The Solstice's edge lies in its torque, price, and newness. Being something fresh will certainly earn points in this category, and the car's performance will do nothing to take away from it. For $19K-20K, you get 170hp/170tq, a car that is sure to hold its own in handling, high-quality interior, the new faceplate of Pontiac styling, admiring stares, nice toneau cover, and of course the wind in your hair. That's at least $3K less than a (lighter, but underpowered) Miata that dates back to 1990 and solid $5K less than a comparably performing MR2 that doesn't seem to be earning many sales anyway.

The weight is a disappointment, but you have to consider the platform it is based on. I believe the competition all currently have purpose-built platforms solely for their roadsters, where as the Kappa platform also has to be flexible enough to accomodate a wider range of vehicles in theory. In the world of GM, this is how it has got to be for us to even get a car like this. The next Miata, if I'm not mistaken, will also share its platform and will be larger. I would anticipate a weight gain as well.

From my own experience, the Miata, MR2, and S2000 are all enjoyable cars to drive. If the Solstice can match that experience, offer a high-quality interior, and maintain the aggressive price it will be a sure-fire hit. And if they can push that number farther north of 200hp in the "GXP", their target of the (torque-deprived, 2800lb) S2000 will easily be met.

 

If this thing is really shooting for S2000 handling, and its interior is even nearly as high quality as say, a 'Vette, imagine how well this car is going to hold its resale value. It will be right up there with Honda's and Toyota's.

 

I think the Solstice is gonna be an image changer for Pontiac, moreso than the reborn GTO. For 20k, you're gonna be getting a quality, stylish, and pretty torquey little roadster. A little on the heavy side, but oh well, like jrp4uc said, it doesnt have its own strict platform. Plus I think its a given the next Miata is gonna be getting some weight, its already known that the next Miata is gonna be bigger.

As for the S2000, wait till the GXP comes out

 

Jesus, you guys are treating this as if it said "Firebird" on the side.
This isnt for 1/4 tears, this is a cheap roadster that you can take out on a nice day, put the top down, and just tear around the local highways and biways. Why does it need to tear the 1/4 in under 12 sec to be considerd "cool" anymore? Its a roadster, and a sweet one at that. If GM nails the handling, Im sure it will make its own rep. I know europe cant wait till they get a Kappa. I love this little car, and I cant wait to have one. It looks killer, better then anything GM has made in a long long time outside of teh Vette. If its handling is on target with the S2k at the base, imagine the GXP model? Im sure with the rest of the ecotec aftermarket, this will engine will have aftermarket parts out the wahzoo. If your looking for a muscle car, this isnt the car for you. If you want something to scoot around in with plenty of power and tons of good looks, this is the car for you. Ill park it next to my 2008 Z28.

 

I don't think a single person in this thread has mentioned 1/4 mile times.

0-60 times are a more realistic approach to 'street use', IMO...

If I am going to buy a car, purely for driving, I want it to have enough power that I can have fun blipping the accelerator. I am not so sure 170hp is gonna do that.

Again, I understand this is the base car... but it is not like comparing a base Impala to an Impala SS... the difference is the Impala base car is a fairly generic family hauler, the base Solstice still needs to be a sporty car.

 

Agreed....my reference was to their own admission of NOT making the same mistake as with the Fiero...underpowered and not living up to it's "image" as a sports car.

Building cars "just good enough" is a recipie for failure.....

Adding a SC and only picking up 35 hp is lame..........and a wasted effort.

The "Fun to Drive" quotient is DIRECTLY tied to a cars feeling of power.

IMHO the S2000 fails as you have to keep it in the stratosphere rpm range to use any of it's claimed power...no-one wants to feel like you have to hold the pedal to the floor to enjoy the car.

It sounds like this car benchmarks just fine..but with the extra girth, it needs to not feel like your pushing a rope to drive it......

I really do love this car and hope it "lives up to it's image".....but I'll wait for a HP upgrade......I don't expect to burn off the tires (dumb act anyway)..BUT, I DO expect to pull strong out af a corner (road racer in me)

 

Just don't be surprised if you meet an "underpowered" 350lbs lighter Miata at a stop light and when it turns green it pulls away from you faster than you thought. There are typically two types of roadster drivers: 1) those who autox and are into performance 2) those who just want a nice little weekend cruiser. Customer #1 will most likely continue buying the Miata or S2000 because it's a better overall package (remember, price matters little to these people). Group #2 will be most of your Solstice buyers. I don't see anything wrong with that. As far as I know GM doesn't/isn't going to market this car as a performance car unlike Honda's S2000 and even Mazda's Miata to some degree.

Someone made the comment about Solstice taking sales from V6 Mustang convertible. I just don't see it happening. Most people that buy a V6 convertible aren't doing so just because of price, they're doing so because of convenience, something most roadsters don't know the meaning of. People typically don't buy roadsters as daily drivers. V6 Mustang convertibles are. They also seat four where roadsters don't. I seriously don't see Solstice taking any sales from Ford's V6 Mustang convertible (or any other four seater convertible).

 

The S2000 was revised for 2004 (many here don't seem to know that). It has a larger motor and redlines lower now. Also, it has more torque (due to the longer stroke) and reaches it sooner. I was looking at buying one last week. It even fits my 6'3" frame rather nicely, though the seat could be a tad lower.

 

Have any of you driven a Miata or MR2?! Some people apparently have a different idea of what's required to be "fun". The Miata has been slobbered over by the press (and owners) since its introduction. Not for its outright speed, but for its lively and nimble handling, adequate power, crisp shifter, and wind in the hair fun. Sounds like the Solstice will sort of split the difference between the go-kart like MR2 and Miata and the bigger, pricier 2 seaters. Besides, the S2000 has been described as go-kart like, a 4 wheeled sport bike, etc., and it is 2800 lbs...

Brother's car ('90 Miata): 2116 lbs, 116 hp (100 lb-ft) = 18.24 lb/hp
Dad's car ('99 Miata): 2300 lbs, 140 hp (119 lb-ft) = 16.43 lb/hp
Solstice: 2860 (at most?) lbs, 170 hp (170 lb-ft) = 16.82 lb/hp

The new MazdaSpeed Miata (turbo) has, what, 178 hp for its ~2400 lbs? The uplevel Solstice is currently scheduled to get significantly more than 200 hp... (and who said it has to be a supercharger?)

As for handling, again, I've not heard much criticism of the S2000's handling (at 2800 lbs and change). A 2800 lb roadster can be made to handle quite well. Plus I'm sure the Solstice will be a little roomier, more quiet, etc. than the Miata.

In this day and age, 2800 lbs is pretty flyweight. The new Ferrari 2+2 weights 4100 lbs, a Mercedes SL500 is in the 2 ton ballpark. The Caddy XLR is light for that class at 3600 lbs. 5 Series sedans weigh 2 tons (midsize car!). Hell, the racer-ish M3 weighs around 3500 I believe. The Z06 is a relative flyweight at ~3120... (and some people think it handles well too... )

 

Joe, I've been telling these guys this for going on 9 months, but noone wants to listen. If you want more power, wait for the hair dryer

 

Having no problem pulling on a '95 Miata (my brother owned one) with my Fiero V6 (140hp@5200/170tq@3600/2670lbs), at light and even moreso on the highway, I feel confident the Solstice will not see too many surprises.

I agree, I don't see building a car like this to solely pacify auto-x enthusiasts (it remains to be seen if the next Miata will pacify this crowd). But the implication is that Solstice (a car closer to the dimensions and weight of the S2000 while providing more torque) is automatically a "softer," less edgy drive, which I feel is a premature assumption. I recall the S2000 having its share of disappointment upon introduction when people weren't achieving the acceleration everyone wanted it to have, yet it remains a well-respected car. The revised '04 S2000 still only makes 162lb-ft@6500 RPM and does need to to be driven in those high-RPMs to move with authority. I can only speculate that the Solstice will be a more enjoyable car to drive on a day-to-day basis and easier to extract acceleration out of.

I do agree that I don't anticipate it stealing convertible sales from 4-seaters. If someone is only shopping for a convertible they will surely consider it, but it will still have storage (and seat) limitations that will not suit everyone's needs. That goes with the territory though; it fills a smaller niche.

 

I am suprised nobody has brought up the Z4. I think this car is almost dead on to what the Solstice is trying to achieve. I think all the cars in this class (Miata, Z4, S2000, and Solstice) are all made more for the fun to drive weekend cars. These aren't going to be to many people's daily drivers.

 

My friend has a Z4 with SMG. Very nice. I never included it because no one I know or heard of uses it for performance comparisons (though that SMG shifts very fast). Plus, it's even more expensive than the S2000.

 

I'm really interested in the next Miata though. Does anyone have any information on it? What chassis will it be on? What engine? Seems like they might move into the FI arena in the future (Mazdaspeed being the first example).

 

Like guion said why the heck is this damn car taking so damn long to come out! By the time its finally is produced its old news. What happened to quick turnarounds? And people need to stop complaining about a car they havent even seen in person or driven yet. The hp is good for the base model, you have no idea how it will drive and feel. Not everyone wants or needs a race car/muscle car. If so then buy one but it wont be the solstice and thats ok to.