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I find these threads so amusing. Narrow body owners defending what they have versus wide body owners thinking theirs are better,. Drive what you like and like what you drive.
While looking to purchase had tiered price target list including C6's, C7's, 911's, Caymans, and F-Type (w/ V8). Many factors were at play. When a perfect example base DSOM (love the color) inc z51 package, fully loaded, manual trans popped up for $20K w/ 36K miles (6 years ago) couldn't resist it... knowing the cost of ownership comparisons and with good idea of mods desired for such a car.
Still, frequently look at C6's side-by-side. Personal favorite is the Z06 for several reasons, GS would be 2nd, base last, but not much separating them. Do keep an eye out for properly modified C6 Z06's, which may someday pull the trigger on if the right one comes along.
Here's side-by-side rear pics of same color at local gathering as another comparison reference:
Prefer properly modified examples of either (recognizing that's subjective). A properly modified base can look / run great!
The Sky had so much potential, but Saturn/GM didn't make available even the simple little things. Everything with the car was done "cheap" to save a few dollars.
- NO passenger side vanity mirror (a serious complaint my wife had)
- NO glove box or floor lighting
- The designers of the IP should have been fired after their first presentation
- It came with a single note horn that sounded sick
- The design of the interior lacked so much "basic"
It kind-of resembled how Pontiac/GM handled the Fiero-GT, but worse-so.
The engine bay was designed to accommodate an LS engine as Mallet had marketed them with LS2s and LS3s.
The base 2007 Sky we owned, I performed a mild restoration on it which revealed how cheap the car really was in certain areas. The car started out so cheap that they initially lacked an inside lock/unlock button. The passenger could not get out of the car. It started out that bad. For its entire production run, the base model IP can't be seen in the daytime. The NTSB should have been all over that car.
Last edited by Ron Dittmer; 03-22-2024 at 11:30 AM.
Ill have to admit, Mallet did some cool **** with them, but beyond that theirs not much redeeming there lol. Just another example of out of touch mid 2000s GM trying to breath life into two dying brands. They should have kept the F-body going in 2002. I've drove a Solstice... it was pretty underwhelming which is a shame because they aren't terrible looking cars.
Depends on why you want the wide vs. narrow body. For performance (of a stock, unmodded car) wide body is an easy choice. Both the C6 Grand Sport and Z06 are still outrageous deals - the performance you get for the money is amazing. I got a GS manual for two reasons: 1) the Z06 scares me, that extra 86HP and lighter weight puts the car beyond my skillset and 2) the manual GS coupe came with almost all of the Z06 goodies, including dry sump, hand built engine, steamroller tires, and happy suspension bits. Oh and 3), JET STREAM BLUE, I had to have one in that color, and a GS was available only 300 miles from me. The widebody gives even more surface area to cover with GLORIOUS JSB.
I owned a 2005 c6 H/C/I car and have since gone to a 2010 supercharged grand sport.
Similar power levels for now, but the wide body and chassis upgrades you get upgrading from a base make it all worth it.
If its a drag car, buy the cheapest base model and build from there.
If you value looks and go to car events, the z06 or GS is definitely the way to go.
Ill have to admit, Mallet did some cool **** with them, but beyond that theirs not much redeeming there lol. Just another example of out of touch mid 2000s GM trying to breath life into two dying brands. They should have kept the F-body going in 2002. I've drove a Solstice... it was pretty underwhelming which is a shame because they aren't terrible looking cars.
You should have driven a GXP like what my wife had before she got her Miata. Turbocharged!
I know as I flipped 3 Solstice GXPs from 2016 to 2019 . Like the Sky Redline, they have some guts with the turbo.
Our base Sky had 120k when we bought it $4700 cheap, needing lots of superficial cosmetic TLC and system issues that came down to a bad BCM. Fortunately no actual body damage or paint work was required. The drivetrain was mechanically sound needing only plugs, belts, valve cover gasket, and fluid changing throughout. When I was finished with the car, I was upside-down in the investment at $11,000 total. I took a $2500 hit to make a sale happen in good time. My hundreds of man hours was not priced. I learned from our Sky to buy an extremely low mileage Corvette to avoid a similar experience.
For my wife and me, the Sky was more appealing than the Solstice, but not by that much. Here were the last pics taken of our Sky just before it was driven off by its new owner. It surely had nice lines, influenced by the humps behind the headrests. It was an engineering marvel in making the soft top with its unique winglets, to work with them. Note: The Sky has taller and more sharp humps than the Solstice.
Here is a better picture of the taller, more defined Sky humps.
Here is a pic of the interior. The Solstice has a driver-focussed interior. The Sky is passenger-welcoming, something my wife appreciated in the passenger seat.
Again, we learned from our Sky experience, not to buy a high mileage, low priced Corvette. Given the guy that I am, it was much smarter to spend the money and buy a super low mileage Corvette that is like new, needing nothing to avoid being upside-down and with high miles.
Last edited by Ron Dittmer; 03-23-2024 at 08:38 AM.
Buy the best car with the lowest miles that fits your budget, don't get too wrapped up in the options unless you have a specific must have list.
This is excellent advise.
Unfortunately, we had to rule out every 1LT, 2LT, and also 3LTs that lacked the dual-mode exhaust because a fully featured 3LT and NPP were must-haves for us which made for slim pickings.
Ill have to admit, Mallet did some cool **** with them, but beyond that theirs not much redeeming there lol. Just another example of out of touch mid 2000s GM trying to breath life into two dying brands. They should have kept the F-body going in 2002. I've drove a Solstice... it was pretty underwhelming which is a shame because they aren't terrible looking cars.
The sky and solstice were intended as Miata competition. They are want to be cheap, which they were. The sky was actual an opel, designed by them and rebadged as a Saturn.
03-22-2024, 09:57 AM
Tough to beat the looks of a C6 wide body 
