In 1998, it became one of the first vehicles on the market to offer a VCR with overhead retractable LCD screen for back seat viewing, which has since become a "must-have" option for families with children. For 2001, the Silhouette received a minor facelift that included a new grille and front bumper.
Trim levels
- base - 1997
- GL - 1997–2004
- GLS - 1997–2004
- GS - 1998–1999
- Premiere - 1998–2004
Engine
3.4 L LA1 3400 (207 cu in (3.4 L)) V6
Safety
The minivan received a "Poor" rating by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Some comments made by the IIHS after the first test in 1997 were:
- Major collapse of the occupant compartment left little survival space for the driver.
- Extreme steering wheel movement snapped the dummy's head backward.
- The unnatural position of the dummy's left foot indicates that an occupant's left leg would have been seriously injured in a real-world crash of this severity.
- The forces on the left lower leg were so high that the dummy's metal foot broke off at the ankle.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave the van 4 stars for driver protection and 3 stars for passenger protection in the 35 mph (56 km/h) frontal impact test. In the side impact test, it received 5 stars for front passenger protection, and 5 stars rear passenger protection.
The safety issues of the Montana were addressed with the newer Montana SV6, which earned the highest rating of "Good" given by the Insurance Institute in the frontal offset crash test.
Mixed sales success
The Silhouette and its platform mates achieved slightly better sales than their avant-garde predecessors, but also failed to capture a significant share of the market. The Silhouette was a close competitor in many of the categories deemed of importance, but was a winner in luxury, first in the world to offer factory video screen, the minivan market had become significantly more crowded with competing products that proved to be more desirable and throughout its production it was widely considered a second-tier competitor, certainly competent but not a stand-out in any category.
The Silhouette remained in production until the 2004 model year with minimal changes. The Oldsmobile division of General Motors was shut down and no Oldsmobiles were produced after the 2004 model year. The final Oldsmobile Silhouette rolled off the assembly line on March 31, 2004.
The spiritual successor to the Oldsmobile Silhouette within the General Motors lineup is the Buick Terraza (2005-2007), which was built on an updated version of the U platform and occupied the luxury minivan slot previously occupied by the Silhouette. Due to poor sales of all the third-generation GM minivans, GM decided to exit the minivan market altogether. Production of the Buick Terraza and Saturn Relay ended after the 2007 model year and for the Chevrolet Uplander, production ceased in the United States after the 2008 model year and focused on the new crossover vehicle market. However, production of the Uplander continued on for one more year (along with the Pontiac Montana SV6) in Mexico and Canada due to slightly better sales in those countries. Had the Oldsmobile division not been discontinued it would be likely that the Silhouette would have been kept for the third generation of the GM minivans.