Winter Solstice
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Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 4,306
From: Jersey Shore
Winter Solstice
2006 PONTIAC SOLSTICE
ON SALE: Fall 2005
BASE PRICE: $19,995 (est.)
POWERTRAIN: 2.4-liter, 170-hp, 170-lb-ft I4; rwd, five-speed manual
CURB WEIGHT: 2860 pounds
0 TO 60 MPH: 7.2 seconds
The steady, cold rain from the night before had dried up, but heavy gray skies still threatened, giving us a taste of a typical late-winter day in southern England. The weather can be dicey-temperatures can climb into the 50s in the afternoon but just as easily drop to near freezing. Add in for good measure the aforementioned rain. Weather was important because we had come to Surrey and Sussex counties south of London to drive convertibles, and unless the skies opened back up and unleashed another deluge, we were determined to drive with the top down. We brought an extra wool sweater and a Gore-Tex jacket, just in case.
So why go to England, where in February you can go days-maybe even weeks-without seeing the sun, to drive convertibles? The simple answer is because that's where General Motors offered us the first drive of the Pontiac Solstice.
Solstice is the hot project at GM. Talk all you want about all the other cars GM has in the pipeline, from Chevy's new Cobalt small car to the sixth-generation Corvette, but inside the company Solstice is the one everyone is watching. It represents a new way of doing business for GM. It is the first car to be built on a new rwd (Kappa) architecture, and it's the first car, from concept to production, with product czar Bob Lutz's fingerprints all over it (AW, Feb. 2). Also, the car is 18 months away from production, so we're driving it very early.
Solstice had one of the shortest gestation periods in GM's (and much of the car world's) history, going from computer math design to foam model in 21 days. Just 15 weeks later it rolled onto a Detroit stage as a concept car. It was the darling of the 2002 North American International Auto Show, snagging our Best in Show award. We weren't the only ones who liked the car. The public loved it, too, and GM began the process to make the concept a reality.
ON SALE: Fall 2005
BASE PRICE: $19,995 (est.)
POWERTRAIN: 2.4-liter, 170-hp, 170-lb-ft I4; rwd, five-speed manual
CURB WEIGHT: 2860 pounds
0 TO 60 MPH: 7.2 seconds
The steady, cold rain from the night before had dried up, but heavy gray skies still threatened, giving us a taste of a typical late-winter day in southern England. The weather can be dicey-temperatures can climb into the 50s in the afternoon but just as easily drop to near freezing. Add in for good measure the aforementioned rain. Weather was important because we had come to Surrey and Sussex counties south of London to drive convertibles, and unless the skies opened back up and unleashed another deluge, we were determined to drive with the top down. We brought an extra wool sweater and a Gore-Tex jacket, just in case.
So why go to England, where in February you can go days-maybe even weeks-without seeing the sun, to drive convertibles? The simple answer is because that's where General Motors offered us the first drive of the Pontiac Solstice.
Solstice is the hot project at GM. Talk all you want about all the other cars GM has in the pipeline, from Chevy's new Cobalt small car to the sixth-generation Corvette, but inside the company Solstice is the one everyone is watching. It represents a new way of doing business for GM. It is the first car to be built on a new rwd (Kappa) architecture, and it's the first car, from concept to production, with product czar Bob Lutz's fingerprints all over it (AW, Feb. 2). Also, the car is 18 months away from production, so we're driving it very early.
Solstice had one of the shortest gestation periods in GM's (and much of the car world's) history, going from computer math design to foam model in 21 days. Just 15 weeks later it rolled onto a Detroit stage as a concept car. It was the darling of the 2002 North American International Auto Show, snagging our Best in Show award. We weren't the only ones who liked the car. The public loved it, too, and GM began the process to make the concept a reality.
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 2,472
From: South Bend, Indiana
Good article. I'm glad their aiming its handling at the S2000. I brought up that point about a year and a half ago and nearly got laughed off the board 
170 base HP is just great for 2850 lbs. I can't wait till the SC version comes out (if it comes out). That will be one of the top choices during my next car purchase.
170 base HP is just great for 2850 lbs. I can't wait till the SC version comes out (if it comes out). That will be one of the top choices during my next car purchase.
Registered User
Joined: Sep 1998
Posts: 642
From: Atlanta, Ga
I was pretty excited about this car till they announced it was only coming with the 170hp motor. Give me a break, you'll get drop kicked off the road by any decent car, it's weight is the only thing keeping it from being a laughing stock... I'm betting they only put that 210ish hp S/C'd 2.0 liter in any supercharged versions too. I'm a little disappointed in that as well, a S/C'd 2.4 liter would be more like it...
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 385
From: Ontario, Canada
Originally posted by Ray86IROC
I was pretty excited about this car till they announced it was only coming with the 170hp motor. Give me a break, you'll get drop kicked off the road by any decent car, it's weight is the only thing keeping it from being a laughing stock... I'm betting they only put that 210ish hp S/C'd 2.0 liter in any supercharged versions too. I'm a little disappointed in that as well, a S/C'd 2.4 liter would be more like it...
I was pretty excited about this car till they announced it was only coming with the 170hp motor. Give me a break, you'll get drop kicked off the road by any decent car, it's weight is the only thing keeping it from being a laughing stock... I'm betting they only put that 210ish hp S/C'd 2.0 liter in any supercharged versions too. I'm a little disappointed in that as well, a S/C'd 2.4 liter would be more like it...
Prominent Member
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 2,282
200hp is the entry level here...NOT 170.....
"THE F WORD STILL HAUNTS THE halls of GM," said Doug Parks, chief engineer for small cars, referring to the Pontiac Fiero, the two-seat, mid-engine sports car that lived a short, unfulfilled life from 1984 to '89. "The Solstice absolutely has to perform as well as it looks. That was the Fiero's problem... it never delivered on its looks until it was too late. The expectations are higher for this project than for anything I've been associated with at GM," Parks said. "Expectations are through the roof. It has to be right, right out of the box."
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 8,504
From: Ohio
Re: 200hp is the entry level here...NOT 170.....
Originally posted by Doug Harden
Then they may want to up the HP levels a bit......
Then they may want to up the HP levels a bit......
7.2 0-60 isn't exactly 'fun' car territory, IMO.... I'm not saying this needs to be a 5.9 second car in base trim, but you might want to get it to dip below 7.0... like Doug said... 200hp would probably be more in line.
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Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 10,285
From: Albany, NY
Re: Re: 200hp is the entry level here...NOT 170.....
Originally posted by Darth Xed
I agree... it's got to play the part, at least a little better than that, even in base trim.
7.2 0-60 isn't exactly 'fun' car territory, IMO.... I'm not saying this needs to be a 5.9 second car in base trim, but you might want to get it to dip below 7.0... like Doug said... 200hp would probably be more in line.
I agree... it's got to play the part, at least a little better than that, even in base trim.
7.2 0-60 isn't exactly 'fun' car territory, IMO.... I'm not saying this needs to be a 5.9 second car in base trim, but you might want to get it to dip below 7.0... like Doug said... 200hp would probably be more in line.
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 8,504
From: Ohio
Re: Re: Re: 200hp is the entry level here...NOT 170.....
Originally posted by Z28x
7.2 isn't too bad for the base Solstice. Miata has a 0-60 of 8.9 sec. I think a turbo/supercharged Solstice will be needed eventually to make it a true player.
7.2 isn't too bad for the base Solstice. Miata has a 0-60 of 8.9 sec. I think a turbo/supercharged Solstice will be needed eventually to make it a true player.
I realize the car is trying to go sub- $20k, and I am trying to factor that all in, but...
Like I said, I'm not expecting 5.3 0-60 times from this, but I expected a little better than 7.2.
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Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 10,285
From: Albany, NY
Originally posted by PaperTarget
I had a feeling it wouldn't come in at $18,000. Still the price isn't too bad.
I had a feeling it wouldn't come in at $18,000. Still the price isn't too bad.
Originally posted by PaperTarget
It won't compete with any of the other roadsters out there performance wise though. 170 hp is kind of disappointing.
It won't compete with any of the other roadsters out there performance wise though. 170 hp is kind of disappointing.
Solstice will also have more torque than the S2000 that cost almost $15,000 more
Not every one wants/needs a quarter mile monster, the 170HP should compete fine in its segmant. Don't forget is will also compete with other low end verts like the Sebring and V6 Mustang. 7.2 is still quicker than the avg daily driving that most people have. For those that like the Solstice but want more, they will have to wait for the Solstice GXP.
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 388
From: Racine, WI
Re: 200hp is the entry level here...NOT 170.....
Originally posted by Doug Harden
Then they may want to up the HP levels a bit......
Then they may want to up the HP levels a bit......
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,724
From: Hebron, KY
The car will be a success
I'm amazed .3 seconds is what's preventing it from becoming a "fun" car in some of your eyes. Needless to say, the Miata has succeeded for over 14 years while offering even less "fun." And that is the competition for this model. It certainly is not short of the performance marks of the current Miata and MR2. Hopefully it can close in on the $13k more expensive S2000 with the SC/Turbo version.
But that is to say a car like this is measured purely by acceleration statistics, which is absurd. Yes, it has to move, but there's a lot more that adds to the level of entertainment.
If you live your life a "quarter mile at a time" and stop light to stop light, this probably isn't going to be the car for you--even if it could reach 60 a tick faster. That type of buyer certainly won't spell its demise. With reasonable sales expectations, I don't see why the car would tail off or be a disappointment after a couple years.
But that is to say a car like this is measured purely by acceleration statistics, which is absurd. Yes, it has to move, but there's a lot more that adds to the level of entertainment.
If you live your life a "quarter mile at a time" and stop light to stop light, this probably isn't going to be the car for you--even if it could reach 60 a tick faster. That type of buyer certainly won't spell its demise. With reasonable sales expectations, I don't see why the car would tail off or be a disappointment after a couple years.
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 13,713
From: The Golden State
Lesee. almost a month to get the idea to foam, another roughly 3 months to get the idea to sheetmetal & plastic, it's been 27 months since it went on display in Detroit, and for us (Europe get's the car later) it's still about 10 months away. So altogether, that's 41 months (just under 3 1/2 years) to get a car to production pulling out all stops, going at full speed to get a car from idea to production at GM. So much for that ridiculous 18-24 month boast they made not too long ago.
As far as the Solstice's engine & performance, you guys need to be realistic & lighten up....ALOT!
Solstice is already going to be the quickest car in it's class by far as has already been pointed out. The Solstice is also going to cost UNDER $20,000. Miata has just 140 horses and is nearly $22,000 in base form....and it's currently the cheapest in it's class!!
At 7.2 seconds 0-60, it's about as quick as base Camaros & Firebirds were, and slightly quicker than the now defunct base SN95 Mustangs.
Solstice is shaping up to be a great car for the price and it's purpose. If it came in the coupe that was displayed at the 2002 Detroit show, I'd even consider one (and get a dealer installed supercharger).
Unless you want a SRT-4, Solstice is one hell of a bargain compared to it's competitors.
As far as the Solstice's engine & performance, you guys need to be realistic & lighten up....ALOT!
Solstice is already going to be the quickest car in it's class by far as has already been pointed out. The Solstice is also going to cost UNDER $20,000. Miata has just 140 horses and is nearly $22,000 in base form....and it's currently the cheapest in it's class!!
At 7.2 seconds 0-60, it's about as quick as base Camaros & Firebirds were, and slightly quicker than the now defunct base SN95 Mustangs.
Solstice is shaping up to be a great car for the price and it's purpose. If it came in the coupe that was displayed at the 2002 Detroit show, I'd even consider one (and get a dealer installed supercharger).
Unless you want a SRT-4, Solstice is one hell of a bargain compared to it's competitors.
