Comments on: Pontiac Solstice Targa to be at NYAS

By: SAAB95JD

SAAB95JD — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 05:56:54 +0000

Well, I am really not a fan of the styling or interiors of the Solstice. Now, the Saturn version is really handsome but suffers from the same interior issues… nasty plastic, no storage, LOUSY after-thought cup holders… need I go on? The worst offense may be the top/trunk… neither of the two items should even qualify… the trunk is a mess of mechanicals and a tiny tiny space to shove something in… not even a shoe box would fit. That is just plain LAZY engineering.

By: offroadinfrontier

offroadinfrontier — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:09:27 +0000

What does it matter what type of roof the damn thing has? These cars are crap. I’ve never been a GM fan, but I almost fell in love with this car when it came out. That is, until I started reading reviews. Not a single review, IMO, has been good.

Fast is great, but first and foremost, a sports car should 1. Stay glued around the corners and 2. Brake like crazy (without fade!!). I can buy a used sedan and hit the same numbers going forward, but sadly the same used Sedan can out-brake and out-handle this “sports coupe.”

Hard-top, Targa, T-Tops (my favorite), Convertable, these things are all aesthetic. Fix the suspension and brakes, then we can talk (I do like what I’ve read about the Turbo engine, though).

By: Landcrusher

Landcrusher — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:06:01 +0000

Ugh, fiero.

I would suggest a targa coupe with a hatch could add storage space, AND end the lousy roof problems. Mini pontiac vette anyone?

The real trick would be making it more fun to drive though. Sounds like smaller wheels might be in the recipe?

By: detroit1701

detroit1701 — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:47:09 +0000

Pontiac still should have called the Solstice the “Fiero.”

Another great example of an awesome GM idea left to languish at the hands of the beancounters. The 1988 V6 edition was absolutely incredible. Some years ago, I met one of the members of the design team for the Fiero, and he still was upset that GM watered down the concept by the time it arrived in 1984.

By: Pch101

Pch101 — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:42:40 +0000

Didn’t the Solstice outsell the Miata in 2007?

Yes, by a whopping difference of about 1,700 cars. At the current sales pace and with economic conditions as they are, I doubt that either one will be a screaming success during 2008.

I would put money on this — ten years from now, only one of these companies will be selling a two-seat roadster. And Pontiac won’t be one of them.

By: Mark MacInnis

Mark MacInnis — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:40:19 +0000

Why doesn’t anybody ever mention the one 2-seat sports car which should have been a magnificent rag-top, or an excellent targa, from the get….

the original RX7 ….it would be cool to see what TTAC’s chopshop could do making a picture of that. Why some genius designer looking for something of retro-hit with a small two-seater didn’t look at (steal from?)that design is a question I’ve pondered….Mazda couldn’t do it…they have the Miata/MX5….

By: Raskolnikov

Raskolnikov — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:32:36 +0000

Didn’t the Solstice outsell the Miata in 2007?

Does anyone have those figures…I’m too lazy to look?

By: Pch101

Pch101 — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:23:47 +0000

The Solstice coupe concepts were pretty attractive (or at least I thought so), so I would expect the targa to look better than this. The Solstice may not be all that, but looks aren’t its downfall.

By: dolo54

dolo54 — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:17:35 +0000

The solstice is the only car one would actually consider putting smaller tires than stock on it.

And that is not a Del Sol… it looks very similar to one, but it is really the new targa solstice. Really. No really.

By: jmack91z28

jmack91z28 — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:02:58 +0000

Mama always said think before you speak haha.

And the Del Sol was always ugly, they just found a camera angle that somehow made it look worse.

By: CarShark

CarShark — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:55:02 +0000

I’m actually a little surprised to hear this. After GM said that Pontiac would no longer be their performance division, I was half expecting the Solstice to go bye-bye along with RWD coupes in general, since it’s such a small market. Hopefully they won’t make a Saturn version. Should the Sky be killed, or could they make a shooting brake version without too much overlap?

By: frontline

frontline — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:47:50 +0000

I had a Solstice for about a year and I really liked the car. The rock solid structure impressed me most.

By: barberoux

barberoux — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:25:38 +0000

Sorry. Never realized del sol was so ugly.

By: quasimondo

quasimondo — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:22:30 +0000

The solstice should’ve been a hardtop to begin with.

By: mistercopacetic

mistercopacetic — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:15:07 +0000

Joking right? I’m pretty sure that is a Del Sol, and I think it actually looked good (the Solstice coupe pictures I’ve seen look ok). The last gen CRX still looks even better to me. If Pontiac can get a small, lightweight, RWD coupe to market around 20-25k I think they will hit a market that has for a long time had to make a choice between bloated muscle cars and FWD pocket rockets. The 1-series is a good example, except for being way overpriced (lux+overweight).

By: Donal Fagan

Donal Fagan — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:14:26 +0000

IIRC, the Solstice got quite a boost from being a task on the Apprentice.

By: rev0lver

rev0lver — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:10:34 +0000

That is a del sol buddy.

By: barberoux

barberoux — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:05:47 +0000

I hope the production version looks better than your picture. It looks like a Del Sol uglified. Solstice looks best with the top down.