And the S2000 is also dead.
The Miata is the "small car sooming dangerously along" where the S2000 was too serious and the Solstice is too much of a comfortable touring car. If you want a touring drop top - get a Vette. Kappa is/was too numb.

The HHR SS and Cobalt SS versus Mazdaspeed3 debate is the same. The Mazda just feels more alive. It encourages you, where the GMs just feel numb and detached.

GMPP LNF kit is 290/325 in Kappa. I know its still a 'wimpy' turbo4 - but that does account for something. Not to mention Alpha will be coming around when the LNFs replacement is coming around. I for one still believe that a turbo I4 or turbo V6 could make Kappa more than worthy. I'm not *that* attached to a V8 roar. But then again I still think a 90s supercharged 3.8L is an incredible balance of size, power, and mpg.

 

The Solstice really isn't all that comfortable. I think it was Art who just recently said he and the wife took their Solstice on a 1600 mile journey to an autocross event and said "never again" in that car.

Throw in the fact that the trunk couldn't fit a golf ball in it with the top down.....it wasn't like it was more practical than Miata.....

 

My father-in-law got a Miata because the Solstice/Sky trunk wasn't practical enough. He uses it as a daily driver and wants to be able to put his work bag in the trunk, or a bag to travel with when going on a business trip to the airport.

Good luck with that in a Solstice/Sky.

 

You have to take my comment in context:

This was the 3rd time we've driven the Solstice to a faraway autoX ... twice to Edmonton (14 hours each way) and once to Houston (24 hours each way). We were able to pack everything we needed for a week+ away in the car, including both of our helmets while maintaining the ability to drive with the top down. Kappasphere makes a lovely set of bags that work well.

Our Solstice is the base model ZOK or "Clubsport". The only options on the car, which make up the "Clubsport" package, are ABS, limited slip diff, and sports suspension. No A/C, no cruise, no power windows or locks. It was particularly hot this last trip with intermittent thunderstorms along the way which made for a particularly tedious trip. We also didn't enjoy racing on street tires (245/40 Bridgestone RE01r's) nearly as much as we do our R-comps (285/30 Hoosier A6's)

No, the Solstice isn't even close to being as functional as the Miata, S2000, Boxster and perhaps a handful of other roadsters. But it is a great car. It more than holds its own on an autocross course and we will really miss it. Driving comfort is as good as anything else we've traveled with.

Never again speaks primarily to a long roadtrip without A/C, cruise and a roof that goes up without getting out of the car when a thunderstorm strikes.

 

I've not seen that precise assertion (though it may be there -- I can't follow every discussion on this site!). My assertion with respect to the current package is that it's actually pretty competitive with other vehicles of similar specification -- even those of smaller size.

 

Cool. I suppose I just assumed it wasn't the most "comfortable" of cars for those kinds of distances. I don't think I'd want to do it, as I have sat in the driver's seat of a few Kappa cars and wondered how long I could tolerate driving it without stopping to stretch (6'3").

 

It's been a long time, but I have to admit that the last Miata I drove was more lively and engaging than the last Solstice I drove.

I've never driven a Mazdaspeed3, but I've always been fond of the Cobalt SS and HHR SS. Both are fun cars to drive and personally, I found the HHR SS to be an especially appealing package.

 

My life was saved by driving a nimble car.

Some psycho was going southbound in the northbound lanes of the Dan Ryan expressway. He was coming round a bend in my lane, so I didn't see him until he was a couple hundred feet away from me. Our closing speed was over 120mph. Had I not be able to quickly get out of the way - I'd be dead, regardless of the mass of my car. Seconds later, my life was spared once more when the nimbleness of my car got me out of the way of a speeding semi, which was inches from T-boning me.

 

C'mon. That's one of the most laughable comments I've read from you to date.

You can't assume the car's moving weight was responsible for saving your life!

There's reaction time and other factors like steering ratio that also contribute.

I think your credibility is shot, as much as I want to avoid the personals...

 

And that means exactly what?

Elsewhere on this very site, we have already found the standard bearer for logic on the internet.

Should we now assume that you are the standard bearer for credibility on the internet?


Quite a group we have around here.....

 

What? Are you drunk or are you just an ignorant dipsh!t?

 

He said "nimble" car. I think the point was to say that smaller cars can be perfectly safe if you are able to avoid accidents with them.

My it gets vicious when people have different viewpoints.

 

Quote: My life was saved by driving a nimble car.

Conversely: He was a dead duck if he drove a non-nimble car.

Still TOTAL BS. I'm not drunk, just taking your illogical comments literally.

 

Try engaging your brain and analyzing what 'nimble' really means. It does not imply great handling, great steering nor even life saving.

It's not about getting vicious, it's about reading the comments in total disbelief about what the author actually wrote.

Silly really and without any substance.

 

Take a deep breath. Forget about me for a moment and read the comment from the author whose comments I addressed. Now tell me it makes perfect sense?