Wild-Ass Rumor Of The Day: Delorean Plus Solstice Equals…?

by Edward Niedermeyer

Published: October 6th, 2009

wild ass rumor of the day delorean plus solstice equals

The new Delorean Motor Company is apparently exploring the possibility of buying GM’s Wilmington Kappa plant and building a Pontiac Solstice GXP-based sportscar there. The firm released the rendering above, and the following post via Facebook:

What if John DeLorean were still alive? Some of his greatest automotive accomplishments were at Pontiac, and now the Solstice is a new car without a brand, and DeLorean is brand without a new car…

JZD always said that the best memories of his automotive career were at Pontiac, and that connection between JZD and Pontiac is probably one of the better known associations among car enthusiasts

DeLorean VP James Espey tells Jalopnik. Which is apparently all the motivation it takes to launch a new sportscar based on a proven dud, and built at an ancient factory. Given that this is being spun as the ghost of JZD’s attempt to resuscitate Pontiac from beyond the grave, I think it’s fair to draw a few conclusions about where Mr DeLorean is spending the afterlife.

Edward Niedermeyer

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4 of 36 comments

Bunter1 on Oct 07, 2009

dweezil- A lot of folks miss the -$10k/car GM "got" from the Solstice. Good shot. Lokkii- "beautiful but stupid" bullseye! Get a poster of her if you must, go on a date even. Don't marry her. Miss Miata is still cute, smart and pulls her weight in the relationship. I have noted that the Solstice owner satisfaction numbers have dropped every year also. Miata? Consistently one of the most satisfied groups year after year. I could see a group setting up the turbo models as a niche market product, few hundred a year for $45-50K. Production? Ha! Bunter

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BuzzDog on Oct 07, 2009
@rudiger: The Studebaker XUV was, quite obviously, just a Hummer with ‘Studebaker’ script emblazoned in those areas previously occupied by the ‘Hummer’ name. Believe it or not - for all that the Studebaker XUV looked like a Hummer - the Avanti staff actually went to the trouble to build it (somewhat) from scratch. Check out the specs on Avanti's website: http://www.theavanti.com/xuv.htm The dimensions are significantly different and the engines appear to be Ford-sourced. Which makes the entire scheme even more ridiculous: Why piss off GM in the first place by building an obvious copy of (at that time) the pride of their lineup, and then go to all the trouble of sourcing all of the low-volume (read: high priced) components so you can then sell a higher priced copy of the original. No wonder the venture never generated much interest.

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Panzerfaust on Oct 07, 2009

Just when you think all the junk bond trading is over.

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Dolorean23 on Oct 07, 2009

Sounds like an excellant idea, totally rad and wicked to the max. Now all we need is Malcolm Bricklin to mix it with the updated Zastava Koral (Yugo). I heard a rumor once that you can still buy an brand new, 1983 DeLorean. According to the blog, there is a warehouse in CA that has enough parts to build another 3000 units.

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