We may be well past the Summer Solstice but that doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy top-down motoring in today’s Nice Price or No Dice Pontiac Solstice. We’ll just have to see what this Canadian convertible might just be worth.
It’s safe to say that the car market these days is crazy. The thing of it is, consumers don’t seem to have caught up with that craziness. Just yesterday I had an acquaintance complain that when she went to look at new Subarus while her 13-year old Forrester was being serviced, the saleswoman didn’t even try to sell her a car! We all look at car prices each and every weekday and even we are a bit befuddled when it comes to the current market. That resulted in comments on yesterday’s 1986 Volkswagen Vanagon that railed over its $15,000 asking. That may be a lot of money, but the fact is, that’s about what these babies went for pre-pandemic. The VW just enjoys that kind of following. You all weren’t following and gave the bus a 70 percent No Dice loss.
Maybe something that’s cheaper and has a sunnier disposition will be more our speed. This 2006 Pontiac Solstice is one of those, “oh yeah, I had forgotten about those” cars. Along with the seemingly even less memorable Saturn Sky, the two-seat Solstice debuted in 2005 on General Motors’ RWD Kappa platform with a 177 horsepower Ecotec four and, at least in this car’s case, a five-speed manual. You could also get a 260 horse turbocharged Ecotec and an automatic, but this car has neither.
What it does have are serviceable silver paint and a dark gray cloth interior. One of the fun aspects of the Solstice is all the existing parts GM used in its construction. That makes for a fun game identifying all those pieces when around the car. For those unfamiliar, the gauge cluster is shared with the Chevy Cobalt, the backup lights with the Trailblazer, and the front fog lamps with the Pontiac Grand Prix. You can find half a dozen or so more communal components if you keep looking, but I’ll leave that up to you.
This car lives in Canada and has an odometer that reads 174,228. That may sound like a big number but remember that’s in kilometers and in miles that’s a much more modest 108,260. The ad says the car was garage-kept when not on the road and classifies its overall condition as “excellent.” It wears 18-inch factory alloy wheels and Continental tires down below, and a functioning convertible roof up top.
The interior looks to have plenty of life left in it and features a honkin’-big tablet in the console for the phone interface and backup camera duties. It’s really big but doesn’t seem to get in the way of any of the other controls — unlike the panel in the Ford Mustang Mach E which sits over the central air vent contols. Silver carbon fiber pattern trim covers the dash, console, and shifter and that gives the space a bit of a sporty look.
The seller notes in the ad a recent oil and filter change and calls the clean-title car “priced to sell.” That sales price is $7,950 Canadian, which works out to about $6,250 American. That’s cheaper than a contemporary Miata is likely going to cost and as an added bonus, the Solstice has a roomier cabin than the Mazda as well.
What’s your take on this “priced to sell” Pontiac and that CAN$7,950 asking? Does that seem like a deal to enjoy the last months of summer? Or, does that price mean this one Solstice you would pass?
You decide!
Vancouver, BC, Canada, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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