Full Test Pontiac Solstice Coupe: Great Design On an Average Chassis

Wow quite pretty on the outside, GM American cheap on the inside.

And a Mazda3 smokes this thing in the slalom! Are you sure the Mazda3 really gets 68.2 mph?

ok i just rewatched the videos of the Mazda3 versus the Solstice GXP... holy shit the Mazda3 is fast... the Solstice is lazy.

Love how it looks, but I could never drive one - I find it too claustrophobic, even compared to other small sports cars out there.

Yes... "Distinctive".

CR came down hard on the Solstice and Saturn Sky, in terms of reliability in their recent Annual Auto issue.

But yeah, it's great looking...

"Give it the engine from an s2000"

Redliner, I wouldnt go that far but GM could have given this car a close ratio 6MT, further refined the drivetrain and made the drivetrain more eager/fun.

I could easily see something similar in execution to Civic Si's drivetrain in the base Solstice and a retuned chassis. Keep in mind the engine doesnt have to make a lot of power to be fun and or eager. Another thing to remember is refinement makes a HUGE difference especially in a sporting car.

Just want to say something that often gets forgotten with the sky and solstice: gm sells them at a loss.

http://wot.motortrend.com/6293055/we-hear/gm-shelves-plans-for-kappa-ii-platform-solstice-sky-may-die-with-it/index.html

Contrary to what some of the motor-journalists say, a good design does indeed cost more than a bad design. These were built to be brand halo cars, not best sellers. Of course they are crude in some ways since they are quite literally one-off concept cars. That said, I would love a solstice coupe gxp just like I would love a new motorcycle: for style and performance, not practicality and comfort.

Oh, and by the way, consumer reports often gives subjective reviews of the vehicle mixed in with their reports of reliability. JD Power and associates (which, I think, admittedly does the same thing) found the 2006 solstice (which was the first year the thing was out even) to be the 3rd most dependable compact sporty car, after the miata and subaru impreza.

http://www.jdpower.com/autos/articles/2009-Vehicle-Dependability:-Sporty-Cars

This car nicely sums up GM for me; all hype, no substance.

I think it looks a little awkward. The general design is nice but something is awkward.

And those horrendous wheels! Can you get any more unimaginative there?

"This car nicely sums up GM for me; all hype, no substance."

Thats a bit harsh as one model shouldnt FULLY represent the company as a whole. GM has proven they can properly execute a product (CTS, Malibu, Tahoe just to name a few) unfortunatly the Solstice cent be included.

cent = cant