2004 DETROIT AUTO SHOW: Pontiac Solstice Available Late 2005 - Built On Common Kappa Chassis- GM Hopes to Give Import Buyers a Pontiac Option

DETROIT, Jan 4, 2003; Reuters reported that Pontiac said it will begin selling the Solstice two-seat convertible late next year at prices starting around $20,000, another step in the brand's attempt to become the affordable alternative to a BMW.

The rear-wheel-drive Solstice, the hit of the Detroit auto show two years ago when it was unveiled as a concept vehicle, will compete with Mazda Motor Corp.'s highly praised Miata roadster, Toyota Motor Corp.'s MR2 Spyder and Honda Motor Co. Ltd.'s S2000.

GM said the Solstice will be the first of a number of small cars built using common components, which GM calls its Kappa architecture. To illustrate, GM unveiled two concepts that could possibly be produced in the future: the Saturn Curve, a sporty coupe; and the Chevrolet Nomad, a Mini-like boxy car which seats four.

"We're bringing a lot of sex appeal back to Pontiac with the roadster," Lynn Myers, general manager of GM's Pontiac and GMC brands, told Reuters at a preview of the car.

For many years, stock car racing and the Firebird sports car were as important to the Pontiac image as the sometimes hollow promise of powerful engines.

Comments On The Trans-Am from Edmunds President

Many people still associate Pontiac with the "screaming chicken" decal of a fiery phoenix that graced the hoods of many Firebirds, and the black Trans Am that Burt Reynolds drove in the 1977 movie "Smokey and the Bandit."

"Back in the '70s, it was farcical," said Jeremy Anwyl, president of the online vehicle information service Edmunds.com. "It was all about decals and hood scoops, all the flashy stuff," he said.

But people bought it. Riding on the success of "Smokey and the Bandit," Pontiac sold a brand record 896,980 vehicles in the United States in 1978.

But in recent years, sales have slumped, and last year Pontiac sold fewer than 500,000 vehicles in the United States for the first time in 21 years.

As part of its makeover, GM killed the aging Firebird sports car in 2002, and last October, Pontiac pulled out of the NASCAR circuit after participating in stock car racing for 50 years.

Pontiac's racing efforts are now focused on racing import models in front-wheel-drive drag racing, which attracts more of the West Coast crowd that Pontiac covets, and other racing activities.

"NASCAR is a wonderful spectacle, but you don't see Mercedes, BMW, Honda and Acura owners at NASCAR. It doesn't fit Pontiac's desired direction," GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz told Reuters.

FLEXING MUSCLE

Pontiac resurrected some of its past glory when the new GTO went on sale. Reviving the name of its 1960s muscle car, Pontiac expects to sell only about 18,000 of the V-8 powered GTOs annually. But the sports sedan, called "the goat" by fans, is key to proving that Pontiac's vitality is back.

"That's the anti-Trans Am," Anwyl said. "The styling is not there, but the performance and the horsepower is."

Prices for the GTO, which delivers 350 horsepower and runs from 0 to 60 mph in less than 5-1/2 seconds, start at $32,495.

Next year, the GTO will have a smaller, lower-priced stable mate in the Solstice. The Solstice will be powered by a 2.4 liter, four-cylinder engine producing 170 horsepower. GM expects to sell about 20,000 of the small roadsters a year.

Both the GTO and the Solstice are low-volume vehicles. But Pontiac expects they will make consumers take a second look at the brand and its mainstream offerings, such as the new G6 sedan, coupe and convertible, the replacement for the Grand Am, which goes on sale next year.

Myers said she hopes the new vehicles will help Pontiac sales climb back above 600,000 vehicles a year eventually.

"With Pontiac, we are beginning to turn it around, but it's going to be a little while before it's on an upward slope," Lutz said. "I always want the reputation to turn around as quickly as the product ... but realistically, it never does."