I was just calling some Pontiac dealerships today to find out when this car will physically be available to look at/test drive on the lot. They tried to make it sound like it won't be. Every dealership I called told me their first xx shipments are already sold till at least November. Last I heard they were supposed to be out by this month And there's a waiting list as well at every dealership down here.

All I want to do is look at the damn thing and see what the big deal is. I'm not interested in buying one but have a relative who is looking for a new car. Only one salesman I spoke to stated that several of them should be on their lot sometime during the next 4 weeks for "at least an hour" before they call the customers to pick them up, and "if I'm lucky" I might be able to catch a peak. The suspense is killing me.

Another moron told me to "Get down here right now" because his dealership just got the brochures for the Solstice today, to which I replied, "What the hell am I going to do with a brochure? I want to feel the car myself." "Well if you come down here and get on the waiting list I can call you when they arrive but they're already sold."

All of this crap over some Pontiac.

 

I actually like the look of the Saturn Sky more than the Solstice though.

 

Just wait a couple of months after it comes out. The dealers will be trying to give them away. Pontiacs suck.

 

If you lived here you'd be able to see many.....actually there's a guy in the next subdivision that has a grey one. I've seen no fewer than 6 over the past 3-4 weeks around here - about 25 miles north of Detroit.

ps - I do not like the front...but the rest of the car looks ok. I'd still rather have an mx-5 or better yet, my 8!

 

I wouldn’t say that Pontiacs suck. MY 1967 GTO with 62k original miles (6.5 liter V8, 4 barrel, with posi). Has more HP, more Tq, more room, and doesn’t need a reflash every two months. And I'm pretty sure the resale would beat yours too. :p
On the flip side I do miss my 85 RX7 (12A, 5sp).

 

I Thought they had pushed it back again....i guess not.

I dont know how so many could be spoken for already the car hasnt come out and people are already buying it. Just on looks. I am willing to bet pontiac/saturn got it wrong and there will be a lot of unhappy customers.

They cant even get a simple convertable hardtop right on the G6....it keeps failing and they have to keep pushing the car back.

 

Well. We are mostly import guys on here, and still a minority when it comes to the RX8, and a very tiny fraction of all car enthusiasts in general. We have a lot of american car lovers, and this is an affordable hot new roadster that will sell fast and well initially, just like the Saturn. The Miata has grown old, and the S2000 novelty has worn off, and people just want the next new thing, so the demand is gonna well exceed the supply initially. Like all cars though, the novelty will wear off, there will be plenty available, and if you avoid the mad demand you can get one for at or below invoice in another year or so. Just sit it out and let the BS hype end. It's gonna turn out to be a flawed, yet respectable roadster when the dust settles, and people wake up to reality.

 

LOL. That is some funny stuff right there.:D

 

Im still laughing at that. I can just imagine that conversation going on.


Still chuckling.

 

At the dealership i work for we have 6 sol's coming in and 2 of them are the first 1000 made, all are pre-sold and everyone has a backup customer waiting for it if a customer backs out..

Anyone who is intrested i went on the pontiac ride and drive and test drove one of this machines and let me tell you they are awesome, not my style but they definately are a step in the right direction for GM and especially Pontiac, this car should definately give Pontiac the brand recognition theyve been waiting for.

 

same 'crap' hapened over some mazda afew years ago.

 

...and like some Mazda, it's gonna wear off very fast, and they'll have overstock with super deals, and somewhere on a forum people will be kicking themselves over paying full msrp, when others are getting them for well below invoice. OK maybe not as bad, it is after all convertible roadster.

 

*kicking myself in oregon





not really i got the car i wanted when i wanted it i knew what iwas getting into

 

I think a lot of "import guys" would like to see the car fail, and therefore argue that it will fail, without having even seen the thing. I prefer a wait and see attitude myself. I seem to remember alot of people scoffing at the itty-bitty Mazda "sports car" when the Miata debuted.

 

Never buy a 1st run model with GM , bought a 1st run Buick the worst car that GM ever built

 

That may be true of an older Pontiac, but show me a newer model pontaic that has retained it's value and that hasnt started to fall apart either visually or mechanically. I greew up cruising around in a couple of friends 60's trans ams and firebirds. IMO those were the only decent Pontiacs. The new ones have too much body cladding and cheap plastic interiors. If pontiacs don't suck why is everything you hear about them saying they are coming out with new cars to revitalize thier sales and save pontiac? If your product is good you dont need saving.

 

Since when do Mazdas have good resale value?

 

When you look at it, the solstice isnt as good of a value as you think. The new miata starts somewhere around 24 i think, while the solstice starts at 20.

With the base solstice you dont get anything! no AC, basic radio, no power windows, no power locks, cloth, ect ,ect ,ect.....its a classic striped out car to get a really low price and sell a but load of them.

When you load up the soltice to have the same features as the miata, the are within like 1500 of each other.....plus the miata has somethings that you cant even get on the solstice, like side airbags.

They are VERY close in price when equaly equipt. I can tell you without a doubt that the miata will outlast the soltice in terms of reliablity. I think the miata will also show with the new model that it continues hold its value quite well over the years.

Some people will buy the soltice just cause its the new thing....but people who want a good roadster they can rely on for years of service will spend the small ammount of extra cash and get the miata.

It also doesnt help soltice that the new miata is out now, just in time for the end of summer. By the time the soltice is on the lot (not ones that are already spoken for) and ready to be sold, there will practicly be snow on the ground up north. Convertable/Sports car prices always take a dive when the season turns to winter.

I think its stupid both on mazdas part and pontiacs to release these cars so late in the season. These should have been spring debutes...whatever.

Also I think the soltice is 5speed/4speed auto. While the miata is 6speed/5speed/6speed auto........am I right on this?

 

Well--the Miata base is still around $20K -- nicely equipped is $24K. I think the Solstice might get a 5speed auto though.

 

i think the lowest you can go (club sport) on the miata is 23k, the normal miata starts at 24 and can be loaded up to 28 I think

 

Is that why Mazda is lagging in JD Power's 2005 Vehicle Dependability Study and GM is not? The many, many NA and NB Miatas I have owned didn't seem to hold their resale values any better than a GM.

I still think a Miata is more attuned to my tastes but I'm gonna wait until next year and drive them both before I buy another roadster. As of today I would probably choose a cherry NA Miata.

 

You may want to check out this forum...

http://www.solsticeforum.com/

They even have people tracking their VIN numbers for the preorders. Looks like the first several thousand of these cars are spoken for. They look slick but still I love my RX-8.

 

Is that a Miata specific study, or just a study of all the cars they sell durring XXXX model year? Im asking cause im not sure. Also how does JD Power get the numbers for their studys? do they look at hard data as far as warrenty work, or things like that...or just surveys of users....? Im not sure how they do it.

As far as resale, I commonly see 1st gen miatas in stock running condition sell for 3-4k dollars. I would say thats pretty good for a 16 year old car with 150k miles on it... IMO.

I bought my 99 in 2002 for 12,500, it had 32k miles on it and had a 1 year/15k mile extended warrenty on it cause it was a certifed used car. I drove it for 3 years and when I got rid of it for the RX8 I got 9,000 for it, it was modified and had 85k miles on it. It still ran great, in the time I owned it, it never broke down once or missed a beat...it was perfect. Granted I only had it 3 years. I talked to a lot of miata owners who have had their car for 10 years and in that time (stock cars mind you) they have spent maby 2,000 on repairs that were not normal service items (tune ups, tires, brakes, ect).

My miata cost me 3500 bucks to drive for 3 years, thats about 100 bucks a month that I lost....far less than a car payment! even when you add in all the other stuff, oil changes, tires, brakes, tune ups...the timing belt change I did, ect....it was about 5k TOTAL invest ment for the car over 3 years. Id say thats damn good.

I have had friends buy 2+ year old used cars, thinking they were out of the major depretiation zone....only to find that after a few years of driving, the car was less than half what they paid for it a few years ago.

 

JD Power does studies on each model and brand. They only release data on the top three models in each category. The Miata placed first in its category with a Chevy coming in second and the MR2 in third. The study is based on very detailed surveys. You would know what I mean by detailed if you ever participated in one. JD Power even calls many of the survey participants to clear up any confusion. The data has a large sample and is as scientific as any that can be found.

Despite the Miata doing well Mazda has not done as well. I can't say why. Don't forget the Miata has been around with little change since 1989. That is plenty of time to iron out the bugs. I do know that the new NC Miata has nothing carried over from the previous generation so its reliabilty will likely drop to somewhere closer to Mazda as a whole.

 

Don't hate, people....gosh...

I hope the best for them and I too like the Saturn version better.