Chevrolet Lumina comes to the Philippines

[pissword]

pag may funeral parlor na ako bibili ako carlo hehe

[carlocaraddict]

IMO, mas madami ka pang mabibili sa 900k na mas bago ang looks hehehehehehe.

[oldblue]

The Beach boys will have have a one night concert on Oct 7 here in Manila. Maybe the Lumina marketing crew can setup a test unit there b4 the ticket entrance ...

[pissword]

teka saw one kanina sa totoong buhay, not bad naman pala.. specially pag shiny hehe parang magandang funeral car lang

[bougartt]

mukhang police car sa states ung lumina.. seryoso

[niky]

The Beach boys will have have a one night concert on Oct 7 here in Manila. Maybe the Lumina marketing crew can setup a test unit there b4 the ticket entrance ...

Why? Because they're both geriatrics trying to get by on nostalgia and good looks? Whoops... that's the Montero... not easy to get nostalgic about the Lumina, as it was never a great car in the first place.

Poor Chevrolet. God, I hope they bring in the Malibu or the new Impala here, soon. This product line-up is killing them.

[Jun aka Pekto]

I wouldn't mind the Lumina if Chevy can drop the 240hp 3800 supercharged V6 in it. That's the same engine in the now defunct Buick Regal GS.

I mean look at the Subaru WRX. I think it's butt-ugly. But once I started driving it, everything's forgiven.

[niky]

There's really not much market for such huge engines in entry-level mid-sized cars here. Plus, with our terrible traffic, the 3800 V6 would get terrible mileage, no matter how efficient it is in highway driving in the US.

[AG4]

teka saw one kanina sa totoong buhay, not bad naman pala.. specially pag shiny hehe parang magandang funeral car lang

Part 1

The local market Chevy Lumina is based on the Buick Regal built by Shanghai-GM, this is based on the USDM Buick Regal but comes with smaller engine options.

This is the USDM Buick Regal from which the Shanghai-GM Buick Regal and RP market Chevy Lumina where derived from.

[AG4]

Part 2

Shanghai-GM will replace it soon with a new model which is also based on the USDM Regal's replacement.

The car above is the replacement of the USDM Regal, the Buick LaCrosse, the car at the bottom is the Shanghai-GM version.


This time they restyled the exterior and gave it a more luxurious look very similar to the full-size USDM Buick Lucerne.

[AG4]

Part 3

This is the side view of the Shanghai-GM Buick Regal's replacement (most likely the next RP Lumina).


Exterior styling is similar to the larger USDM Buick Lucerne.

[Jun aka Pekto]

There's really not much market for such huge engines in entry-level mid-sized cars here. Plus, with our terrible traffic, the 3800 V6 would get terrible mileage, no matter how efficient it is in highway driving in the US.

Well, the gas mileage isn't that bad either although lower than a 4-cylinder car. But if there are V6 Accords there, then there's room for a Regal GS type of car. A V6 Accord advertises gas mileage of around 24-32mpg. But, put the pedal to the metal, that gas mileage drops down to 22, 21, or even less than 20 miles per gallon.... Lay off the supercharger and the gas mileage should be decent if not ideal.

I suppose a turbocharged 4 would be ideal there. The turbocharged 2.0L of my Plymouth Laser RS Turbo should be similar, if not the same, as the turbo 4 of the Galant VR4. I think they have those over there. Since I had mine upgraded to Stage 4 (281hp), I'd definitely have to import HKS parts should I have to replace any of those parts. I'd defintely bring my Laser over.

[AG4]

The turbocharged 2.0L of my Plymouth Laser RS Turbo should be similar, if not the same, as the turbo 4 of the Galant VR4. I think they have those over there.

The Galant VR4 was never sold in the Philippines officially.
The only Turbo Mitsubishis sold here was the 1997 Eclipse


...and some EVO Lancers (mostly VI, VII, VIII) which were sold here in low volumes/special order.

[Jun aka Pekto]

The only Turbo Mitsubishis sold here was the 1997 Eclipse

The 2.0L turbo engine has essentially remained unchanged except maybe for a different turbo and 10hp more in the latter models.

My front wheel drive Laser RS Turbo/Eclipse GST/Eagle Talon TSi had 190hp stock while the AWD Eclipse/Talon had 195. Coupled with a light chassis (2700 lbs), these cars were fast even when factory stock.

I think the VR4 was slightly detuned at 180hp and had AWD.

Parts should still be available because the 2.0L (non-turbo) engine was also used in other Galants and older Hyundai Sonatas.

It's hard to find a car with a lightweight chassis and 281hp these days. I'll definitely bring the Laser over (unless my uncle gives me a good price for it). It'll just be my wife and I. So, we don't need a big backseat. Plus the Laser still gets over 30 mpg.

We're still undecided where we'd live if we moved there. I favor Las Pinas City because my folks' house is between RFC Mall and the (formerly?) Manuela Mall. My wife is from Leyte. But, she favors living in one of the newer subdivisions in Cavite (my mom's from Binakayan, but likes Las Pinas better).

[niky]

Las Pinas traffic is really bad. A Cavite subdivision would be nice, but far far out of the way. Some of the developments in Sta. Rosa are worth looking at, as they're a stone's throw from the highway... but traffic there has gotten bad since the developments first went up. Still, they're quite accessible.

Just a reminder, mileage drops drastically in the Philippines. I almost cry in self-pity when I see what mileage numbers clubmates in the US are getting compared to me...

My 2.0 only gets about 20 mpg in day to day driving (8.5 km/l, conversion factor 2.35 to US Gallons) mixed city/highway (admittedly, I drive kind of fast)... Evo 2.0 turbos can dip as low as 14 mpg in urban crawling here. I haven't had a chance to see numbers for Eclipse turbos, but I gather you may get 15-16. My old Mazda 626 2.0 only gets 17-18 in commuting.

Given, though, living in Cavite, you could still get close to 30 mpg, but not quite.

Back on topic. I really do hope they replace the current Lumina with a model based on the LaCrosse. I've heard it's a swell car, if not exactly an exciting drive.

[carlocaraddict]

uy! good news sa mga gustong bumili ng Lumina (pero ayaw pahalata)

may price slash ang Lumina ngayon (165,000 ata), bringing it down to 1.1M++. Saw it sa PDI today. Kahit babaan pa nila presyo nila, PANGET at LUMANA yang Lumina. hahahahaha!

oh, ano pa ang hinihintay niyo? punta na sa suking chevrolet dealers!

gearspeed, trade-in niyo na sa Lumana yang sirain niyong Optra! bwahahahahaha!

[BlueBimmer]

ibaba nila sa 700k sige bili ako hahaha

[Jun aka Pekto]

chevy/GM dealer yata yun, the car just looks bland...

Let's face it, most cars nowadays look bland. I don't really care anymore what they look like. It's what's under the hood and the other underpinnings which I look at first.

[eggman]

uy! good news sa mga gustong bumili ng Lumina (pero ayaw pahalata)

may price slash ang Lumina ngayon (165,000 ata), bringing it down to 1.1M++. Saw it sa PDI today. Kahit babaan pa nila presyo nila, PANGET at LUMANA yang Lumina. hahahahaha!

oh, ano pa ang hinihintay niyo? punta na sa suking chevrolet dealers!

gearspeed, trade-in niyo na sa Lumana yang sirain niyong Optra! bwahahahahaha!

May free 80k worth of free gas at accesories pa nga yung Lumina diba!Ok naman to at para to sa mga D.O.M!

[BlueBimmer]

oo malaking discount sa cash price..right after ilabas mo yan sa showroom/casa, malaki rin discount sa 2nd hand market price ng brandnew lumina mo