I WISH WE COULD PULL OUT THE MIDDLE ROOF PIECE LIKE ON THE NEW SOLSTICE! looks so much better than a ragtop.

Pontiac | 2009 Solstice Roadster - Picture Gallery - Solstice Photos

 

Is the Crossfire coupe structurally rigid enough to work as a targa roof? While targas are easier than sunroofs, T-tops or convertible tops, and you get good shielding from the wind, it would seem to be a leakage issue.

Saw the Solstice coupe and sat in it. Was not impressed with it or roof.

 

i really want to look into doing a targa top on my SRT6. i just don't like the soft top look of convertibles, interrupts the lines of the vehicle.

 

Being that i own a t-top camaro and have several friends that own different generations camaros and corvettes, t-tops almost always leak. targas are generally not troublesome although they tend to leak after a several years from the weatherstripping wearing out. Also, the poor unibody design (insane chassis flex, though not as bad as mustangs until 2005) for many years, courtesy of GM, didnt help either....

 

I wouldn't know about the "lines" thing.

I drive mine with the top down 99% of the time.

I use the top to prevent damage to the interior when I wash it. Only!

 

I LOVE the Solstice Coupe. If they were available and at the same price (or close) as my crossfire, I'd probably own one. A very nice vehicle and the GXP version with the 2.0t motor is very mod friendly! It's a fantastic vehicle. Aside from a couple of questionable interior bit, the real weakness of the Solstice coupe is the targa. The damn thing doesn't fit in the car itself. Instead you get some fabric cover in case it rains while you are out. Seriously? That's the most foolish thing I've ever heard. If you can't take the top with you in the car, it's a complete waste of time and effort. The car should have been designed like the crossfire. You want sun and wind in your hair---you buy the roadster. You want a more rigid body structure in a fixed roof configuration, you buy the coupe. I would have rather seen this with some type of removable sunroof if they REALLY had to let the sun in through the roof. I'm not sure I'd be a fan of retractable sunroof, based mostly on issues with headroom. Another interesting idea, could be the use of california roof, like many older cars, or more recently, the BMW 318Ti from the early 90's (or I suppose like the huge sunroof on the new liberty's). Though aesthetically, a california roof would take away from the clean lines of the coupe.

If I ended up getting the coupe I would probably very rarely use the targa. Maybe I could get it welding in place to make it a true fixed top sports car.

 

If you really like the Solstice Coupe, grab one while you can. They only built about 1,000 of them before GM filed CH11 and closed the plant. It has been officially announced that the 2010 Pontiac lineup will include the Toyota built Vibe and that's it. No G5, G6, G8 or Solstice any more.

A friend of mine in WA wants a Solstice Coupe bad, but a recent trip to his local Pontiac dealer really put him off. They were asking $10K over MSRP for them. Ouch.

 

Very interesting, but consider the Lotus Elise, it has the same premise, cloth top out in the car, hard top stays at home until track day....

 

However, there is also the Exige if you want hardtop fun. I'm more of a hardtop coupe fan, so if it was me i'd rather have: a crossfire coupe over the roadster, solstice coupe (despite the stupid targa top) vs the roadster, a cayman over a boxster, and an exige over an elise.

Though I will admit to looking at Boxsters simply because they have been around for a while and can be purchased much cheaper than a Cayman. Maybe when its time to replace the crossfire or get an additional car, used cayman prices will actually be reasonable.

 

Each to their own but while I like the Slostice Roadster, the Coup does not work for me { Down right yuk}

 

These are nice cars, but for the money….I will keep the SRT6. I have a buddy that has a modded GXP Solstice that I raced last weekend. It was not even a contest! The Crossfire would pull on him like he was in reverse and that is with the Turbo version of the car with intake, exhaust, and ECU tune at the minimum. He would not even race me from a dead stop where the boost lag of that car would really hurt him and the SRT6 would shine. Even when we where we are in a non optimal gear range for me and he was in his prime with the standard transmission, he could not pull me for even a split second. By the time he made his 2-3 or 3-4 gear change, I would be cars and cars ahead of him.

 

well, i think my next 'fun car' is going to be a Lotus Elise, but i am still going to get a price quote on a targa-top conversion for my SRT6.

 

I talked to a guy that did a targa conversion on a mustang, and he said the main problem would be reinforcements to the body!

He said he would use the convertible windshield seal and the reinforcement that they have under the car! he said with the right parts he can pull it off in 1 week for about 2K

 

I looked at one in Joplin Mo. this weekend. It was pretty cool looking. But it was also $35,000. It was pretty difficult to get in and out of due to the low roof. You have to sit into the car sideways while tucking your head under the roof, then swing your legs in. Reverse process for getting out. Marge Simpson would NOT like this car. Overall, I really liked the looks but I don't think it holds a candle to our Crossfires given the cost. And I never cared for the four banger.

 

From the side, the t-top coupe is attractive. From the front it is still the butt-ugly brother of the Aztek. Pontiac just makes ugly sports cars. And it has no trunk. And a 5-speed. The XF is just a beautiful car in comparison.

 

i didnt know you couldnt store the top in the car while driving. thats just dumb. what were the engineers thinking?! and as for the 5-speed, on the GXP perform, its been noted that GM did that to help prevent abuse to the transmission because with many 6-speed cars that have dual ODs, people still treat 5th as if its a normal gear and not OD and cause premature failure to the gears/syncros. (same as why mitsubishi did it with the Evo X)

 

I think the soltice coupe is a great looking car but honestly the whole pop top concept is difficult. Motor trend apr,09 did a write up on the car and said the cloth top is an $1100 add on . With the dealers trying to gouge prices too I just couldnt drive it home feeling good about it (Im far from rich). 35K would put me behind the wheel of a great used car..SRT, Vette, BMW, Porsche etc.

 

Are the same plans for the Sky? James

 

Why is Solstice still hanging with such an ugly styled front end. Still has the outdated honeycone grill of years past Pontiac and full size Dodge trucks. The Saturn Turbo Sky is a much nicer styled car from any angle. Squirrel Crusher

 

Targa's suck. They simply look like part of the car fell off, and then you have to worry about cowl shake. Take this from a former C4 owner.