Sorry, ran out of room for all the articles noting the Solstice's great looks.
Originally Posted by jimbogxp
From AJAC (Automobile Journalists Association of Canada)...
TORONTO, Feb. 15 /CNW/ - The Pontiac Solstice won the "Best New Design" award for 2006 as presented by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). The award was handed out as part of the 2006 Canadian Car of the Year (CCOTY) awards that opened the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto.
The Solstice was chosen the overall winner from amongst 62 eligible vehicles representing all entries in the 2006 Canadian Car of the Year awards.
"Trends come and go, but good design endures. It's what sets a vehicle apart from the hundreds of models, thousands of variations and millions vehicles on the road," commented Paul Williams, chair of the 2006 CCOTY awards.
Williams continued: "The intent of the AJAC design award is to identify and reward the vehicle that we collectively judge to exhibit the most esthetically pleasing combination of appearance and function.
"Judging is based on exterior and interior appearance, but in a real world context."
The The LA Times...
"This is a beautiful car, with a harmony of shapes and lines that is almost musical. Carmakers like to talk about tension in the sheet metal, but that's often an exercise in the power of suggestion. Not with Solstice.
"The fuselage between the wheel wells looks like a band of stretched latex, ready to snap forward. Its stubby roadster proportions are perfect, with the compact aggression of a Japanese short sword. The twin headrest humps on the rear deck look like they were borrowed from a Zagato-bodied Aston Martin.
"Even with the curiously oversized fog lights and backing lights — ferreted from the Chevy Equinox parts bin — you have to give the car's aesthetic an A+. With the top down, it looks simply terrific."
The NY Times...
"So I think the Solstice will do just fine. It might sell even if it cornered like a Rambler Classic, simply because it looks so good. Athletic and organic, with more bulges and curves than RuPaul, the design is both muscular and feminine, but not truly cute and not retro in the least. The 18-inch wheels are pushed to the corners. Details, down to tiny scoops behind the front wheels, look right."
From USA Today...
Tagline: Va-va-voom style with a surprisingly low price tag
"•Style. Just too cool, evoking mighty machines of then and now, including racing Jaguars of the 1950s and recent Lotuses.
From the Washington Post...
"The rear-wheel-drive Solstice has passion. People young and old of multiple hues and ethnicities crowded around the car everywhere I took it. Other motorists followed me on the highway, honking horns and giving me thumbs up in approbation.
"The Solstice was even a hit in the parking lot of a Starbucks meeting place in Northern Virginia, where some owners of million-dollar mini-mansions -- houses too big for the small lots that once held modest brick residences -- marveled that something so well designed, so exquisitely proportioned, could cost so little. Solstice prices start at $19,420. You can fully option the car at $25,000."
The Chicago Sun Times...
"The Solstice's styling is more rakish than the Miata's, with Pontiac's twin-honeycomb grille, sexy curves and two retro-style head fairings on the trunk lid that look as if from 1950s sports-racing cars.
"I tested a bright red Solstice, which drew more stares than any car I've driven in a long time. It especially drew reactions with its top lowered in downtown Chicago during a weekday lunch hour. One person asked if it were a Mercedes-Benz, but many mouthed the word 'Solstice' because the car has gotten lots of pre-sale publicity, including appearances on NBC's 'The Apprentice' and 'Las Vegas.' "
From USNews.com
"Pontiac finally has a car with knockout looks."
From MSN Autos...
"Its rakish styling features Pontiac's twin-honeycomb grille, sexy curves and two retro-style head fairings on the trunk lid that look as if from slinky 1950s sports-racing cars now considered works of art." -- MSN Autos
The Edmunton Journal...
"The Solstice is truly a looker: It's got that brawny, classic sports-car look -- interestingly the same design direction that Mazda has gone with the new more macho Miata. It also has an unmistakable Pontiac front-end and grille."