[Rangus00]

ok, i took some pictures but i dont have them developed yet. this was the production model, not concept. 245/45/18 tires and final product supposedly.

1. they would not open the trunk but i was told WITH THE TOP UP one golf bag will fit(so drive seperately to the golf course). so that means u can't fit squat in it with the trunk down. the lady there claims to have seen it with the top up.(i didn't believe her) i'm beginning to wonder y the top is never up.. is there problem? does it look bad?
2. i was told fall of 2005... september on depending on where you are in the country. also not good news. i want it sooner
3. i could only identify 4 speakers in the car... 2 in the lower door which knowing gm have to be 6 1/2's and 2 tweeters on the sides of each window frame. it better have more than that or it totally sucks.
4. i was not allowed to sit in it despite offering cash to the people watching it, lol. one lady sat in it for me.. she had plenty of leg room, but was 6 inches shorter than me and i'm 6'1 or 6'2. when she sat down i wasn't too happy about where i would be looking out the window from. i am seriously worried about this "TALL PEOPLE". she claims the designer is 6'4 or 6'4 and lutz is tall too...... i am still seriously worried by what i saw. she was 6 inches shorter and shorter from the waist up and it did not look good. unless i can pull the seat up and recline it back, i fear i'm screwed.
5. it did have the 2.4 ecotec 170 horse, 2860 lbs, 0-60 in 7 some seconds she said, which i was also not allowed to see, but she said supercharged version should be next year.....unfortunately i can't wait that long. the front of the car appeared to be no more than 5 inches off the ground....so steer clear of the potholes.
6. the black knob next to the gearshift and below the radio is indeed a lighter/power outlet on the car. the controls on the steering wheel were for radio and cruise control. there appears to be a storage unit between the seats with a button to open it.
7. she said the original concept had the pontiac symbol as latches for the front hood, but they have since been moved down into the fender with the little "inlet" behind them. i haven't looked at pictures yet to confirm this. she also said teh headlights were different, which i have not yet confirmed either. i'm working all day long and haven't had time to scour the old pictures.
8. flirt with the light redheaded girl that travels with the solstice, shes cute. it wont get you anywhere, but shes cute. lol, girl with the short blonde hair will mess with u. i got "please step away from the car" as i was wedging myself behind the platform to get a better look. she was kidding though... e-mail motortrend at the particular autoshow u are going to the day the show starts, they will be able to tell u if the solstice will be there.

any questions drop me a line at [email protected] or if you're in florida let me know what action you are taking with dealers or know of any lists or downpayments. thanks
RaY

 

[2KWK4U]

Awesome! Thanks for the info, and welcome aboard.

Pity that the official word from GM is still "fall, maybe September." Hopefully that is just a worst-case scenario. They HAVE to understand that the best time to launch a roadster is NOT the fall.


So does this one have the two-tone leather interior, or the monotone charcoal (or is it black) interior? If it was cloth, does it look like typical cloth interior, or more like some sort of weather-resistant cloth?

 

[pajarito69]

Thanks for the fresh Information

Keep it coming. I did saw the proto type in Albuquerque last summer and the front lights are different. I'm only 5'10 so I will fit the car fine, so much for being "average". lol. I was raised in West Melbourne, in the time before Disney, Castro and the moon shots. I did see Allen Sheppard on his suborbital from the beach in Cocoa. So long ago.

Thanks Again :seeya

 

[mceb]

Great report. I would never have expected 2 golf bags (lucky if we can get one). Sounds like you really camped out there.

 

[Fformula88]

COuld you elaborate on your concern regarding your height and how you will fit inside? Do you think the windshield header will be too low? Or that you will feel like you are sitting on, instead of in the car?

 

[mikefred1952]

Good info. Thank God I'm only 5'6" at best. Guess being short does have it's advantages. Sure wish the car would come close to us in SE OK. Still might have to take the trip to Detroit in January. :yesnod

 

[brentil]

I jsut got back from there myself. I talked to both the red head and the blond myself. Flirting wont get you anywhere with the, my wife noticed a wedding ring on her finger, and to quote her the blond had a "damn big rock on her finger."

I could swear they said Summer for release myself. I asked if they could open the doors/trunk/hood and they said they coudln't since they were all electronic/magnet based locks and the batteries are always removed from show cars so they wouldn't operate.

I've got a ton of images, and video too. I'll post once i get it ready.

I noticed a very pecular plaque inside the car that I could hardly make out that i've never seen in any of the other cars before. I tried to get a pic and asked the woman to take an image of it too, hopefully they come out. But they kinda looked like roof instructions to me.

 

[cdb]

can't open the doors or hood without a battery in the car? sounds like a song and dance to me, but thanks for trying. looking forward to the pix.

 

[Rangus00]

responses to your questions

one thing i dont think i made clear was how frickin (watching my language) awesome this car looked. i just want you to know i think its better in person.

1. i was told one golf bag not two and that was with the top up..so with it down, if ur traveling i hope you like one pair of jeans and a t-shirt for a week. i'm hearing 2 cubic feet with the top down, which isn't jack.
2. my concerns on height were looking out the windshield not with feeling that i was "riding on top of the car". the seats looked deep and leg space not a problem. i ride with my knees bent anyways. i'm not a tall person who likes his legs stretched out... i was worried about looking out through 3 inches of the window unless i can pull my seat up and recline it.
3. the redhead gave me that same bs about the electronic locks and low and behold after badgering the blonde she walks up, pops open the door and takes a seat for me... her head came up to my chin though and i thought her view was high. which is why i dont believe her that she has seen it with the top up. its trailer moved so i bet its never up...isnt anyone else wondering y? whats wrong with it? looks or still working out design?
ANY MORE QUESTION FEEL FREE TO ASK.. I MIGHT HAVE FORGOT SOME QUESTIONS I SAW U WRITE BACK.

RAY

 

[Rangus00]

brentil, i saw the plaque too

the one to the upper left of the radio and climate controls directly to the right of the steering wheel. i thought it was just a plaque that said solstice on it. i dont recall seeing instruction on it.. i believe it was just a "stamp" possibly a mark that identifies it? i doubt it is production plaque looked out of place i thought. if u are right about instructions post the picture, but i dont agree from my memory.

 

[2KWK4U]

You're not talking about a plaque or emblem in this location, are you?




We've speculated as to what might go here. Some believe it may be a sort of "AIS" indicator/sensor tied in with the passanger airbag. Does the one at the Orlando show just have a blank panel in this location, or is that where the logo/panel in question is located?

 

[Rangus00]

2kwk4u the plaque location

i see that picture and it is not the way the production model was. the plaque location was below the four way flasher light and fox light button(i believe) directly below them in your picture not above.. it definately said solstice and appeared to be a plaque, but it was the same shape as the rectangle cutout in the picture u provided. the one thing maybe u can help me answer or someone can. there is a button in your picture the is barely visible behine the steering wheel. about 7 o'clock from the fog light botton... i could not make out what it was does anyone have a clue?

 

[Slipstream]

You're not talking about a plaque or emblem in this location, are you?




We've speculated as to what might go here. Some believe it may be a sort of "AIS" indicator/sensor tied in with the passanger airbag. Does the one at the Orlando show just have a blank panel in this location, or is that where the logo/panel in question is located?

Are you talking about the rectangle above the hazard lights switch? Looks like you standard center console clock/temp/compass display.

 

[Rangus00]

nope..totally different plaque

wait till we get some pictures posted... i will run to get mine developed tomorrow night..maybe i'll get them up here. definately not a temp/time guage. a black and silver plaque i believe.

BTW in answer to a previous quesiton it was the tan and black/gray leather interior not the one color. looked good

 

[brentil]

I guess you got the blonde in trouble because she told me she wasn't allowed to open the doors

It's not that plastic patch we've been talking about. This is an all new piece of plastic that's attached to the console that we've never seen there before. The red head said it was some sort of identifier plate like the GTO had but from looking at it it looks to have two images on it, and they looked like roof instructions to me.

Oh yeah I aksed about SEMA too. The blonde told me there was a specific SEMA non-production car, but she had no clue if it was actually at SEMA or not. She speculated they might have not shown it so as to not confuse buyers what was actually being produced.

I did like I said I would too, I was at the car for a good hour taking pics. The red haid came up and said "are you actually still here?" to me at one point. That was only like 30 minutes of beign there. I've got about 80 pictures, and 3 videos. I'll post them as soon as I can get them off the digi-cam.

 

[brentil]

bah, I finally got a look at my pictures. It is a little Solstice plaque with an image of a Solstice on it. From a distance all I could see was the far left and right sicne the center lines were too dimm. And from a distance they looked like roof instructions. But they're not.

 

[mceb]

Great job brentil and thanks !

One thing that has to change VERY soon GM is we need to be able to sit in this car and open up the trunk etc. at the shows just like every other car. It's critical if you want to start the pre-order order process.

Maybe that's one of the thing they do with that first nonsalable build in Jan is grab a few for the car shows.

 

[2KWK4U]

the one thing maybe u can help me answer or someone can. there is a button in your picture the is barely visible behine the steering wheel. about 7 o'clock from the fog light botton... i could not make out what it was does anyone have a clue?

Pretty sure that's the instrument cluster backlight dimmer switch.

 

[brentil]

Pretty sure that's the instrument cluster backlight dimmer switch.

Yeah I had wondered about that befoer too, but if you took at image...
http://solstice.inner-ninja.com/DSC01626.JPG
and
http://solstice.inner-ninja.com/DSC01627.JPG
instead of being lower down and indented like other buttons this is far more raised up, and the plastic body comes in closer. I'm betting it is some sort of knob for turning, and the dash lights might be a good bet.

 

[hoffman]

That button you refer to can be readily seen in the high resolution cockpit photo that comes with the Press Kit. I can't figure it out though. It appears to be semi-circle (laying between 220degrees to 130 degrees) with the inside ratcheted plus a star-burst off the upper right hand corner. :skep