Pontiac Solstice Commerical
 

have you guys caught this commerical Pontiac is running for their GXP Solstice and SUV?
At the end of the commerical they say the Solstice GXP is "faster than a Porsche Boxster" and that the SUV is faster than an X5 :bowdown:

:banghead:

Obviously they are comparing their upgraded 260 HP Solstice to a base Boxster.
Which is dishonest in my opinion. And even if they are comparing the Base 987 250?HP Boxster to the GXP Solstice, how are they defining faster?

hmmm.....


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...x-DanStone.jpg

I saw it.....I just laughed.

Last I heard "quicker" meant 0-60 time, and "faster" implies that the Pontiac can outrun it on top end....

....yea, OK. If you say so, Mr. Pontiac. :D

I wouldn't take anything away from the Solstice. The base model is pretty damn quick, and an amazing ride. If they offered a turbo'ed coupe, I'd be all over it!

Yes, they are comparing their higher end model to the base boxster, but their base model wasn't meant to compete with the boxster. It's main competition where the Miata, Crossfire, and S2000. They wanted to attract more buyers that where higher up in the food chain.

Still like Miatas better.

Had a friend who was looking at the Solstice and asked for my opinion...

I told him there were two things he needed to know before buying...
1. Almost every car mag that has covered it has used a word like 'econoplasticity' (that was from R&T) to describe/slander the poor-quality interior.
2. A Mazda Miata is faster.

He didn't buy the Solstice. After pointing him towards the VASTLY better-looking Saturn Sky, he waited for the Sky Redline and bought it.

As far as these CRAZY commercials go, I find most auto manufacturers have gone the political route when talking about their cars:

"You should buy our car, because their car sucks"

"Our best car is better that their worst car, so you should buy our brand"

"Look at this video taken from the Autobahn- our low-budget SUV is passing Ferrari Enzos and Porsche Carrera GTs left and right. Proof positive you should buy our car!" (I couldn't believe that one when I saw it!) :eek:

My favorite "market to the ignorant masses" ads are the BMW commercials where they glorify the fact that their cars are built en masse on an assembly line by machines, just like all the other run-of-the-mill cars in the world. Since when did that become the top-of-the-line manufacturing process and a badge of elite status!!??

Oh well, they have to convince Joe Lunchbox that he bought himself a Porsche-beater for $20,000 somehow. If they didn't, how could Joe Lunchbox go out and get himself and those around him in an accident driving his Honda FARRRRR beyond its REAL capabilities? Have to keep auto insurance rates up, you know! :rolleyes:


Dave
San Diego

yeah the Saturn is a much nicer looking car in my view but...Saturn? I thought they only made min vans?

I'd jump on MazdaSpeed Miata over either. in terms of fun, that car has some things that even the Boxster is lacking. Too bad they never made a racier, more stripped down roadster that would be similar in size and power to the Boxster or S2000.

Well, as an autocrosser the base Solstice will smoke a 987 and the GXP is likely to be faster than everything this side of a GT3.

That commercial is leading people down the wrong path. :banghead:

-The base Solstice is slow,slower then my 2.5L Boxster. Test have shown the base Solstice to do 0-60 in the 7.5-8 second range,the 2.5L(8-10 years old now) has always been in the 6-7second range,both ranges are for manual trannies. Now the base Boxsters have gotten faster over time to were they are 5.8-6.5 second cars.

-The Solstice is a Pontiac and that's it. The Boxster is a Porsche and as long as you maintain your Porsche it will always hold some value look at 914s,928s & 944s.

-Solstice have no storage space from what I'm told. I have two trunks,one big and one small on my Boxster.

-Let's be honest,they want to compare the GPX(Pontiac's sport version) to the 'S'(Porsche's sport version) then it's over.

I'm going to go test drive one in the next couple of weeks to really see if that is as sporty as they make it sound.

Oh yeah and I forgot

JUST LOOK AT IT,IT IS UGLY!

Not the first time. Won't be the last.

I feel compelled to chime in here a second time. I'm obviously a pretty strong Porsche supporter, and I've never owned a Pontiac. I don't expect to own a Pontiac in the future. However, the Solstice is an impeccable handler which happens to cost about half what a base Boxster costs. The Solstice GXP is reportedly delivering more power at the wheels than the '05 987S had at the crank, and fully loaded it's about half what a base "S" costs... Speaking as an A Stock National Solo participant, I'm scared silly of these cars. Nor am I in any way certain that the GXP wouldn't be faster than a 987S on a road course.

Now, on the other hand it's a pretty basic car inside and the top operation is a looooooooong way from what we enjoy in our Boxsters. Still, ask yourself: For $26,500, what can you buy that would be faster? (Answer: Pretty much nothin'). And how much money do you have to spend to buy a faster car than the Solstice GXP and still have a convertible top? (Answer: Not quite sure, but I suspect the next fastest droptop is the BMW M Roadster at $54,999 or thereabouts.)

Alright... I know that numbers don't tell the WHOLE story, but the currently published/tested numbers on the GXP and the 987S are as follows:

Solstice GXP: 0.86g skidpad, 67.0 mph slalom, and 0.85 pwr/wt ratio.

Boxster 987S: 1.00g skidpad, 73.9 mph slalom, w/ a 0.89 pwr/wt ratio.

That's a HUGE difference, and the Boxster even takes the pwr/wt ratio advantage...


Dave
San Diego

The big difference....in 20 years I'll still be loving my Boxster (as I do the 20 year old 928) and willing to pay a lot to keep it up while the Solstice will be in a junk yard rusting away. When the flash goes away, it's still just another POS American car with a pretty face.

986S ?

if you offered me a show room condition 2nd hand 986S (with my GT3 seats of course) or a brand spankin new Solstice (base or GXP) with full warranty..
I'd think about it for all of one .1 of a second!....Sorry Pontiac.
Think the guy from Motortrend compared the Sky and the Soltice and said himself he opted for used BoxsterS!! :cool:
after over a million Porsches, I think the BoxsterS may go down as the most underrated.

But the Solstice is definitely a step in the right direction for USA.

Hmm...$26k for a roadster...how 'bout an early Boxster with a 3.4 or 3.6?

...or...

How 'bout a WRX (STI even) powered 914? Mmmmm...

But you're right, there's a lot of "bang for the buck" there...'specially for roadster fans.

Is anybody watching "Setup" on SpeedTV? It's kinda hokey (it is a reality show, after all), but it's still entertaining for racers and wannabes. They use the Solstace as their car of choice. And of course, the host (Tommy Kendall) had to mention that it was faster than a Pooorsh Boxsta. (I wonder if he almost choked on those words when he said that?)