L 3400 V6 engine became the only engine available. Traction control dropped as an option. Second generation (1997–2004) The redesigned 1997 Silhouette was built at Doraville Assembly. The first 1997 Silhouettes were assembled in August, 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 Trans Sport/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 missteps. GM, still stinging from the criticism of the previous "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 were cabin air filters, 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