Second Generation Chevrolet Lumina Sedan

When the 1995 second-generation Chevrolet Lumina sedan first appeared, I found the most interesting detail was the aft cut line of the rear door.

Otherwise, the design was generic 1990s General Motors: pleasing, nicely executed -- but not exciting.

I suppose those cars conformed to Bob Lutz's contention that overly "clinic'd" designs were necessarily bland because they reflected the average response of design clinic attendees.  Maybe that's why that cut line attracted my attention.  It was unusual, not a bland, average detail.

Let's take a look.

Gallery

Front quarter view of a 1995 generation Lumina.  Rounded front, tall passenger compartment greenhouse.  But strong horizontal character lines along the sides to complement the curves, adding some visual stiffness.

Rear quarter view.  Note the rear door cut line on the C-pillar.  Rather than continuing forwards paralleling the window curve, it instead bends toward the upper edge of the backlight window.

Side view.

High rear quarter view.  Here the rear door frame gap is narrower than usually seen on production cars, making it hard to see.  But it shows that the door's roof cut line blends with the side edge of the backlight.  A nice example of GM styling detailing.

Photo of a car for sale.  Here the cut line gap is broad, but it does a good job of showing the details mentioned in previous image captions.

Another factory-sourced photo showing the Lumina's single distinctive detail.