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PBS reviews Pontiac Solstice



 
 
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  #21  
Old September 26th 05, 04:10 PM
Lanny Chambers
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In article >, >
wrote:

> Would you put your money down
> on an ugly sports car?


<snip>

> However, I'm seriously considering moving on
> to a Lotus Elise.


I guess you just answered your own question. In the affirmative.

---
Lanny Chambers
'94C, St. Louis
http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html
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  #22  
Old September 26th 05, 04:31 PM
Dana H. Myers
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XS11E wrote:
> I just watched "Motorweek" on PBS as they reviewed the Pontiac Solstice.
> They continually compared it to the MX-5


That seems odd to me; it would seem that the Solstice is more
similar in appearance and performance to a BMW Z4 2.5i (see
the tech data here http://www.bmwusa.com/vehicles/Z4/25i/techdata.htm ).

There's a lot of passion in this thread considering there isn't one
of us that's ever test-driven a Solstice. It seems that the *idea*
of the Solstice alone is offensive. That's too bad; that might be
why American car-makers haven't had much success in this market segment.

Dana
  #23  
Old September 26th 05, 04:52 PM
pws
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Dana H. Myers wrote:

> That seems odd to me; it would seem that the Solstice is more
> similar in appearance and performance to a BMW Z4 2.5i (see
> the tech data here http://www.bmwusa.com/vehicles/Z4/25i/techdata.htm ).
>
> There's a lot of passion in this thread considering there isn't one
> of us that's ever test-driven a Solstice. It seems that the *idea*
> of the Solstice alone is offensive. That's too bad; that might be
> why American car-makers haven't had much success in this market segment.
>
> Dana


The problem I have is with most American cars. This is from past
personal experience. Every Japanese car I have ever owned has been a
better vehicle as far as reliability and build quality than any American
vehicle that I have owned. That makes it hard to buy a Pontiac, which I
have had especially bad experiences with in the past.

I agree that a test drive is needed to see how nice it is to drive, but
with the car weighing roughly 3000 pounds and sporting 18" wheels that
are way too heavy for a "sports car", it is ludicrous to compare it to
the miata in any real way.
I would bet heavy money on the Pontiac making many more trips to the
shop by 100K miles than the MX-5 as well.

I can not think of a single example of any American car that does not
have a Japanese equivelant that I would want much more, with the
possible exception of the Corvette.

Pat
  #24  
Old September 26th 05, 05:23 PM
Dana H. Myers
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pws wrote:

> I would bet heavy money on the Pontiac making many more trips to the
> shop by 100K miles than the MX-5 as well.


I have a 1998 Chevy Monte Carlo, a daily-driver car. It has 127k miles
on it now. At 125k miles, the multi-function turn-signal switch stopped
working reliably; $180 later, the car was whole again. The Monte Carlo
is the same basic platform as a '98 Grand Prix.

My 2002 MX-5 SE has been to the shop for:

- power antenna gets stuck when starting the car
- gas tank filler causes premature shut-off

and it has the infamous clutch "judder", which I opted to live
with until clutch replacement time rather than deal with the
hassle of taking the car to the dealer once or twice to get it
fixed. All of these things before 30k miles.

Dana
  #25  
Old September 26th 05, 05:33 PM
Dana H. Myers
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Leon van Dommelen wrote:
> Lanny Chambers > wrote:


>>Actually, I think he pretty much nailed the Mustang GT. Almost no owner
>>will use half of such a car's capabilities on the street,


> Or its capability to take its own line through the corners with
> its live rear axle?


The live rear axle is a controversial topic among many Mustang
enthusiasts. Every time Ford floats a trial balloon about upgrading
the suspension to something more modern, the Hardcore Enthusiasts
win out. The Mustang SVO was a lesson Ford hasn't forgotten - there's
only so much progress their customers want.

I also find it a little confusing that some folks like to think
of the Mustang as a sports car. It's certainly not a sports car,
IMHO, but it's clearly the seminal pony car. 40 years of progress
has made it a vastly superior car to what it started out as, but it's
still a Mustang. It just isn't very clever to expect it to be
something else, something I think JC made the mistake of.

On a side note, I lived in the UK for a year, and I love the place.
A few months after moving there, my accent must have softened because
people started mistaking me for a Canadian and where I was from - I'd
say "the West Coast". I just didn't want to have to listen to yet another
screed about "why America sucks". JC's review sounds just like one
of those rants; if an American carried on that way in the UK, he'd
be regarded as yet another Ugly American asshole.

Dana
  #26  
Old September 26th 05, 06:15 PM
Tex
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On Mon, 26 Sep 2005 13:12:10 +0800, > wrote:

>However, I'm seriously considering moving on
>to a Lotus Elise.


I would like to move on to the :

GINETTA G20 SPORT ROADSTER

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  #27  
Old September 26th 05, 08:56 PM
L Bader
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On Mon, 26 Sep 2005 13:12:10 +0800, > wrote:

>"McMahon" > wrote in message


However, I'm seriously considering moving on
>to a Lotus Elise.
>


....Put your money down and enjoy the (avg) 14 month wait to get your
car. -- Meanwhile, I'll be zoom-zooming through the Texas Hill
Country...

- L

'97 STO, "Chouki"

// Change TEJAS to TX to reply via eMail //
  #28  
Old September 26th 05, 09:08 PM
L Bader
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On Mon, 26 Sep 2005 09:33:51 -0700, "Dana H. Myers"
> wrote:

>Leon van Dommelen wrote:
>> Lanny Chambers > wrote:

>
>>>Actually, I think he pretty much nailed the Mustang GT. Almost no owner
>>>will use half of such a car's capabilities on the street,

>
>> Or its capability to take its own line through the corners with
>> its live rear axle?

>
>The live rear axle is a controversial topic among many Mustang
>enthusiasts. Every time Ford floats a trial balloon about upgrading
>the suspension to something more modern, the Hardcore Enthusiasts
>win out. The Mustang SVO was a lesson Ford hasn't forgotten - there's
>only so much progress their customers want.
>
>Dana


The live axel wasn't just a customer driven decision, but also a
performance vs cost decision. -- The minimal performance gains for
the large cost delta was deemed a poor exchange.

Considering the performance and features gained in a fully dressed GT
for about $28K, I could easily live without the IRS. (And it gives
room for "growth" when the Shelbys come out next year...)

- L

'97 STO, "Chouki"

// Change TEJAS to TX to reply via eMail //
  #29  
Old September 26th 05, 09:44 PM
Dana H. Myers
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L Bader wrote:

> The live axel wasn't just a customer driven decision, but also a
> performance vs cost decision. -- The minimal performance gains for
> the large cost delta was deemed a poor exchange.


From what I can tell, most folks that care about Mustang performance
are interested in drag-strip performance. A live axle is just fine
for this, and, as you point out, cheaper. It's customer-driven alright;
if the majority of Mustang drivers wanted and were willing to pay for IRS,
the car would have had it years ago.

> Considering the performance and features gained in a fully dressed GT
> for about $28K, I could easily live without the IRS. (And it gives
> room for "growth" when the Shelbys come out next year...)


Sure.

Dana
  #30  
Old September 26th 05, 10:05 PM
XS11E
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"Dana H. Myers" > wrote in:

> XS11E wrote:
>> I just watched "Motorweek" on PBS as they reviewed the Pontiac Solstice.
>> They continually compared it to the MX-5

>
> That seems odd to me; it would seem that the Solstice is more
> similar in appearance and performance to a BMW Z4 2.5i (see
> the tech data here http://www.bmwusa.com/vehicles/Z4/25i/techdata.htm ).


Actually the Solstace is almost identical in performance to the MX-5 and the
price is about the same. The BMW Z-4 is in a totally different price class
although there are similarities. Personally, I have to agree with grouping
cars by price, the people who buy Z-4s will probably not be looking at the
MX-5 or the Solstice and vice versa.

 




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