2006-2010 Pontiac Solstice / Saturn Sky Convertible NHTSA Full-Overlap Frontal Crash Test

[@barcoofius]

I hit a tree head on. going 67, hit a bump while switching lanes, hydroplaned and then the car spun, slamming me face first into a tree. I had a gash on my leg and my thumb had a bruise. This design saved my life. The airbag lights were on but the airbags themselves went on anyways. It’s a miracle. God bless you all

[@honeybadgerfacts3871]

I can attest to these little cars being tough and safe. Was a stupid teen and slammed into an oncoming truck when I lost control at a high rate of speed. Cops found my tire in a field 100 yards away and I hit so hard I popped the axle out the other side of the truck. Walked away from it all with a bloody nose and a Pontiac emblem scar on my chest from the steering wheel airbag. I now have a second one that I don't plan on messing up.

[@JohnCollins-mm5dq]

I've been in love with these kappa cars solstice and sky for years. I finally have enough saved to purchase one.. what I'm looking for is to put the top down and just cruise around town.. not looking to hot rod it.. do you think ill be disappointed by it? That's my fear is that I've been saving up all this time and it wont be as good as I hoped it would be that'll I'll hate the experience of driving it.. and also how reliable are they? I've read that the echo tech motor is a decent motor and the trans is good.. the only consistent problem I've found is the timing chains wear out fairly quickly.. would like your thoughts

[@bow2augusto]

@@JohnCollins-mm5dq would love to hear an update too! I want one of these right now because they are cheaper than everything else.. im just nervous about the maintenance because im not a car guy

[@JohnCollins-mm5dq]

@@bow2augusto well I'll be happy to report I went ahead and decided to pull the trigger on it and buy one.. I bought the Pontiac solstice gxp turbo. Its beautiful.. I've had it for 3 weeks and I can tell you this the car is amazing.. it turns heads every where I go. The stiring is direct and tight, it really grips the road with those 18' wheels.. the turbo is instantaneous and smooth. The gas mileage is decent especially for a turbo. I have an upgraded ECU on mine that puts me st 300hp up from the stock 265hp on the gxp. I don't like driving with the top up because I feel like I'm in a cocoon. The visibility is not that great. Putting the top down is kinda a chore. Trust me dude it's a process. Its probably the most time consuming multiple step process I've ever seen on a convertible.. but trust me urs worth it. Driving around town with the top down is cool, but where this car really shines is top down on the highway. Its phenomenal. And the wind noise is not that bad, either top up or down. Normally I dont care about interior quality on a sports car, but I do have to say it's not that good, real plasticky but on the bright side it's super easy to clean because there so much plastic.. the gearshift knob is clunky when putting into gear, and by clunky I mean its noisy when shifting from park to reverse or drive.. it's not my car because my solstice is mint. It only has 39k on the odometer.. but breaks have a great feel acceleration is good.. I love this car so much.. its absolutely beautiful.. I recommend you buy it.. I've researched this car over the years before buying one and the problem that it notoriously has is the timing chains going out in it. So look out for that.. idk if you've done your research on the car yourself but that's what I've found. I've never had a sportscar in my life.. I'm 40 years old and I've always gotten a practical car for daily use my other car that I daily is An Acura TL, and it's been a great car to me, but I wanted something different that nobody had and I found a solstice4 years ago and never quit looking until I was able to buy it. So my point is if you're able to and you wont out yourself in a bind, just do it pull the trigger on the deal and do it.. good luck to you, and let me know how it goes

[@bow2augusto]

@@JohnCollins-mm5dq thanks for the feedback!! lets see :D

[@JohnCollins-mm5dq]

@@bow2augusto I would but idk how to upload to KZbin lol

[@Nico-nf9lj]

Oh jazz...

[@markb3756]

I've been looking to buy one of these and am really impressed with the results of this test. The cabin was barely affected and the doors opened easily. The drivers knees looked as if they hit the dash but that's to be expected, especially if it's a taller person. I found a Saturn Sky redline that I like alot and the Solstice is basically the same car so I would expect similar results.

[@GearHeadzGarageUSA]

Be ready for cheap interiors, no aftermarket support and lack of replacement parts from GM other than that they are great!

[@Bdamazyn]

I love my Redline. Yes, you'll be wrenching on this "American made" GM product. But it's not that bad. Tons of fun and chics like them😊

[@GearHeadzGarageUSA]

@@Bdamazyn hopefully no wrenching on body parts .....parts are non existent thats why us kappa owners roam the junkyards mindlessly sometimes. Would have loved to see a gen2

[@juliobahamundi7062]

I'm about to buy a GXP. Cant wait! This is a little and reliable roadster. It turns heads even in base form!

[@GearHeadzGarageUSA]

I would have to attest to the GXP being reliable, they are hit and miss. Flawed cooling system to name one. Owned 2 love em but no aftermarket market support and zero parts from GM at this point. The junkyard is your auto part store

[@mattp4806]

Pretty car. Being a British, not one I’m familiar with. Looks Italian to me!

[@Raidersforlife229]

It's a Pontiac solstice base 2.4 liter American .I own the 2007 solstice gxp 2.0 turbo .

[@sexyplexie]

GM Kappa Platform built with a handful of European parts, rebadged as the Daewoo G2X (South Korea), and Opel GT (Europe). It was GM's attempt to get a foothold into the compact "sports" car market which was, at the time, dominated by Imports. The body/design was actually derived from the Vauxhall VX220 which was in production for more than half a decade with "the Vauxhall look", and the L850 engine was developed by GM as a collab project AT LOTUS while Lotus was still under GM ownership (the L850 R&D concluding around the time GM sold off Lotus.) This is something American fans of the Kappa platform and LNF refuse to acknowledge; at is core the Kappa/LNF platform shares is roots with European autos (Lotus-Vauxhall) more than it does domestics, but because Americans are unfamiliar with European markets they think the Kappa was somehow a pure-GM production. Not even close. It would be easier to defend a statement like "it's a rebadged Lotus/Vauxhall, so, British" than to claim it is American. Long story short; Kappas are equal parts European and American, and only barely American.. unless you ask an American. As for looking "italian".. Lotus is (and was) a British company. Technically it's a British look ;) Lotus produced their first car ahead of Ferrari (Italian automaker), and going through the history of these two companies Ferrari trailed Lotus in body design throughout their early years... one could argue that since Ferrari took their visual aesthetics from British supercars/sportscars that today, technically, what one might think "looks Italian" actually "looks British." Now I've undoubtedly injured both American and Italian sensibilities in a single comment :D ..but hey #TMYK

[@sacemanrus8339]

Also sold for South korea is daewoo G2X

[@doozy5920]

Its a lot of cars. Saturn sky, Pontiac solstice, Daewoo G2x etc.

[@kz1000ps]

So no upper fender rails whatsoever? No wonder the frame folded up so much

[@ChristopherPrice]

It's so low to the ground that really isn't a concern. The car has a unibody spaceframe so the passenger cell is well armored. Anything that impacts that hard will total it out anyway.

[@halnwheels]

Even so, notice that the front wheels pretty much maintained their location and did not get pushed into the footwells. The doors still functioned and the windshield didn't break. I'd say a pretty impressive performance.

[@markb3756]

@@halnwheels When the wheels get pushed back it usually affects the footwell area causing some serious injuries but they did not do that in this test. Very impressed!

[@ZacharyDietze]

This hurts to watch now that Pontiac is gone. Such a good car robbed of its potential, it could’ve easily been as classic as the Corvettes if there were more Solstice models. Leave it to General Motors to destroy good brands like Pontiac, Hummer, Oldsmobile, Holden, etc. but still keep the forgettable Buick around even when they already have a more luxurious brand with Cadillac. -_- Needless to say, I find an American car brand like Buick being worshipped by China very questionable at best. To me it just sounds like more propaganda, but hey I don’t live there, let alone having to ever visit that country yet, so what do I know…

[@haidengameplays]

That car is 🤢ugly asf

[@PURENT]

It's not really worshiped by China, there's just a lot of customers in China to sell to. GM sells more cars in China than they do in the US.

[@tedschmitt178]

I’ve never been at all concerned with crash test results in the cars I consider.

[@gohuvaniuscanga7713]

Safe or not???

[@ChristopherPrice]

For its time it was one of the safest two-seaters. Only the Crossfire and SLK 320 were safer. The only major safety feature missing was side airbags and a roll bar. But the car has a very large passenger cell for rollover due to its trans tunnel. Compared to today's roadsters, it's not as safe. But in terms of price the only comparable car is the MX-5 which is slower even 15 years on.

[@didncozosksma4466]

@@ChristopherPrice And it would have been better if Pontiac was still around

[@Casualweeb475]

@@ChristopherPrice it's very surprising how much of a discount my saturn sky caught me on insurance for all its safety features

[@markb3756]

@@Casualweeb475 very interesting. I'm looking at a yellow Red Line version right now. I will have to check with my insurance company about rates but your post is encouraging. Has your Sky been a decent car? Reliable? Comfortable?

[@Casualweeb475]

@@markb3756 they are very fun in my opinion. If you live in an area with heavy snow its definitely not my number 1 choice but otherwise its been a great car so far

[@wsl1912]

İts Pontiac Sunbird!