When the Pontiac Solstice first appeared at the 2002 North American International Auto Show we knew we had to include this gutsy little roadster in our long-term fleet. It was named our Most Significant Car of 2006 even though it lost after going mano a mano with the current champ in this class, the Mazda MX-5 Miata.
What is it about the Solstice that so quickens the pulse? Driving dynamics? Fuel economy? Practicality? A resounding "No" to all those questions. What seems to drive Solstice fever is summed up in this quote by one Edmunds.com executive who took the little ragtop for a weekend: "If I had an extra $20 grand lying around and I wanted a little roadster to run around town in, I'd probably buy one of these just for fun." In short, the Solstice will rarely be your only car. It will occupy the extra space in your three-car garage and, like a sundial, will only record the sunny hours.
The pint-size convertible seems to offer a sort of frivolous appeal with an equally small price tag (once the current feeding frenzy of over-sticker prices dies down). For around $20,000, the Solstice features a four-wheel independent suspension, standard 18-inch wheels and a 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine mated to a five-speed manual transmission. But if you want power windows, cruise control, or even air conditioning, you'll have to pay extra.
Our search to be the "first on our block" to own a Solstice lead to Desert Buick, GMC, Pontiac, in Las Vegas, Nevada. There, Lou Gordon, put our name on a deep-blue Solstice moving down the line in GM's assembly plant in Wilmington, Delaware. Since time was of the essence we were not in a strong negotiating position and agreed to pay $24,425, $2,000 over MSRP. However, reports of $8,000 over were circulating so we swallowed our pride and paid the markup.
Gordon patiently fielded our weekly check-in calls and one day we heard the words we were waiting for: "It's here." We drove up to Las Vegas from our Santa Monica, California, offices in the pouring rain. With Gordon's help we were in and out of the dealership in record time.
Senior Consumer Advice Editor Philip Reed was the first one behind the wheel and reported that he felt a bit vulnerable driving the little car in the rain. "I was envisioning a top-down, wind-in-my-hair drive through the desert," he wrote in the logbook. "Instead, I was hemmed in by 18-wheelers and SUVs. Obviously, I can't fault the Solstice for my reaction, but I was reminded that practicality is not part of the Solstice equation."
Mike Hudson, consumer advice editor, was more partial to the convertible. He reported, "You can't really enjoy this car until the top is down. Then it makes sense. Everything is better — even the engine sounds better. I like it." With this in mind, Phil drove it, top down, and found that Mike was right. The exhaust sounds throatier and the convertible experience — wind and flickering sunlight — overloads the senses and makes up for any other deficiencies.
Later, Phil got a chance to put the top down and pick up his son at school. Unfortunately, there was precious little room to fit his son's backpack anywhere in the trunk and there is no room anywhere else to stash it. Further, Phil reports that Pontiac designers were disappointingly unimaginative when creating the environment inside the car. Even the window buttons are hard to reach with your left hand. "Instead," he wrote, "you need to perfect a crossover maneuver with your right hand to reach the switch."
Inside Line Road Test Editor John DiPietro had a number of criticisms of the Solstice. "The engine makes good power, but suffers from what feels like a heavy flywheel. It revs up and down too slowly. It doesn't feel sporty." About the interior, John wrote: "The fuel gauge is ultrarecessed and hard to read in the daylight. There is no storage at all except the hard-to-access compartment between the seatbacks. There is no inside unlock button; you have to use the key fob or pull up on the knobs."
On the other hand, John loved the Solstice's athletic handling and the large, easy-to-use climate control knobs. About the exterior design he wrote that "the styling and proportions are perfect — not a wrong line here."
A check of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) Web site found four Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs).
So, with only 3,200 miles on the Solstice, we took it in to the dealer to look at the TSBs and the powertrain clunk. We went to Boulevard Buick Pontiac GMC in Signal Hill, California. The service advisor said he only showed one open TSB for our car based on its vehicle identification number (VIN). This involved torqueing down the engine harmonic balancer (which was not properly seated at the factory). We described a low-speed clunk we had heard in the drivetrain, and he agreed to check it out.
The advisor also recommended an oil change but we declined since, according to our information, only the severe maintenance schedule calls for an oil change at that mileage. Two hours later the service advisor told us the TSB was addressed and a safety check performed.
"The technician heard the clunk but he said he thought the noise was normal," our service advisor told us. We didn't feel completely confident with this assessment but we did accept it for the time being. The engine felt a little smoother to us with the engine harmonic balancer securely seated. So we agreed to keep our ear tuned to the transmission to see if the clunk got any worse.
Meanwhile, we continue to get envious looks from other motorists and people on the street who respond to just the same thing that hooked us in the first place: a great-looking little car. With the top down it has that catlike "coiled and ready to spring" look. Despite its shortcomings in other ways, that stylish design keeps our interest revving at an enthusiastic level.
Current Odometer: 3,281
Best Fuel Economy: 19.2 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 14.6 mpg
Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle): 16.5 mpg
Body Repair Costs: None
Maintenance Costs: None
Problems: Clunking in the drivetrain at low speeds.
What is it about the Solstice that so quickens the pulse? Driving dynamics? Fuel economy? Practicality? A resounding "No" to all those questions. What seems to drive Solstice fever is summed up in this quote by one Edmunds.com executive who took the little ragtop for a weekend: "If I had an extra $20 grand lying around and I wanted a little roadster to run around town in, I'd probably buy one of these just for fun." In short, the Solstice will rarely be your only car. It will occupy the extra space in your three-car garage and, like a sundial, will only record the sunny hours.
The pint-size convertible seems to offer a sort of frivolous appeal with an equally small price tag (once the current feeding frenzy of over-sticker prices dies down). For around $20,000, the Solstice features a four-wheel independent suspension, standard 18-inch wheels and a 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine mated to a five-speed manual transmission. But if you want power windows, cruise control, or even air conditioning, you'll have to pay extra.
Our search to be the "first on our block" to own a Solstice lead to Desert Buick, GMC, Pontiac, in Las Vegas, Nevada. There, Lou Gordon, put our name on a deep-blue Solstice moving down the line in GM's assembly plant in Wilmington, Delaware. Since time was of the essence we were not in a strong negotiating position and agreed to pay $24,425, $2,000 over MSRP. However, reports of $8,000 over were circulating so we swallowed our pride and paid the markup.
Gordon patiently fielded our weekly check-in calls and one day we heard the words we were waiting for: "It's here." We drove up to Las Vegas from our Santa Monica, California, offices in the pouring rain. With Gordon's help we were in and out of the dealership in record time.
Senior Consumer Advice Editor Philip Reed was the first one behind the wheel and reported that he felt a bit vulnerable driving the little car in the rain. "I was envisioning a top-down, wind-in-my-hair drive through the desert," he wrote in the logbook. "Instead, I was hemmed in by 18-wheelers and SUVs. Obviously, I can't fault the Solstice for my reaction, but I was reminded that practicality is not part of the Solstice equation."
Mike Hudson, consumer advice editor, was more partial to the convertible. He reported, "You can't really enjoy this car until the top is down. Then it makes sense. Everything is better — even the engine sounds better. I like it." With this in mind, Phil drove it, top down, and found that Mike was right. The exhaust sounds throatier and the convertible experience — wind and flickering sunlight — overloads the senses and makes up for any other deficiencies.
Later, Phil got a chance to put the top down and pick up his son at school. Unfortunately, there was precious little room to fit his son's backpack anywhere in the trunk and there is no room anywhere else to stash it. Further, Phil reports that Pontiac designers were disappointingly unimaginative when creating the environment inside the car. Even the window buttons are hard to reach with your left hand. "Instead," he wrote, "you need to perfect a crossover maneuver with your right hand to reach the switch."
Inside Line Road Test Editor John DiPietro had a number of criticisms of the Solstice. "The engine makes good power, but suffers from what feels like a heavy flywheel. It revs up and down too slowly. It doesn't feel sporty." About the interior, John wrote: "The fuel gauge is ultrarecessed and hard to read in the daylight. There is no storage at all except the hard-to-access compartment between the seatbacks. There is no inside unlock button; you have to use the key fob or pull up on the knobs."
On the other hand, John loved the Solstice's athletic handling and the large, easy-to-use climate control knobs. About the exterior design he wrote that "the styling and proportions are perfect — not a wrong line here."
A check of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) Web site found four Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs).
So, with only 3,200 miles on the Solstice, we took it in to the dealer to look at the TSBs and the powertrain clunk. We went to Boulevard Buick Pontiac GMC in Signal Hill, California. The service advisor said he only showed one open TSB for our car based on its vehicle identification number (VIN). This involved torqueing down the engine harmonic balancer (which was not properly seated at the factory). We described a low-speed clunk we had heard in the drivetrain, and he agreed to check it out.
The advisor also recommended an oil change but we declined since, according to our information, only the severe maintenance schedule calls for an oil change at that mileage. Two hours later the service advisor told us the TSB was addressed and a safety check performed.
"The technician heard the clunk but he said he thought the noise was normal," our service advisor told us. We didn't feel completely confident with this assessment but we did accept it for the time being. The engine felt a little smoother to us with the engine harmonic balancer securely seated. So we agreed to keep our ear tuned to the transmission to see if the clunk got any worse.
Meanwhile, we continue to get envious looks from other motorists and people on the street who respond to just the same thing that hooked us in the first place: a great-looking little car. With the top down it has that catlike "coiled and ready to spring" look. Despite its shortcomings in other ways, that stylish design keeps our interest revving at an enthusiastic level.
Current Odometer: 3,281
Best Fuel Economy: 19.2 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 14.6 mpg
Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle): 16.5 mpg
Body Repair Costs: None
Maintenance Costs: None
Problems: Clunking in the drivetrain at low speeds.
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