$20k Pontiac Solstice

[Joel Rainville]

I am far from a car guy. I drive a 1986 Mazda 323 nicknamed Beigemobile.

But two cheap cars recently caught my attention. The Mustang 2005, and now this :

**broken link removed**

http://www.gmcanada.com/english/showroom/pont_sols.html

**broken link removed**

**broken link removed**

I now have 2 used cars to buy when I get rich. A 2005 Mustang and a 2006 Solstice

 

[Optikon]

I am far from a car guy. I drive a 1986 Mazda 323 nicknamed Beigemobile.

But two cheap cars recently caught my attention. The Mustang 2005, and now this :

**broken link removed**

http://www.gmcanada.com/english/showroom/pont_sols.html

**broken link removed**

**broken link removed**

I now have 2 used cars to buy when I get rich. A 2005 Mustang and a 2006 Solstice

That solstice is NICE!!

looking that is... it's performance leaves alot to be desired.
at 20 kbucks, you get stock 177HP @6600! and 166 ft-lb torque.

in other words, acceleration will really stink.. but maybe you don't care..

My wife recently purchased a Dodge SRT-4 with the competition group package (1 of 70 in US) and we're "tricking" it out.. we recently added the stage 1 turbo upgrade kit and a cold air intake.

So far our cost has been 18k for the car, and about 1k performance upgrades into it and we're sitting at 260 HP and 275 ft-lb torque at 3400 RPM. Can do 0-60 in 4.9s and the 1/4 mile in 11.5s

I would love to upgrade that solstice to see how far it can be pushed performance wise..

 

[Joel Rainville]

That solstice is NICE!!

looking that is... it's performance leaves alot to be desired.
at 20 kbucks, you get stock 177HP @6600! and 166 ft-lb torque.

in other words, acceleration will really stink.. but maybe you don't care..

My wife recently purchased a Dodge SRT-4 with the competition group package (1 of 70 in US) and we're "tricking" it out.. we recently added the stage 1 turbo upgrade kit and a cold air intake.

So far our cost has been 18k for the car, and about 1k performance upgrades into it and we're sitting at 260 HP and 275 ft-lb torque at 3400 RPM. Can do 0-60 in 4.9s and the 1/4 mile in 11.5s

Like you guessed, I don't care about the time it takes to get me a 1/4 mile ahead. My trips downtown are usually longer than that As long as it goes forward and has 4 wheels, that's a car to me.

But I'm pretty sure that 170 HP in such a small car will allow me to smoke a lot of $20k cars from a red light to the next I'll just watch out for tuned Neons :lol:

 

[audioguru]

My wife recently purchased a Dodge SRT-4 with the competition group package (1 of 70 in US) and we're "tricking" it out.. we recently added the stage 1 turbo upgrade kit and a cold air intake.
..... 260 HP and 275 ft-lb torque at 3400 RPM. Can do 0-60 in 4.9s and the 1/4 mile in 11.5s

It won't last long. Many parts are strained. Some cars won't even last for the whole 4.9s before their engine or drive-train blows-up!
From a FWD? It won't have any traction when all its weight shifts to the rear at launch, and its front drive-tires are melted. :cry:

That much power burns money today instead of gasoline.

My wife and I, and our son had turbo cars. They were lots of fun during their short lives. :lol:


Hey Joel,
Nice looking car.
Isn't the Pontiac Solstice RWD?
What does a lightweight RWD car do in the snow and ice in Quebec? Nada. :cry:

 

[Joel Rainville]

What does a lightweight RWD car do in the snow and ice in Quebec? Nada. :cry:

What does a roofless car do in winter? It stays in the garage

The hardtop is only due in 2007, but it might not hit the showroom at all if the 2006 sales skyrocket.

And to answer your question : probably random figureskating :lol:

 

[audioguru]

.... probably random figureskating :lol:

I did that in my '81 Chevy Malibu company car in Ontario in the winter after winter after... :lol:

I've never had a rag-top. I sunburn easily.

Now I have an '05 Chevy Cobalt that I've had for about a month. It has the smaller 2.2l Ecotec engine without VVT, but its 145 horses and 155 lb/ft of torque make it pretty quick. It goes forever on a tank of gas.
My wifey and I love its electric power steering and its 10" powerful sub-woofer. :lol:

 

[Optikon]

It won't last long. Many parts are strained. Some cars won't even last for the whole 4.9s before their engine or drive-train blows-up!
From a FWD? It won't have any traction when all its weight shifts to the rear at launch, and its front drive-tires are melted. :cry:

Baahhhh! no problems there.. was designed for it by the ACR team at dodge. Our concerns have mostly been voiding the warranty! We'll keep upgrading until it threatens the warranty.. we're still covered if the drive train goes.. Once the warranty runs out then we're really going to start modifying.

 

[Optikon]

.... probably random figureskating :lol:

I did that in my '81 Chevy Malibu company car in Ontario in the winter after winter after... :lol:

I've never had a rag-top. I sunburn easily.

Now I have an '05 Chevy Cobalt that I've had for about a month. It has the smaller 2.2l Ecotec engine without VVT, but its 145 horses and 155 lb/ft of torque make it pretty quick. It goes forever on a tank of gas.
My wifey and I love its electric power steering and its 10" powerful sub-woofer. :lol:

We looked at the Cobalt. Any complaints with it so far?

 

[audioguru]

Your hopped-up Neon doesn't have a warranty. Any problem you have will be greeted with, "it's abuse, not covered".

 

[audioguru]

We looked at the Cobalt. Any complaints with it so far?

The rear of the coupe is kinda high to see out but is fine with the seat cranked up. It is a great car at a good (employees) price. They were crazy to try selling them at the high MSRP price before the new deep discount.
I got it near the end of a month when salespeople are hungry for sales to meet quota. I was the very 1st sale of a new salesman and he was starving for a sale. I was joking with a really low price as my offer, and was shocked when the manager agreed. Maybe I should have offered less.

 

[Optikon]

Your hopped-up Neon doesn't have a warranty. Any problem you have will be greeted with, "it's abuse, not covered".

No no.. we have it in writing.. it was part of the terms of the sale. It was checked out with Dodge prior. We've actually let dodge do some of the mods for us. This car was designed for 3 stages of turbo upgrades and if you use MOpar/Dodge upgrades (you have to anyways for the computer changes) its covered! We wouldnt have done anything if the warranty went byebye

 

[Joel Rainville]

Your hopped-up Neon doesn't have a warranty. Any problem you have will be greeted with, "it's abuse, not covered".

No no.. we have it in writing...

I think what audioguru meant is that your dealer is waiting for you to claim warranty repairs to tell you that you probably abused the car and that wear from racing your car for example is not covered...

 

[Exo]

650 bhp Skyline R34 and 350 bhp S2000

Japanese all the way :wink:
Skyline's the most fun i ever had on a track, and i've been in a lot of cars

 

[ThermalRunaway]

Wish we could get cars as nice as that for a price as tempting as that over here! $20,000 is like 10grandish for us. 10 grand will just about buy you a peasents car!

Brian