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Get Ready!

4K views 34 replies 15 participants last post by  mceb 
#1 ·
I'm new to the site so I'm not sure if everyone already knows this but the Solstice is set to go into production on March 17th of 05 and should be in show rooms by mid to late May.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Excellent news !!! We have been hearing rumors...someone did post the tentative build dates a while back but regular production roll was mid May. Show rooms by May would be a dream.

Any idea if we'll be able to get in and sit in one at the up coming car shows or when GM plans to start the pre-order process?

Welcome to the forum :thumbs
 
#6 ·
I have a friend that works at the GM proving grounds in Milford Mich. I'm trying to get her to bring one home so I can ride in it. I'm not sure if the public will be able sit in one at the car show. As of Wednesday Dec 8th GM wasn't taking advanced orders but I'm on several unofficial waiting list at several different Pontiac dealerships around Michigan (I'd hate to pay too much)
 
#7 ·
Pardon my skepticism, but what is your source?

As recently as 2 weeks ago at the San Francisco International Auto Show, all of the Pontiac representatives told me the Solstice was a production car that would be introduced in 10 months, or September 2005. I can't find any announcement on the internet verifying your scoop.

At this point, I have to take your announcement with a grain of salt. I would love to see a Spring introduction for this roadster. It would be vastly preferrable to a pre-winter intro. But I am skeptical that Pontiac will be able to complete the tuning on this car to begin production in 3 months.

Is the 2.4 Ecotec even ready to go yet?
 
#8 ·
Saturn LS

This rumor might hold water - my understanding is that the Solstice will be built in DE where the Saturn LS was produced. It's early termination may bump the production of the Solstice. Besides, a May convertible launch is much better than late summer. It also means more lead time on the new Miata. If performance is better or similar to the MazdaSpeed, then the supercharged GT or GXP could answer the new Miata. Oh, and take this for what it's worth - my dealer mentioned a summer launch.
 
#9 ·
A member named Rogobuck posted the following build dates on Nov 26th but said they were subject to change:

"MVB-Nonsalable - 21-Jan-05
MVB-Salable - 7-Feb-2005
SORP - 16-May-2005
The last one (SORP) is "Start Of Regular Production" and should be the date of concern to all of us who want the Solstice."


Is March 17th now the start of regular production? Rogobuck, do you have an update to your prior post?
 
#10 ·
Looking at rogobuck's prior post there was a pretty long gap between the non-salable build of Feb-7 and the start of reg production. One would think the non-salable build would be short? It's possible the gap was a buffer for last minute fixes and now they feel it's ready for March go. Speculation I know.

jimbo, the Pontiac reps are just giving the official party line at those shows. We have had a few insiders or friends of insiders posting about earlier starts.

Hopefully GM will make this all offcial soon for Jan car shows.
 
#11 ·
I'm all for an earlier start of production as long as the plant feels that they have the quality control in place. If there is any doubt, I'd rather that they wait till they have all the assembly line kinks worked out. Particularly the paint as mentioned in a few other posts. The curves on this car would seem to make the painting process fairly complex, even for a robotically controlled sprayer if that's what they use.
 
#13 ·
Jimbo-

I'm very confident in the production date of March 17th. That date came from someone involved with the production (engineering ) of the car. I was just as surprised as all of you seem to be. I had been hearing dates of late 05. I reached out to one of my friends just in case because I had started researching the BMW Z4 but I'd rather buy American.
 
#15 ·
A much earlier release date would be great, however for me at the same time kinda sucks. I was hoping for it to be a little later,, like June or later to give me some more time to save for a down payment. Because if the Solstice is what I decide to go with once Sky information is released I wanted to pre-order and have my Solstice specifically designed for me.
 
#16 ·
special design

brentil said:
A much earlier release date would be great, however for me at the same time kinda sucks. I was hoping for it to be a little later,, like June or later to give me some more time to save for a down payment. Because if the Solstice is what I decide to go with once Sky information is released I wanted to pre-order and have my Solstice specifically designed for me.
So if you pre-order a solstice you are able to have the car specially designed for you? Could you elaborate on that please? Thanks!
 
#21 ·
wearssuspenders said:
give me some questions and I'll see if I can get them answered but it probably wont be until Tuesday.

....
wearssupenders, the info I'd like to know most that we haven't yet been able to find is the available color selection. More specifically, will there be a burgundy or a dark blue offered?
 
#24 ·
Questions (besides those already asked):

1. If they go with the start of production when you say, when will cars actually be in showrooms (Scheduled Release Date)?
2. What interior as well as exterior colors will be offered?
3. What factory options will be offered?
4. Will a limited slip rear end be offered at introduction?
5. Any idea about when an automatic transmission will be offered?
6. Any idea about when a forced induction be offered?
7. What kind of forced induction (turbo or supercharged) upgrade?
 
#25 ·
daddyking said:
So if you pre-order a solstice you are able to have the car specially designed for you? Could you elaborate on that please? Thanks!
Yeah, what Chip said is what having it specifically designed for me means. I get to choose exactly what options I want. You don't have to go to lots and hunt in hopes of finding the optiosn you want, with the colors you want, etc. What you do is get on a waiting list at a dealer. Have them sign a contract with you saying you get to decide options when they get the ability too, and that you'll get teh car for MSRP (or if you're a good talker invoice, or somewhere between invoice and MSRP). You get them to give you a # in line saying you get to order yours as the first person, 2nd, 3rd, etc. Make sure it's signed by the store manager, and yourself so they can't try to cheat you. So then like 3 months before they're in dealer lots, the dealer calls you, you choose options and order it. When it's made you get your VIN #, then you take delivery when it's finally done.

You might have to try different Pontiac dealers though. We've heard from some people that some dealers aren't doing pre-order lists yet, don't know what a pre-order list is, or is just f-ing with people so they can sell them all at a mark-up.
 
#26 ·
DreamerDave said:
Questions (besides those already asked):

1. If they go with the start of production when you say, when will cars actually be in showrooms (Scheduled Release Date)?
2. What interior as well as exterior colors will be offered?
3. What factory options will be offered?
4. Will a limited slip rear end be offered at introduction?
5. Any idea about when an automatic transmission will be offered?
6. Any idea about when a forced induction be offered?
7. What kind of forced induction (turbo or supercharged) upgrade?

Stuff we know:

1. We don't know if wearssupenders is right. wsspdr is not the only one with inside connections, and the earliest i've ever heard is start-of-production in the late May 05 timeframe - which means significant dealership stock sometime in June. The most common actually go-to-the-dealership-and-get-one date is late summer 05. The variation in times is because of conflicting information from contacts within GM, and contacts with a number of suppliers who also need to know. Most of the folks, I've found out, that work on the Solstice engineering team are warned not to give out information - which makes wearssupenders' information somewhat suspect. Not in questioning his GM MPG friend's employment, but how connected to the program she is. Kinda like the sesame street game (one of these things is not like the other...), this march 17 date is suspicious.

2. We've seen black, and we've seen tan/grey. Does it make sense to have more on a 20,000 vehicle/year volume? My guess is there are probably these two.

3.???

4. We know there will be a ltd. slip diff from the edmunds article. We also know the CTS differential is being used. Ergo: should be an optional LSD at startup, but I can't imagine it will be on the <$20,000 version.

5. We know sometime, but we also know not at the start. Anything more specific is probably answerable after NAIAS.

6. Everyone wants to know this. Rumors are following model year, maybe later. Certainly not the first year.

7. I think it's a turbo. Some strangely incorrect information (road and track?) indicates this. Others believe it will be a supercharger.

But, be careful about getting wearssupenders in trouble. Even if he doesn't work for GM, he can get his source in trouble. Or could get GM so pissed they start messing with the site and poor Troy.

check out this link http://www.autoweek.com/article.cms?articleId=101358
autoweek article said:
...On a Sunday evening five days after his original web posting, Mr. K. says he answered a knock on his door to discover two unfamiliar men standing outside his Texas home. The duo identified themselves as representatives of GM and its contracted security firm, Securitas Security Services, and according to Mr. K., demanded to know ...
Hate for this to happen to wearssupenders.

Wearssupenders: you should show your source what you're about to answer before she answers the questions, and tell her what you're going to do with it. That's the proper way to deal with inside information, and maintain your source, and your integrity. And if you happen to learn something the rest of us don't know, but your GM source doesn't want you to tell us, you should respect her wishes, and find creative ways to give us frequent forum visitors a hint in the right direction. And smile.
 
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