Pontiac Solstice Review

[91 s-10baja]

Pontiac Solstice

By Terry Parkhurst
July 31st, 2006 775 Views

When you punch the Pontiac Solstice’s go pedal to the floor, you can almost hear that great Les McCann/Eddie Harris tune “Compared to what?” Normally, the Solstice is compared to the Mazda MX5 or its twin-under-the-skin, the Saturn Sky– which is a bit like comparing Heather Graham to Sarah Michelle Gellar and Salma Hayek. While it's clear that the GM cars have more visual appeal than the Japanese roadster, looks can be deceiving. Has GM “made it real,” or is the Solstice just playing a part?



The Solstice’s flowing sheetmetal is soft, sensuous and good-to-go. From the front, it’s a superb retro reworking of a mid-Fifties Thunderbird. (I reckon cops in several US states will specialize in writing Solstii tickets for failure to display a front license plate.) Move to the right, and it’s a Corvette mini-me. The wheels fill the arches so completely the car seems designed as an extra for “Cars.” The stubby rear end deserves twin pipes, but it might as well have that old white trash bumper sticker on it that says “I’m nuts about butts.” The sports car’s stance is yang to the body’s yin: it hunkers on the pavement like a crouching bobcat.



For old MG owners, lowering the Solstice’s soft-top is a piece of cake. For anyone else, it’s a nightmare. The small tent-like rear flutings must be drawn taut and attached via fasteners to the rear deck. And once you fold the canvas top into the trunk, there is no storage space whatsoever-– unless you count the passenger’s foot well. Whereas an MX5 driver can pack light and live, a Solstice driver is hard pressed to stow enough H2O to make it between Arizona rest areas. At a stroke, Pontiac has rendered the Solstice a toy, a four-wheeled motorcycle.


http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=1921

[MrMax]

Strange review. Was there a verdict? I kind of zoned out after the first three paragraphs.

[JVal14]

like comparing Heather Graham to Sarah Michelle Gellar and Salma Hayek

What is this guy living in 1998? Pick up a Maxim dude, you need more contemporary metaphors. A Solstice review in itself is kinda old news, everyone knows what it's about.

[91 s-10baja]

Originally Posted by JVal14

What is this guy living in 1998? Pick up a Maxim dude, you need more contemporary metaphors. A Solstice review in itself is kinda old news, everyone knows what it's about.

I agree, however if they continue to review them/it, why not share?

[Saturn69]

Originally Posted by JVal14

What is this guy living in 1998? Pick up a Maxim dude, you need more contemporary metaphors. A Solstice review in itself is kinda old news, everyone knows what it's about.

Like Jeri Ryan? Tricia Helfer? Grace Park? Oh, and I haven't picked up a Maxim since I was, like, 14 or so. They're so 8th grade-mentality.

[Aromanances]

Yet they somehow manage to sell everyone of them.


More press BS and nit picKing. Car and Driver just gave the 911 bonus points over the zo6 because it has a back seat and the vet doesn't. ???????????? Who is going to sit back there??????

[CRBoyd91]

Does this guy just hate every car out there?

[1G6]

Originally Posted by Aromanances

Yet they somehow manage to sell everyone of them.


More press BS and nit picKing. Car and Driver just gave the 911 bonus points over the zo6 because it has a back seat and the vet doesn't. ???????????? Who is going to sit back there??????

I just let my CD sub, uninterrupted since 1991, lapse. Too much BS for too long.

[jwrebholz]

I wouldn't put people I hated in the back seat of a Porsche, it's that small. ...of course, it would also mean I'd be giving them a ride, and if I don't like them I'm sure as hell not going to give them a ride either!

[camaro_freak]

Originally Posted by Aromanances

Yet they somehow manage to sell everyone of them.


More press BS and nit picKing. Car and Driver just gave the 911 bonus points over the zo6 because it has a back seat and the vet doesn't. ???????????? Who is going to sit back there??????

an amputee, midgets...

[Dynamo]

This guy gets paid to write these things? Just a bad article.

[jbartley]

Originally Posted by Aromanances

Yet they somehow manage to sell everyone of them.


More press BS and nit picKing. Car and Driver just gave the 911 bonus points over the zo6 because it has a back seat and the vet doesn't. ???????????? Who is going to sit back there??????

i have no idea! the z06 should have bonus points for no backseat, b/c that decreases the risk of extra "dead weight" should you have to evade the cops or are challenged to a 0-60 duel at a stoplight!

[01cavalier]

Originally Posted by MrMax

Strange review. Was there a verdict? I kind of zoned out after the first three paragraphs.

You aren't the only one. While I agree that the car could definitely be better, it still is great. I have my own gripes, and for some reason I don't see them mentioned that often. I'd love to take the turbo for a spin...but I will likely end up with a ticket.

[eaton53]

For old MG owners, lowering the Solstice’s soft-top is a piece of cake. For anyone else, it’s a nightmare.

Ok, is this guy stupid or just lazy? Lowering the top on the Solstice is EASY, but you do have to get out of the car... big deal. I have to get out of my Miata to put the top up (old shoulder injury from playing ball, can't reach back to pull the top up) and it ain't no big thing.

Also, there is storage with the top down if the guy had bothered to look. There's room for about 5 grocery bags behind the top. Also, there are folks making luggage especially for the Solstice... where there's a will there's a way.

[JeffInDFW]

I own a Solstice. I bought two big gym bags that I use as soft sided luggage, and place them behind the top when down for those long trips.

I am also SO sick of reading how horrible it is to put the top down, and takes forever to do so. I was slow and careful the first couple of times, but guys, I swear, putting the top up and down is not hard, and is quick to do. Come on, you are all car guys here, goto a Pontiac house and try it yourself.

I really wonder sometimes if these jerks don't even drive and use the car they are reviewing. Instead, they just repeat the stereotypes and turn in their papers. I never hear any of them complain about how cheap the plastic looks in the new Miata.....

I also own a Viper, so I can afford whatever I want to buy. I studied the engineering and design of the Kappa's, and was so impressed I ordered one. If it was junk, I would dump it, and get something else. This little car is truely amazing. Get rid of the all weather tires that cause all the reviewers to whine about the handling, and it handles fantastic. Again, just look into the details of the car yourself. You'll be impressed.