The folks at GM are sending their two sportscars off to finishing school. The duo of compact roadsters receive power door lock button and adjustable-height drivers seat in response to customers requestsThe Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice would be the perfect sunny day playthings but for a handful of frustrating shortcomings. Fortunately, the company is engaged in a program of continuous improvement which has already seen a reinforcing brace added between the transmission and differential, a more suitable third gear ratio and more effective sealing of the roof against wind noise.
Now the company has gone further, installing a power door lock button in the cockpit and a power seat height adjuster...
“What early customer feedback we get, we identify potential improvements and make those improvements,” said Matt Armstrong, Saturn marketing manager. “We don’t wait for the end of the model year.”
Previously, the only way to unlock the doors from inside the car was to physically lift the lock at the trailing edge of the door, where it is hard to reach. Of course, thats how we unlocked all car doors for generations, so it wouldn’t seem like a hardship, except that the Sky and Solstice automatically lock their doors automatically at every opportunity, forcing the occupants to unlock them more frequently.
The high door sills and low seats also made the cars’ cockpits bathtub-like for shorter drivers, so now a power seat height adjuster is standard equipment will lift drivers to a higher vantage point. Additionally, the markings on the fuel gauge of the base Sky were judged too hard to read, so the Sky Redline’s fuel gauge face plate is being substituted.
Other areas under examination for future changes include the cupholders and the radio display, which is easily washed out by sunlight when the top is down.
Now if the company would only relocate the power window switches from the elbow area of the armrests to a location people can reach and devise a folding roof mechanism that approaches the simplicity, ease of use and compactness of the Mazda MX-5 Miata’s roof, we’ll be able to pronounce GM’s sports cars a perfect pair of playthings.
This is indeed good news, and hopefully this policy of "Continuous Upgrades" will spread to all GM models.
Previously, the only way to unlock the doors from inside the car was to physically lift the lock at the trailing edge of the door, where it is hard to reach. Of course, thats how we unlocked all car doors for generations, so it wouldn’t seem like a hardship, except that the Sky and Solstice automatically lock their doors automatically at every opportunity, forcing the occupants to unlock them more frequently.
The high door sills and low seats also made the cars’ cockpits bathtub-like for shorter drivers, so now a power seat height adjuster is standard equipment will lift drivers to a higher vantage point. Additionally, the markings on the fuel gauge of the base Sky were judged too hard to read, so the Sky Redline’s fuel gauge face plate is being substituted.
Other areas under examination for future changes include the cupholders and the radio display, which is easily washed out by sunlight when the top is down.
Now if the company would only relocate the power window switches from the elbow area of the armrests to a location people can reach and devise a folding roof mechanism that approaches the simplicity, ease of use and compactness of the Mazda MX-5 Miata’s roof, we’ll be able to pronounce GM’s sports cars a perfect pair of playthings.
This is indeed good news, and hopefully this policy of "Continuous Upgrades" will spread to all GM models.
carlisimo says:
08:16 AM, 11/16/06
That's great. It's rare to see such responsiveness, and I hope it's the start of a new trend.
ateixeira says:
12:41 PM, 11/16/06
It's good and bad, good because GM is willing to fix things, bad because they got so many things wrong in the first place.
But still, GM is also listening to the SCCA crowd and making performance upgrades available from the factory, so that weekend autocrossers can use the upgrades in races.
Compare that to Mazda, which hasn't really changed a thing, leaving the Miata less competitive than it could be in certain classes. All Mazda would have to do is make certain items already on the shelf a factory option on new cars, and racers would be happy. Yet they've done nothing to help their most flag-flying owners.
So, kudos to GM.
estreka says:
01:33 PM, 11/16/06
I can imagine how bad the wind noise must be (the Tahoes we drive have horrid seals around the driver's and front passenger's windows).
Cupholders are a challenge in roadsters. There's just never a good place for them. When I drove an '86 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce, no cupholders. My '01 S2000, one highly inconvienent cupholder that blocks the shifter.
jhershey says:
10:33 AM, 11/17/06
"Previously, the only way to unlock the doors from inside the car was to physically lift the lock at the trailing edge of the door, where it is hard to reach."
Lifting the locks isn't the only way to unlock the doors, you can also use the key fob and turning off the engine will also unlock the doors.
frankzappa22 says:
10:59 AM, 11/17/06
I rode in a Solstice GXP around a racetrack. Number of laps- 3. Number of times the cupholder popped out-5.
cargeek5 says:
09:52 AM, 11/23/06
These two cars are like the Corvettes little brother and sister. I think there awsome. It is about time Chevy put a little presure on Ford's Mustang.