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MG MGA - The rightful heir to the MGA

I've been looking at the Pontiac Solstice for a while and I really believe that if you were going to modernize the MGA it would be this car, (that and a little Jaguar XK 120 too)

http://www.pontiac.com/solstice/gallery.jsp

I'm not a fan of Detroit products but I gotta tell you Bob Lutz has come up with a beautiful car here

The lines remind me so much of our classic 1950's roadsters. To my eye the curves on this car brings me much closer to the aesthetic of the A than the Miata or the BMW.

Just throwing this out for debate.

Tysen
Tysen

I would suggest you have been smoking something to compare THAT to a MGA !!!!!
J Harle

You're either drunk, or in desperate need of a good optomotrist. About the only thing I see in common is the number of wheels.
R. L Carleen

It looks more like a modified Miata with a little Crossfire thrown in than an A. Of coarse the Miata is a modernized copy of the original Lotus Elan. I think the last original design from GM was the Pontiac Aztec, the worlds ugliest car/van.
John H

Take a moment to look at the front view that's available on the web page.

Tysen

Are you nuts? If you have the unmitigated gall to make such a suggestion, perhaps you don't deserve to own an MGA.
Bobby

Now wait just a moment! I did smoke, was drunk and my wife is a good optometrist. Whether or not it looks like a thing of the past, its a beautiful car, long overdue and finally...finally, an American car manufacturer will give the very outdated Miata design a run for the money. I first saw this car awarded to the first winner of Mr. Trump's Apprectice show. Went to my local Pontiac dealer the following week and he's got me on his list to call when he gets one in. Well done GM! And starting in the low 20's,they'll going to sell the snot out of this car once production ramps up.

Paul
Paul Hanley

The question is:

Is the Solstice a badge engineered Saturn Sky, or is the Sky a badge engineered Solstice?

See http://www.saturn.com/saturn/vehicles/futurevehicles/sky_hi/index.jsp

Larry
Larry Hallanger

Tysen,
You're right. It's a great looking car. And the cost is very affordable. Now, if it only got 30 mpg.
Tyler
tyler

Larry,

Based on the timing I'd believe that the Sky is a badge knock off of the Solstice. I like the front end of the Solstice better. Very Jaguaresque.
Tysen

Nice find, Larry! Two different models to choose from. Just like midget or Sprite! 4 way disc brakes 50/50 weight distribution, yada, yada, yada. Available limited slip diff on the Saturn. Maybe on Soltice too. Hope there's a little trunk room. It's not mentioned on either model's site so I'm guessing there's not much. Can I afford another car or should I sell the truck....
Paul Hanley

I saw the Pontiac version the other day from a distance, did not recognize it, guessed it was a home brew, and thought it would look better with a more open grille........ like the Saturn version which I am just seeing now, thanks Larry for that link.

But, either way, where do you hang your left elbow? Unless driving a RHD version, then you shift with it looking for a place to hang the right elbow.

ever notice that all of the side impact rules have ruined the elbow hangers?

Cheers,

Ted
Ted

Too bad you won't be able to get parts for it, what with GMs plunge. Hey, might be more like other LBCs then we might think? I bet Moss is already printing the catalog.
robert maupin

Car & Driver did a thorough comparison of the Solstice to the Miata in this month's issue.
http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article_id=10244

Miata is still the winner, but it was rather close. For my money, the Solstice looks better, but I'm rather put my money into the Miata - better performance and history of reliability. Then again, I would never trade my A for either one, even if offered an even up trade. Just too much modern technology. I have enough of that in my other cars.
- Ken
Ken Doris

The Sky is a different version of the Solstice, in so much as I have viewed the Solstice for the last 2 years thereabouts at GM's Proving Grounds, and have just lately seen the Sky, but maybe they just kept it under wraps.
To those who believe that GM cannot maintain the parts inventory, they should be able to do that with fair ease. They are not going down the tubes, just going through rough sledding.
Why, though, does everybody hate an American car that tries to do what the foreigners do?
I think that GM deserves kudos for their work on these two cars.
BTW, the Aztec was indeed the ugliest thing on the road, at least until Honda got their box van on the road, and Toyota followed suit. But I believe that the Aztec was a great seller, and everyone I know that bought one loved it.
mike parker

Hi Folks. The Solstice is the first American vehicle in a very long time that actually turned my head. Personally, I love the shape! But I certainly wouldnt trade it for my MGA! I drove to a Ford dealership last year in my MGA. A guy who was looking at a brand new Tbird, saw me drive in. He sauntered over to my MG and said: "THAT is the sexiest car on this lot!" Frankly, it is pretty tough to beat the style of an MGA! But then, I tend to be somewhat biased. 8-) Cheers GLenn
Glenn

I saw a new Solstice parked on the street at the Watkins Glen vintage festival in September. Several people were standing around looking at it. It did catch my eye. But a close inspection revealed that its not a well made car. Panels don't fit, the paint had more orange peel then my Christmas tangerines, the plastic nose had more waves than the ocean. Just looked cheap. Sad, very sad.

GTF

PS: A Pontiac dealer I know gave his wife an Aztec to drive. After one day she gave it back. She said she didn't like people laughing at her.
G T Foster

There has never been any good reason that American manufacturers couldn't have taken on the foreign sports cars and snuffed them a long time ago.

I believe that it has been more a matter their not seeing any need to. The mentality controlling Detroit iron has been, for most all of my life, a very different one than that which has shaped most European and British sports cars. Even the Corvette was only a half-hearted attempt in the 1950s to mimick the style and basic characteristics of cars like the XK Jags and Austin Healeys. To my mind, there was more in common between the Kaiser Darrin and the 'Vette than between either and anything from the other side of the pond.

We got Muscle Cars, not sports cars, and Tuna Clippers rather than Euro Grand Touring cars for most of our automotive history. Even the Cobra was more HP than finesse.

If the mentality is changing in Detroit, it is probably because the marketplace has changed, and the expectations of drivers have changed too. Hot shots driving blown and turboed Hondas with 260 HP (like my neighbor) have had a very different basic experience with their coupes than I did as a young buck whose first car was a 1961 Pontiac Bonneville. Yeah, I had HP, but the big Pontiac was a straight line wallowing tank at the limits. And, frankly, so was my sister's 1967 Mustang GTA.

If the next generation of drivers wants roadsters, their yardstick has been cut from the likes of the Miata, Mitsubishi, and other recent "fast and furious" cars ~ much more familiar technology and design than an MGA. My neighbor across the street at age 26 looks at my MGBGT and the assembled Britcars in front of my house for a club meet as rather distant and quaint and has no desire to part with his money for one of them. But he might be tempted by a Sky or a Solstice or a Miata. And I would bet that is what GM is counting on.
Bob Muenchausen

I'm with Bob on this one. Coming of driving age in the mid-sixties, save for my grandmothers '51 Ford Club Coupe, you couldn't give me Detroit iron. They were as exciting to drive as a bowl of Jello. the Solstice pgotos are indeed intriguing. Sorry to hear the quality isn't quite there. My first car was a '60 1600 'A...Spoiled me forever. I've never owned any Detroit vehicle.
Regards,
Doug
D Sjostrom

I always thought that the Honda S2000 would be a good successor to the Twin Cam and I agree with Bob that we could have built the cars but did not. The only time it seems that it was attempted was when Henry II got his underwear in a bunch over a business deal gone bad.Even then they used Brit expertise to get the job done, dropped it like a hot potato when the point was made,and transfered none of the technology to what we were buying and driving.Then 30 something years later when their market share goes south, they come out with a new version that we can't afford,as if to say Look we still got it were cutting edge.But I guess nowdays when it takes 30 minutes to 2 miles you need your cup holders, dvd players,gps,satellite radio, etc more than you need a good sports car.
gary starr

Found on another BBS, but thought it might be of interest to you all, since we were wondering at the natural heir to the MGA ~ how about an heir to MG period!? http://www.carpages.ca/go/conceptcars/2004_mg_gt_concept.aspx
Bob Muenchausen

Nice looking but its a coupe. MG needs a roadster. The idea of a modernized MGA like the mini, save the look but modernize the rest, would get my vote. Especially if Honda not bmw helped.
R J Brown

GT,
You're right regarding panel quality. GM is experimenting with hydroformed panels on the Solstice and the hydroform lines are quite frankly not producing to desired specifications. Regarding the paint, chances are that the car you saw was not a production model. I have looked at the newer models at GM, and they look quite sharp, in my opinion.
mike parker

Hey RJ,
What's wrong with a coupe? Huh?
The body is stiffer, their quieter, better areo-dynamics, more weather tight, more secure.
Roadster indeed....:)~(OK, so maybe I'm biased)

GTF
58 Coupe
G T Foster

GT my first MGA was a 58 coupe and the only of the 7 I've owned that was used as a daily driver. Of 4 MGAs that I have now 1 is a coupe. I love my coupe but its not the same as a roadster. There is a reason only 10 percent of MGAs were coupes and why 40 percent of MGAs on E_Bay are coupes.
R J Brown

I much prefer my coupe for real world driving. If I lived in S. California the answer might be different, but in most of the world a coupe is a much more practical and wetherproof car.

How can you not like these: http://www.rhodo.citymax.com/i/non-rhodo/rightside.jpg
Bill Spohn

I'm with you Gary, I think the broad formula for the S2000 was very similar for its time: Minimal creature comforts in a small dislacement roadster with an uncompromised priority on raw preformance. I've had one next to my A for 5 years. While of course very different cars, they are enjoyable for the same reasons and provide the same kind of satisfaction. Its hard to pick between them for the day (when the A is running).
Steve
Steve Meline

This thread was discussed between 30/11/2005 and 04/12/2005

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