ucfracerx8

So my wife and I were on our way back from a weekend away and we got off I-4 at exit 67 to go to the Crossroads center to grab some food at Chevy's (Great Place BTW) and parked in front of the Buffalo Wild Wings was a Pontiac Torrent and two brand new Soltices, one Black, one Red, both with black tops and chrome wheels. Not a bad looking car, the top did not fit correctly on the red one, which was being driven around occassionaly by some dumb Brunette that almost hit our Tribute . Not sure if it was some promotional thing or what not, but it is a nice car, wished it was not raining when we were there so I could have taken some pics and gotten a better look at them, oh well. It does have an unmistakable front end and certainly could never be confused with any other car, just like an RX8.

s13lover

I'm still waiting to see one in real life. I think the car looks great in pics besides the cheap American interior.

staticlag

I didn't like the look IRL, the front makes it look too "toyish"

spork

i saw one this weekend. they look good. i'd still get the new miata over it though.

gnj152

Sema2005 soltice concept car

therm8

Haven't seen a Solstice in person yet, but I have seen the Mx-5. Let's just say there's no way I'd buy the Mx-5 because of the front end alone. That's one goofy looking view. Every other angle looks alright, but that front...

tiggerlee

Still haven't see one in person.

Eatsomerice

They are here for the auto show at the convention center. Just liek the mazdaspeed6 is at classic mazda.

tiggerlee

Heard bits and pieces about this on the radio today. When is the show?

RX8SpdDmn

I work for Toyota and we had a Solstice for evaluation. It looks good, but the quality is horrible and the practicality is almost non existant. The panel gaps were very inconsistant. The hood, which opened clamshell style, was flimsy and had no reason not to open the conventional way. The seats weren't very good and they inherited the most hated aspect of VWs; the roatary **** for the seat recline, in an unobtainable position. Seriously, you can't recline the seat without opening the door. Speaking of doors, no matter how softly you close them, the inner door panels shake terribly.
The top is awkward to close. You first have to open the trunk (clamshell-style again) and then put the manual top back. There is no positive lock to know when it's down. It takes any guy several times to realize how hard you have to SLAM the trunk shut to get it to actually close. With the top down, you might be able to fit a 6 pack of beer if you take the bottles out of the case. I'm not kidding. Now, if you put the top UP, you get a bit more trunk space. However, it spreads in a U around the fuel tank, so you have to walk around to the other side of the car if something rolls over there, or something. Now, if you slam the trunk again, then you have the flying buttresses of the top to fit into the trunk lid. They automatically spring up, so you have to put everything into it to close them. Now EVERY time you open the trunk, those pieces of the top flip up, but then you have to clip it back down, and then go to the OTHER side of the car to put the other one down!
Why is GM putting all-season tires on this car?
The steering wheel is too big in diameter. The interior colors are questionable. The exterior paint was a different color on the metal and the plastic bumper that jointed to it.
One good point is the transmission (Aisin). Same maker of Miata, S2000, and RX-8 manual trannies. It's only a 5-speed, though.

Pontiac is going to sell these for the first couple years on it's show-car presence. IMO, though, it was too little too late. It needed to come out before the MX-5 Miata, but was delayed waaaay too much. It's been at the Detroit Auto show for the last 4 years! Anyway, after the first couple years, they'll have nothing to go on. They'll introduce a faster version and that'll sell a few, but in 3 years, tops, they won't be able to get rid of them, like everything else.

Japan8

Unless they get smart and clean up the bits that they can over the new 2-3 years...

Speaking of Toyota... JDM mag "Driver" was dissing the IS350. THey did a comparison with the Toyota Crown Athlete and GS350 because they all share the same engine. The Crown kicked ***. More space and luxury than the IS350 for a few thousand less. Just as luxurious as the GS350 and same with space, but more sporty, handles better (lighter) and costs lot less. In another article they were talking about the new Camry... it looks WORSE than the new Accord and Civic. Come on Toyota!

AbusiveWombat

RX8SpdDmn -

You've got to give GM some credit. They put together a car on the first try that competes very well with the Miata. Even with the weight disadvantage (400 lbs) the Solstice is able to put up equivalent stats. I agree that the trunk (if you can call it that) is a pretty **** poor design but I've heard rumors that the gas tank will be split to make more room in the future. As Japan8 said, give them another 2-3 years to clean up the problems and they will have a Miata beater in every way. And the hi-power version will likely compete very well with the S2000.

Speaking of Toyota...is Toyota ever going to step into the sporty car market again?

Japan8

Totally forgot something in my post on the Toyota cars... Toyota SHOULD be selling the Crown in the US... preferrably as a Lexus, but even Toyota will do. It's a nice car and the tests prove a good value too. Who was the idiot that set the Lexus stuff up to be overpriced and inferior to the competition???

spork

I think it looks ok. But I meant I would buy the Miata because it's more established... I'm hesitant to trust an American car manufacturer on their first foray into the Roadster. It's something I would consider if they keep it running for a few years and I hear good stuff about it year after year.

I don't like car reviews because it sounds like almost all new cars get glowing reviews in the beginning...

rx8wannahave

I'm still kicking myself for for not driving it (I ran out of time) but I saw a few at the Autoshow in motion and let me tell you it's looks and exterior quality were impressive. The interior is not bad but the Saturn will have a much better interior. To be honest, I'd rather have the Pontiac over the Mazda because it's bigger and has better looks. With that said, the MX5 has better interior quality and driving dynamics (so I hear) but I think GM is going to sell a bunch of them.

Good job GM!

TODreamer

I think the miata looks waaaaaaaaaaay better than the Solstice (which I think looks like *** especially from the front). Th emiata also has one over on it from a performance stand point as well....

the Miata is simply a better car hands down

ECHO1

many would say the same about the mx-5. everyone agrees that the miata outperforms the solstice (and probably the sky as well, when it hits the market), but the solstice has some nice views, especially the rear 3/4.

that said, my money would go to the mx-5 vs. gm's new offerings based on the total package that the miata brings to the table