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Pontiac Solstice

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jackq

jackq

Jedi Knight
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Made a mistake and after church drove past a Pontiac dealer and there sat a Solstice. My wife and I both fell in love....I think were in trouble. Going tomorrow to give it a try. Haven't wanted a new car in about 15 years...and then I saw this thing. Shoulda kept on truckin....wife said she'd give up her 78 bug vert since I sold one of my 911s.
 
Be sure to check out the Sky before you settle, I've looked at both and they both seem to have a few advantages over each other. It'd be hard for me to pick one.
 
Yeah I like'em both. The Sky is more chiseled looking while the Solstice has more organic & flowing lines. But plan on paying a bit more for the Sky.
 
Whatever you do, don’t settle for the base model. Hold out for the turbo. It’s a blast.


PC.
 
R6MGS said:
Be sure to check out the Sky before you settle, I've looked at both and they both seem to have a few advantages over each other. It'd be hard for me to pick one.
Click to expand...

That is exactly what my Brother in Law said to me about a year ago. Every Pontiac Dealer in this area added on a dealer markup of $4,500-$5,000 to the Solstice sticker. Made my choice a lot easier. As already mentioned, if you're into speed though buy the turbo model.

Skyattherecpark.jpg
 
PC said:
Whatever you do, don’t settle for the base model. Hold out for the turbo. It’s a blast.


PC.
Click to expand...

They are a blast. The Redline Sky/GXP Solstice have 260hp/260lb.ft out of a 2.0liter direct injected four cylinder engine. While the standard models use a pretty standard 2.4liter making 177hp/166lb.ft.

Evidently the fuel pump in the Redline/GXP is pretty noisy though. Direct injection requires really high pressure. If you plan on a weekend trip you need to plan ahead. Either, mail your luggage ahead, don't take any, leave the top up or get the optional luggage rack. There is very little storage space in them. Oh, and beware of the passenger side cupholder. It is in a vulnerable spot and breaks easy. The other one is just hard to reach while sitting normally. (I used to sell them).

SKY2.jpg
 
I have a retired friend who has a lot of discretionary income.

When the Donald Trump Show was on TV (remember "You're Fired"?) they auctioned off the first 500 Solstices built on that show.
My friend bought one. 6 speed stick with all options.
His wife didn't like it and his grand-kids grew tired of going around the block in it.
With only 300 miles on it, he offered it to me but I have all my spare cash tied up in my folk's house right now (and anyway, I have a perfectly good new-ish Miata).

So he just went down to the local Pontiac dealer and they gave him $12,000 for it [/sigh].
 
Well...went and drove one(actually had one on the lot) Its white with leather, 2.4 non-turbo and standard shift. I was more than impressed with the power. Handles the tight curves at high speeds flawlessly. Power...I got other stuff that goes fast and we're geezers anyhow. Salsesguy got a bit peeved when I asked if the sticker price was firm. I'm in my grubbies and driving my B...what a classless dog I am. Anyhow...asked him what it would take if I walked in with a sack of cash, and I was serious. He quoted the sticker price. IF we buy it it won't be there. I have no payments of any kind, and pay cash for everything.....makes life so much easier.
 
After my short stint in car sales I can tell you that new car dealers really hate it when you pay cash. Especially the finance officers. They don't get their kickbacks from the lending institutions when you do that. Which in my book is all the more reason to pay cash. However, one way to get a better deal, lower price, is to watch for their cash back with financing offers. If your credit score is high enough, you can qualify for 1.9% (or 0% when they offer it) and around $1500 cash back depending on the factory incentives. Finance it, get the extra cash back (lowers your purchase price), make the first months payment then pay it off the next month. The lenders get their money, but only one months interest, that part they don't like. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

Just don't bring up the cash back incentives until you've already haggled the price down a bit.
 
I was lucky enough to speak with Mr. Mallett at the Cleveland Auto Show (photo forthcoming). He made refernece to an LS7-powered Solstice with a turbo out back, dyno'd at 1098 RWHP. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/banana.gif
 
Cam,


Wooooof! That's actually scary hp to me. Where do I strap in?


/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/jester.gif
 
Not to be a naysayer on the Pontiac, but a guy at work bought one awhile back. So far it's had to be towed back to the dealer a few times because it wouldn't start, and they had to replace the transmission - plus a few other not-serious odds and ends. I don't know if those are common problems or he's been unlucky, but it might be worth researching.
 
Consumer Reports shows the Soltice reliability to be much worse than average - their lowest category. I'd wait a year to see if they iron out the bugs.
 
We all need to be careful about referencing Consumer Reports as an absolute end all authority on vehicle ratings. Remember CR ratings is only a sampling of their *readers* and only as good as those who actually take the time to contribute.

So IMHO CR’s ratings system is not a true real world view of things.
 
Bret said:
We all need to be careful about referencing Consumer Reports as an absolute end all authority on vehicle ratings. Remember CR ratings is only a sampling of their *readers* and only as good as those who actually take the time to contribute.

So IMHO CR’s ratings system is not a true real world view of things.
Click to expand...

You are correct, but I've found over the years that CR's reliability ratings tally pretty well with my experience. Certainly chat on the boards I look at indicate a substantial number of teething issues for the Solstice.
 
Eric said:
Bret said:
We all need to be careful about referencing Consumer Reports as an absolute end all authority on vehicle ratings. Remember CR ratings is only a sampling of their *readers* and only as good as those who actually take the time to contribute.

So IMHO CR’s ratings system is not a true real world view of things.
Click to expand...

You are correct, but I've found over the years that CR's reliability ratings tally pretty well with my experience. Certainly chat on the boards I look at indicate a substantial number of teething issues for the Solstice.
Click to expand...
It’s been some time since I picked up a Consumer Reports (for the reasons mentioned above) but I remember some of the disparities that continue to cause contention among more creditable automotive & enthusiast specific publications.

A couple of examples:
The differences in reporting between different brands is to be expected. Yet when placed side by side GM Trucks there is a huge difference between the GMC & Chevy trucks. Likewise (Not to pick on GM) but while there can almost always be a correlation between recalls & maintenance records, Corvettes seem to have a pretty stellar CR rating among loyal readers. Granted that is partly due to brand & make loyalty (Love is blind) but it puts a curve on things and dilutes the feedback.

Again all I’m saying is that we need to remember who’s contributing to Consumer Report’s ratings. Are the readers truly knowledgeable about their feedback that might service their own vehicles or are they folks who’ve never popped open a hood of a vehicle in their life.

I’ve read many automotive publications that have said a lot of good things about the Solstice and it’s sibling the Sky. Some main stream like Car & Driver and Road & Track as well as other lesser known “enthusiast” publications’ like Grassroots Motorsports who’ve all given high praise to the new little roadsters.
 
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