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Posted June, 2006

Road Test: 2006 Pontiac Solstice

Dumb Blonde Redux

By Thomas E. Bonsall

When the late, lamented Fiero was discontinued at the end of the 1988 model run, enthusiasts thought they would never see another Pontiac two-seater. Guess again. Enter the Solstice. Given that we had earned notoriety in some circles by dubbing the original Fiero the "dumb blonde of sports cars," we were quite curious to drive its spiritual successor.

The Solstice was first shown as a concept vehicle at the 2002 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. A groundswell of support both within General Motors and from among admiring enthusiasts without helped give the project a green light for production in 2004. Less than two years later, the production model hit the street — a remarkable achievement given the fact that the vehicle's architecture was created from scratch.

On April 15, 2005 , customers were invited to submit orders for the first thousand production vehicles in an event tied to the car's appearance on an episode of NBC's The Apprentice. It took only 41 minutes to pre-sell the exclusive run, which featured sequential VIN numbering, special badging and a certificate of authenticity.

The Solstice is well-equipped with the type of comfort and convenience items appreciated by sports car drivers. The interior is surprisingly roomy, allowing for a comfortable driving position for tall drivers — a quality this driver appreciated. Standard equipment includes:

• Racing-inspired sport bucket seats with convenient seat cushion and seatback storage

• Leather-wrapped manual shift knob

• AM/FM and CD stereo with six speakers

• Rear window defogger

• Rake-adjustable steering wheel

• Three cupholders

• Easy-to-operate cloth convertible top with glass backlight

• Dual frontal air bags

In addition, several option packages are available:

The Power Package: includes power locks, mirrors and windows, along with remote keyless entry

The Convenience Package: includes cruise control, driver information center and fog lamps

The Premium Package: includes leather seating surfaces (Ebony or Steel/Sand two-tone), leather-wrapped steering wheel and steering wheel radio controls

Other available equipment includes air conditioning, carpeted floor mats, MP3-capable CD player radio, MP3-capable radio with six-disc in-dash CD player, Monsoon Premium seven-speaker system, OnStar and XM Satellite Radio.

OnStar-equipped Solstice models feature OnStar dual-mode (analog-digital) equipment. OnStar's digital equipment comprises enhanced hands-free voice recognition capabilities including more intuitive continuous digit dialing and improved voice recognition accuracy. Using the GPS satellite network and wireless technology, OnStar features core safety services and OnStar Hands-Free Calling that allows drivers to make and receive voice-activated phone calls using an externally mounted antenna for greater reception.

In keeping with its sports car spirit, the Solstice is built on GM's new rear-wheel drive Kappa platform, which uses independent short/long arm-type suspensions in the front and rear to give the Solstice a responsive, road-gripping driving feel. Other driver-focused features include:

• Bilstein coil-over monotube shocks at all corners

• Rack-and-pinion steering (power assisted)

• Eighteen-inch aluminum alloy wheels

• P245/45R18 all-season tires

• Large, four-wheel disc brakes, with 11.7-inch (297 mm) front rotors and 10.9-inch (277 mm) rear rotors

• Available limited-slip rear differential

• Cockpit-style instrument panel with motorcycle-inspired gauges

• Short-throw shifter

Hydroformed frame rails, which run the full length of the vehicle, are the basis of the chassis, while additional stampings form a rigid structure onto which the bodywork is attached. The hydroforming process uses pressurized fluid to form each frame rail from a single piece of steel, rather than several pieces of steel welded together. This creates a stronger frame rail and requires less time to form it. Additional components and stampings are added to the frame rail during vehicle assembly.

A tunnel at the center of the chassis, which houses the transmission and driveshaft, is internally reinforced and enclosed at the bottom to enhance stiffness. This built-in strength reduces chassis flex and cowl shake in a vehicle designed from the outset as a convertible. The Kappa architecture's rigid structure also permits more precision when it comes to tuning the suspension. The short-long arm suspension design features forged aluminum upper and lower control arms that are strong and low in mass. The rear suspension also features a toe control link and the rear differential housing has an optimized three-point mounting design.

The Solstice is powered by a 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine that produces 177 horsepower at 6600 rpm and 166 lb.-ft. of torque at 4800 rpm. With a curb weight of just 2,860 pounds, the Ecotec engine helps give the Solstice a more than adequate horsepower-to-weight ratio 1.

Matching the Ecotec's power is a standard close-ratio Aisin five-speed manual transmission. The Hydra-Matic 5L40-E five-speed automatic transmission is also offered as an option.

A 3.91:1 axle ratio is standard with the five-speed manual powertrain. The gears are housed in a rear axle derived from the Cadillac CTS, which was chosen for its excellent performance characteristics and high torque capability. A limited-slip rear differential is available.

GM designers reached deep into the existing parts bin for the Solstice's bits and pieces. For example, the back-up lamps are from the GMC Envoy, while door handles, fog lamps, seats, engine and transmission are shared with other GM vehicles.

However, some parts are pure Solstice. The taillamps, for instance, were designed with special reflectors to eliminate the need for a separate side marker light.

So what's the verdict. Is the Solstice the Dumb Blonde Redux? We liked the looks of the Solstice inside and out, yet it is a car equally free of annoyances and virtues. There was nothing about it that we earnestly disliked and nothing we raved about, either. It's competent and that's about it. It has been several months since we drove the Solstice and, frankly, I remember almost nothing about it. If it weren't for the notes we made at the time of the test, I don't know how we would have written this review.

The base sticker price is $19,915. Of course, a typically-equipped example will go for several thousand more, but will still be well within the range of the Solstice's prime competition: the Chrysler PT Cruiser convertible, the Mini Cooper convertible, theMX-5 Miata and the Volkswagen New Beetle convertible. As it so often the case, you pays your money and you takes your choice. R&D