1988 Chevrolet Venture

The Venture was smaller than the Caprice but larger than the Celebrity and fit in with the division’s mission of being entry level but providing more than the customer expects. “The other part of our mission statement is to make sure we don’t do any boring cars, that whatever we do is exciting and youthful,” said Don Lasky, chief designer of Chevy 1 Studio. “The Venture embodies that new spirit of exciting, youthful design.” Complete with removable glass roof. You know, there needed to be more communication between engineering and design. Air conditioning engineers were planning to make A/C compressors smaller. Those big 40-pound A/C compressors installed in ’66 Buicks were going away along with the R-12 refrigerant that made them work so well. All of that glass looks great, but what we really needed was less glass and thicker roofs with more insulation to compensate for the deteriorating A/C performance. I live near Phoenix, Arizona so that may influence my thinking.

January 5, 1988

NEW YORK – General Motors today began an unprecedented report to the nation on how it is multiplying the power of its people and leading-edge technology to continue into the 21st century the Corporation’s more than 50 years of leadership as the number-one producer of cars and trucks in the world.

Speaking at the opening of a three-day exhibition titled "GM TEAMWORK AND TECHNOLOGY – FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW" at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Chairman Roger B Smith called it the largest single show of GM products and technology in history, and said "It’s tangible evidence" that "GM will maintain its world leadership for years to come."