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2005 Solstice vs. 1953 Corvette

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54K views 59 replies 39 participants last post by  MeanYellow  
#1 ·
[edit] Originally posted by skeptic. Deleted by accident when trying to edit an individual post: [/edit]

I was about to post this into an existing thread, but decided it warranted it's own discussion.

From the beginning the Solstice reminded me of the early Corvettes. The idea of an open top roadster, not the current high performance sports car idea of a Corvette, the apparent size, the round front end....

Hopefully this is somewhat readable:

...........................Solstice.........................Corvette
height...................50.2..................................52
length.................157.2................................167
width.....................71.6...............................72.2
wheelbase...........95.1...............................102
track.............60.5/61.2...........................57/59
weight..................2860.............................2850
HP...........................170...............................150



I am in no way implying that the solstice will be the Corvette of tomorrow, just observing the beginning of life similarities. Before I looked it all up I did think the wheelbase/lengh of the two were closer to the same.
 
#5 ·
The best comparison between the two is in intent. In '53 and now, GM wanted to create an upgraded image for their brand. In the early fifties Chevrolet, while popular, always had a performance gap with Ford. Chevy was not associated with performance. They also wanted to show that GM, being the most successful automaker in the world, could compete with anyone anywhere. At the time there was a rising interest in sportscars by returning GIs and thier options where mostly foreign made. GM said "we can do that!".

Today GM wants to get back in the car business and improve the performance image of their Pontiac brand. They have promised us excitement, but by and large have not delivered. Again keeping and eye on the growing interest in sportscars, and the demand that has been met largely by foreign makes, GM has said, "we can do that!".

Both cars are a response to consumer dissatisfaction with the offerings of the day. In the fifties cars were getting bigger, heavier and softer. In the '00s we have SUVs and Pickups that are bigger, heavier and softer. Not everybody wants that.

The design and layout of the two cars directly reflects GM's desire to compete head to head with who they preceived to be the leaders in the market. In the fifties it was against cars like Jaguar, MG, Austin Healey, Kaiser and Nash. Today it is Mazda, BMW, Honda and Toyota and these cars are retro inspired by the sportscars of the past. Not to mention that I'm sure the GM design studio looked back at what had been done there before and said to themselves, "Damb! That was cool!" This is even more obvious in the Chevy Nomad concept. (which I also really like!).

Anyhow, I was not born soon enough to buy a C1 but I do have a chance to make up for that now!:D
 
#7 ·
Nice post AeroDave, I think you hit the nail on the head in regards to GM's motivation. They do seem to finally be doing a nice job trying to re-establish brand identities. Cadillac is surely the brand that is furthest along, but Pontiac is quickly getting there with the likes of the GTO, GXP and now Solstice.
 
#12 ·
2006solstice said:
Thanks for the research. That is pretty interesting. So, the Solstice will have about the same base price as the original Vette, and very similar dimensions, weight and HP. Of course, with modern tires, brakes, etc. I am sure they Solstice would easily outperform it.
i'd bet most Kias would outperform it. :smile
 
#14 ·
skeptic said:
I was about to post this into an existing thread, but decided it warranted it's own discussion.

From the beginning the Solstice reminded me of the early Corvettes. The idea of an open top roadster, not the current high performance sports car idea of a Corvette, the apparent size, the round front end....
Even before this website came into being, I was looking for someone to photochop a Nomad grille onto a Solstice in order to give it the retro Corvette look it deserves (recall that the original Nomad was based on the original Corvette). Thanks to Stephen M for this excellent picture!
 

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#15 ·
Nice job on the photochop grill, it looks great and does sort of give it that vintage Vette look. However I think I still prefer the Solstice grill. It's more distinctive and there is no mistaking it for any other identity. The Vette/Nomade grill is to close to Chrysler and Thunderbird. Even Miatas would look like that if they bothered to put a grill in! (always bugged me about Miatas, pay all that money for a car and you have to look at the bare radiator and all the gack arount it!) I've been working on my own photochops but it's hard to improve on the good looks of the Solstice!
 
#16 ·
Is interesting since GM is showing three cars, a roadster, a coupe, and a wagon on the new platform just like they did in the 1953 Autorama. Wonder if only the same model will make production again. BTW if going to model on a Corvette, why not use a 53 instead of the 54 in the picture.

One other note: the 150 hp Corvette was considered totally underpowered even by 1953 standards though the powerslide may have had something to do with it. Many remained on dealer lots both at the end of '53 and '54.

Super trivia: what's the reason for the giant brake light in the dash ?
 
#18 ·
padgett said:
Super trivia: what's the reason for the giant brake light in the dash ?
I don't really know the answer, but I'll take a stab at it anyway. Is it because they were concerned about people accidentaly driving with the parking brake on and stressing the fiberglass mid section? I am assuming that the early Vette's chassis layout is similar to later ones with front and rear sub-frames with fiberglass inbetween. Again I am just guessing and don't really know. :confused
 
#20 ·
Much more plebean reason. The speedo was lifted from the Chevrolet sedan and there it had a hole for the transmission linkage (remember "three on the tree", at one time anyone with a floor shift was considered out of it). They had to fill the hole with something so a giant parking brake light was used.

A lot of the magic goes away when you know what was really going on at the time.
 
#22 ·
padgett said:
....
One other note: the 150 hp Corvette was considered totally underpowered even by 1953 standards though the powerslide may have had something to do with it. Many remained on dealer lots both at the end of '53 and '54.

...
Wasn't horsepower measured differently back then? I don't recall what the difference was but I seem to remember that the measurement standard back then was overstated in comparison to today's numbers. In other words, the 53 Vette would be rated as less than 150HP if measured with today's standard. Didn't it change sometime in the 70's?
 
#23 ·
Sometimes SAE gross was about 30% higher than SAE net which they use today.

In the bad old days, Standard Test #20 was "maximum power and detonation" (which often coincided) with a large hunk of marketting thrown in.

About one of the most notoriously overrated engines, the Ford 300 hp 390 of 61 or so was said that "they threw in the clutch and watched how far they could get the Toledo (of weigh-yourself fame) needle to swing. Other engines (Z-28, L-88, RA-IV) were grossly underrated to keep the sans-coulottes from buying them.

Around 1971 the industry switched from gross to net ratings (wags said it was to hide the HP loss when compressions were lowered to meet emissions) which was more in line with the European DIN ratings.

Gross was interesting as it was flywheel HP with no accessories, often a 1 or 2 psi force-fed carb, hot oil, and the timing adjusted from stock until everything peaked. And then the result was corrected to "STP" - standard temperature and (air) pressure. And then the marketters made whatever corrections they felt necessary to meet sales goals (usually the torque rating was real since no one paid any attention to it).
 
#25 ·
Good thread to revist now that Solstice is almost in production. The dimensional similarities are amazing. Biggest difference other than from '59 on Pontiacs have had wider front track (wide track is back) than equivalent GM product, is in wheelbase and length. Now we know where the trunk went. By the way, I was still in diapers when when the '53 was introduced, but I wonder if the trunk even opened from the outside.

The stovebolt six was mated to the venerable 2 speed powerglide. Not quite up to sporting standards of the MG's and Trumphs, but consider today how many automatics are sold in sports cars and Chevy was just ahead of their time. The cost comparison that the Solstice and the 53-54 vette are equivalent is also amazing, especially when the new C6 is $75,000. GM hasn't had a 'peoples' vette since the '70s. The Corvette's biggest domestic competition in its heyday of the late '50s and '60s was Jag, A-H, Cobra and then Mustang. It decided to follow Jag into the heavens pricewise and chase after the prancing horse.

At 75 big ones how can the average family afford a vette as a weekend car or club racer? Thus the Solstice.
 
#26 ·
Here is the info on the 1953 Vette:
1953 Corvette

Wheelbase: 102" Track: 57" Front / 58.8" Rear Height: 51.5" Over Windshield
Length: 167.3" Width: 69.8" Curb Weight: 2,886 lbs.
Tire Size: 6.70x15" Plant: Flint, MI

The first time the public saw Harley J. Earl's "Dream car", the Corvette, was in January 1953 at the Motorama display at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City. On June 30, 1953 the Corvette went into full production (each car was built by hand) at the GM facility in Flint, Michigan, where 300 Corvettes were built that year. All 1953 Corvettes were white with a red interior, all had Powerglide automatic transmissions mated to 150 HP, six cylinder engines with three carburetors and dual exhaust. This is the rarest Corvette. Of the 300 built, 255 are accounted for today. Due to a shortage of wheel covers, the first 25 cars were delivered with the standard Chevrolet "baby moon" passenger car wheel cover. All of the 1953 production were convertibles with black canvas tops, and the following options.

Options:

Code Description Quantity
Price

2934 Base Corvette Convertible 300
$3,498.00

101A Heater 300
91.40

101B AM Radio 300
145.15


Serial Numbers: E53001001 through E53F001300

Base Engine: 235ci 150hp

Exterior Quantity Soft Top Wheels Interior
Polo White 300 Black Red Red



* Last 1953 Corvette Built December 1953.