Different take on the C7
#21
I owned an 03 Audi TT convertible and loved it for what it was and then looked into a Solstice/Skye and was appalled at how bad that car was in almost every sense. Cheaply made, slow, crappy convertible top design, NO trunk space...just awful. Decent idea but horrible design and execution. I think there is a market for a smaller Corvette-branded and very well-built Miata beater, but it is very small. Talk about an amazing opportunity for a turbo V6 or small-block V8 track car! Maybe the new Cobra...oh wait, that was never really a production car...forget that.
#22
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They did. You misspelled Camaro.
And dealers always load up the hot new thing with as much profit as possible and put a ridiculous markup on it. That's just n00b bait. Or it's a way of getting as much promotional value as possible out of the one and only car they're going to get for a while (it stays on the floor so people come in to see it; maybe some nutter buys it, maybe some people order a car).
And dealers always load up the hot new thing with as much profit as possible and put a ridiculous markup on it. That's just n00b bait. Or it's a way of getting as much promotional value as possible out of the one and only car they're going to get for a while (it stays on the floor so people come in to see it; maybe some nutter buys it, maybe some people order a car).
I owned an 03 Audi TT convertible and loved it for what it was and then looked into a Solstice/Skye and was appalled at how bad that car was in almost every sense. Cheaply made, slow, crappy convertible top design, NO trunk space...just awful. Decent idea but horrible design and execution. I think there is a market for a smaller Corvette-branded and very well-built Miata beater, but it is very small. Talk about an amazing opportunity for a turbo V6 or small-block V8 track car! Maybe the new Cobra...oh wait, that was never really a production car...forget that.
Some of the plastic interior parts (like the center console area) had hard sharp plastic seams. The gauges were a complete cluster-f*** when the top was down, which would be nearly 100% of the time since it was a ROADSTER. When the top is down and the sun is beating from above, the gauges are completely blacked out. It's like GM didn't even test the car during the day... at all.
The sun visors were complete jokes. Plastic sun visors that if you pulled back on them to, you know, use them you could break them easily. They only moved 90*. So you couldn't use them to block the sun above the top of the windshield. You couldn't use them to block the sun going THROUGH the windshield, so you might as well just never ever touch them.
And I totally agree the top was simply awful.
All in all, that car wasn't worth the $25+K my dad spent on it, which is why he sold it 3 years later (after the warranty was up) and bought a Corvette. Sadly, the car had low miles. My dad only drove it a couple miles a day (to work and back) and it ALWAYS was in the shop. The car had to go in for warranty work every other month if not every month. It was really sad.
Back in 1967 when I owned an '05 Corvette vert, I test drove a new Sunbeam Tiger and was not impressed. Fast but not even close to being as good of an overall sports car as the Corvette.
Fast forward to 2008 when I stopped into a Saturn Dealer with my '05 C6 Coupe to test drive a Sky. It was déjà vu, all over again. The Sky XLP was a nice little ride but no where near as satisfying as my Corvette. Its build was good enough but offered less of a driving experience overall.
Bottom line, I would pick a Corvette, even a used one at the same price over any Solstice or Sky GM had offered. The Corvette is an awesome value for its size, stance and power against anything near its price range foreign or domestic.
Fiero, Solstice, Sky! Strike 1,2,3. GM will not soon go back to that well again.
P.S. I also looked at an '68? Toyota 2000GT about the same time that a Toyota Dealer wanted to sell to me, but the $6,500+ price was too much. I didn't drive it but it was good looking for its time. Only about 60 made it into the US. Today they can go for as much as $350,000!!!!!
Fast forward to 2008 when I stopped into a Saturn Dealer with my '05 C6 Coupe to test drive a Sky. It was déjà vu, all over again. The Sky XLP was a nice little ride but no where near as satisfying as my Corvette. Its build was good enough but offered less of a driving experience overall.
Bottom line, I would pick a Corvette, even a used one at the same price over any Solstice or Sky GM had offered. The Corvette is an awesome value for its size, stance and power against anything near its price range foreign or domestic.
Fiero, Solstice, Sky! Strike 1,2,3. GM will not soon go back to that well again.
P.S. I also looked at an '68? Toyota 2000GT about the same time that a Toyota Dealer wanted to sell to me, but the $6,500+ price was too much. I didn't drive it but it was good looking for its time. Only about 60 made it into the US. Today they can go for as much as $350,000!!!!!
#23
Le Mans Master
I owned an 03 Audi TT convertible and loved it for what it was and then looked into a Solstice/Skye and was appalled at how bad that car was in almost every sense. Cheaply made, slow, crappy convertible top design, NO trunk space...just awful. Decent idea but horrible design and execution.
Limiting the run on the Sky and Solstice was a stupid decision.
.Jinx
#24
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Did they really limit production? That is, have production capacity and have orders but refuse to build cars? This seems out of character for GM. I really don't see how they could have sold a two-seat inexpensive roadster in high volume. There are only so many auto enthusiasts and girls who want cute little convertibles that aren't Miatas.
.Jinx
.Jinx
By the way, there was a waiting list for the hard top Solstice. And with the hand full of cars that were actually delivered, the rest of the people on the list were SOL. Of course, that was when the Pontiac was taken off the market.
In the mean time, from 2006 to the end of Pontiac, they hardly made any Solstices and Skys in comparison to even Corvettes. They limited the Kappas so much that some dealers marked up the turbo models to Corvette priced territory. And that wasn't just the first year of the turbo models (2007).
#25
#26
Le Mans Master
Quite relevant. It's easy for a car to be well done when it costs more and sells for more. A lot more.
Why don't you just compare it to the Miata like everybody else did?
Why don't you just compare it to the Miata like everybody else did?
#27
Le Mans Master
As I recall they chose to start production sooner with simpler tooling and a lot more hand-welding.
By the way, there was a waiting list for the hard top Solstice. And with the hand full of cars that were actually delivered, the rest of the people on the list were SOL. Of course, that was when the Pontiac was taken off the market.
Extra ironic when you consider that the initial design brief that created the Solstice called for a coupe, not a convertible.
.Jinx
#28
I didn't compare it to the Miata because I've never had or really looked seriously at a Miata. From what exposure I've had to them (my sister owned one), they are much better cars than the Solstice ever was.
#29
Melting Slicks
No, because the design of the Solstice/Skye was the beginning of the end. They even had two separate models (vs the TT) with which to spread the design and development costs.
I didn't compare it to the Miata because I've never had or really looked seriously at a Miata. From what exposure I've had to them (my sister owned one), they are much better cars than the Solstice ever was.
I didn't compare it to the Miata because I've never had or really looked seriously at a Miata. From what exposure I've had to them (my sister owned one), they are much better cars than the Solstice ever was.
As do many, many others.
#30
Le Mans Master
Today's Miata is 1000 times better than the first gen Miatas. To be fair, you should drive an early Miata, then tell us how the first gen car compared to the Solstice.
#31
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Maybe they did this because the car wasn't actually profitable, but pricing it profitably would have made the program a PR disaster. After all, GM promised it would be $20,000. You know the press would have eviscerated GM if they didn't sell it for that.
As I recall they chose to start production sooner with simpler tooling and a lot more hand-welding.
That was when Pontiac was taken off the market.
Extra ironic when you consider that the initial design brief that created the Solstice called for a coupe, not a convertible.
.Jinx
As I recall they chose to start production sooner with simpler tooling and a lot more hand-welding.
That was when Pontiac was taken off the market.
Extra ironic when you consider that the initial design brief that created the Solstice called for a coupe, not a convertible.
.Jinx
#32
Le Mans Master
Read Bob Lutz' book and see how that affects your opinion of what they could have done. They built a car that was long on passion and affordable, but we kick them in the nuts because it wasn't great enough. It seems odd that we're complaining both that they didn't build more to satisfy demand and it wasn't very good...
.Jinx
.Jinx
#33
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I know it seems like a contradiction, but my original point I made was that if they built them in mass quantity, they could have sold them for the same price with better quality.
Honestly, if it wasn't for the quality of the Solstice, I wouldn't complain about it. But to me it seems that they cut so many corners on it that they hindered it.
I'm not reading Lutz's book. I was annoyed with him before, I don't want to be annoyed with him again.
Honestly, if it wasn't for the quality of the Solstice, I wouldn't complain about it. But to me it seems that they cut so many corners on it that they hindered it.
I'm not reading Lutz's book. I was annoyed with him before, I don't want to be annoyed with him again.
#34
Burning Brakes
All this talk about the Solstice got me interested in at least reading up on it a little.
It seems that it was actually a hit at first They only planned on selling 1000 cars the first year, and then ended up selling far more than that. They produced over 20K for the first model year.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2...ter-pt-cruiser
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Solstice
But the news article also mentions price gouging and GMs targets of selling 20K Pontiacs/year and 10K Saturns/year. It doesn't seem like they were limiting supply all that much, because by 2007 Pontiac was going to fall short of their 20K target for the 2008 MY.
http://www.leftlanenews.com/pontiac-...in-demand.html
After that we know the economy went south, GM bankrupt, and Pontiac and Saturn were finished.
Anyway I've never sat in or driven a Kappa so I can't comment on the quality. Just seems like it was a bigger hit than I originally thought after reading some of the comments here.
It seems that it was actually a hit at first They only planned on selling 1000 cars the first year, and then ended up selling far more than that. They produced over 20K for the first model year.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2...ter-pt-cruiser
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Solstice
But the news article also mentions price gouging and GMs targets of selling 20K Pontiacs/year and 10K Saturns/year. It doesn't seem like they were limiting supply all that much, because by 2007 Pontiac was going to fall short of their 20K target for the 2008 MY.
http://www.leftlanenews.com/pontiac-...in-demand.html
After that we know the economy went south, GM bankrupt, and Pontiac and Saturn were finished.
Anyway I've never sat in or driven a Kappa so I can't comment on the quality. Just seems like it was a bigger hit than I originally thought after reading some of the comments here.
Last edited by Rock36; 06-24-2012 at 11:06 AM.
#35
Team Owner
I've spent plenty of time in both as well, I don't find the Solstice (Sky) to be all that bad at all, quite a solid and tight handling little car actually...as is the Miata.
#36
Melting Slicks
Did the Miata have a gas tank taking up 95% of the trunk space as did the Kappas? What a joke. You could take a passenger or a picnic basket, but NOT BOTH!
#37
Le Mans Master
The first gen Miata had 3.6 cu. ft. of cargo space.
The first gen Solstice had 5.4 cu. ft. of cargo space.
#39
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Back in 1967 when I owned an '05 Corvette vert, I test drove a new Sunbeam Tiger and was not impressed. Fast but not even close to being as good of an overall sports car as the Corvette.
Fast forward to 2008 when I stopped into a Saturn Dealer with my '05 C6 Coupe to test drive a Sky. It was déjà vu, all over again. The Sky XLP was a nice little ride but no where near as satisfying as my Corvette. Its build was good enough but offered less of a driving experience overall.
Bottom line, I would pick a Corvette, even a used one at the same price over any Solstice or Sky GM had offered. The Corvette is an awesome value for its size, stance and power against anything near its price range foreign or domestic.
Fiero, Solstice, Sky! Strike 1,2,3. GM will not soon go back to that well again.
P.S. I also looked at an '68? Toyota 2000GT about the same time that a Toyota Dealer wanted to sell to me, but the $6,500+ price was too much. I didn't drive it but it was good looking for its time. Only about 60 made it into the US. Today they can go for as much as $350,000!!!!!
Fast forward to 2008 when I stopped into a Saturn Dealer with my '05 C6 Coupe to test drive a Sky. It was déjà vu, all over again. The Sky XLP was a nice little ride but no where near as satisfying as my Corvette. Its build was good enough but offered less of a driving experience overall.
Bottom line, I would pick a Corvette, even a used one at the same price over any Solstice or Sky GM had offered. The Corvette is an awesome value for its size, stance and power against anything near its price range foreign or domestic.
Fiero, Solstice, Sky! Strike 1,2,3. GM will not soon go back to that well again.
P.S. I also looked at an '68? Toyota 2000GT about the same time that a Toyota Dealer wanted to sell to me, but the $6,500+ price was too much. I didn't drive it but it was good looking for its time. Only about 60 made it into the US. Today they can go for as much as $350,000!!!!!
But you can't have an 05 Corvette in 1967 and I don't know what a Sky XLP is but I figure you mean Sky Redline.
I have no idea what you mean by Feiro, Sky, Solstice to be struck. GM will likely come out with another little sports car at some point. They're always looking for that small limited niche car they can sell to get people interested in GM cars. (like they did with all 3 of those cars)
Maybe it was late at night or something, but I just couldn't make sense of your post.
#40
Le Mans Master
Back in 1967 when I owned an '65 Corvette vert, I test drove a new Sunbeam Tiger and was not impressed. Fast but not even close to being as good of an overall sports car as the Corvette.
Fast forward to 2008 when I stopped into a Saturn Dealer with my '05 C6 Coupe to test drive a Sky. It was déjà vu, all over again. The Sky XLP was a nice little ride but no where near as satisfying as my Corvette. Its build was good enough but offered less of a driving experience overall. .... Fiero, Solstice, Sky! Strike 1,2,3. GM will not soon go back to that well again.
... I also looked at an '68? Toyota 2000GT about the same time ....
Fast forward to 2008 when I stopped into a Saturn Dealer with my '05 C6 Coupe to test drive a Sky. It was déjà vu, all over again. The Sky XLP was a nice little ride but no where near as satisfying as my Corvette. Its build was good enough but offered less of a driving experience overall. .... Fiero, Solstice, Sky! Strike 1,2,3. GM will not soon go back to that well again.
... I also looked at an '68? Toyota 2000GT about the same time ....
Mentioning the present value of any car today to original price is just an interesting tidbit of data. Had any of us known!
The Fiero, especially by the time in evolved into the '87 and '88 Formula, was an awesome little sports car.
Some bash the Solstice/Sky but as you and others have stated (and I agree with you), that platform was a whale of a start to a good line of entry level sports cars.
I still think the Fiero and Solstice would be fantastic cars to develop to bring younger buyers into the GM family of sports cars. It won't happen, but .....