Depressing end to a long love affair (Page 2/2)
MarkS JUL 11, 08:20 AM

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Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:
I liked the excerpt I remember you sharing with us before, so I'd definitely be interested when it's done!


Newest Pontiac is now 15 years old.

My daughter and I are always on the lookout for Pontiacs. The sad thing is, I almost never see them anymore. I see the occasional G6, maybe a Vibe. I actually see more Solstices than any other Pontiac, which is weird because they made so few of them, honestly... but I guess they're unique enough that people keep them around. But I did see a Pontiac G8 GT in The Villages when I was visiting the other day!



My 65 gets a lot of attention but let's face it, it's 60 years old and in 65, the whole Pontiac line won car of the year. If I had an open garage bay, I would pick up another Fiero in a heartbeat; maybe my future retirement home will have one
cartercarbaficionado JUL 11, 07:00 PM

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Originally posted by Frenchrafe:


Good on you mate!


hey i looked for my fiero for a long time. i looked for exactly what i wanted and got it just like the rest of my vehicles and I'd hate someone who put all that work into a fiero to have to just let it go before they are really ready. i know hes not quite ready to let her go just yet just like i cant look at mine and give up
dizzie JUL 14, 04:35 PM
Something tells me you may be a lot happier when the new whip is in your driveway and when the Fiero is sold to someone who can appreciate it and keep it running. There's a season for everything in life! I'm sure my time will come.
cliffw JUL 15, 01:42 PM
Just an FYI. A newer car can be just as problematic.

Best of luck, best wishes.
tbone42 JUL 15, 08:10 PM

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Originally posted by cliffw:

Just an FYI. A newer car can be just as problematic.

Best of luck, best wishes.




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But it's time to move on. I can't afford to restore it, and I need something that doesn't develop a new problem every month. Which will probably happen anyway



Yup 😆

Yeah, fully expecting a whole new set of problems..but I'm hoping someone can give her a new shot at life. I'll make a mall post maybe tomorrow if I can remember how to post pictures that don't take up the whole screen. It's been...quite a while.

And without further ado, here is my choice of "new" vehicle. A 2007 Pontiac Solstice. 🤔 I really do have a "type" I think.

[This message has been edited by tbone42 (edited 07-15-2025).]

82-T/A [At Work] JUL 16, 11:20 AM

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Originally posted by tbone42:
Yup 😆

Yeah, fully expecting a whole new set of problems..but I'm hoping someone can give her a new shot at life. I'll make a mall post maybe tomorrow if I can remember how to post pictures that don't take up the whole screen. It's been...quite a while.

And without further ado, here is my choice of "new" vehicle. A 2007 Pontiac Solstice. 🤔 I really do have a "type" I think.




Hey T-Bone, just re-iterating my response to you in another thread... thought I was actually responding here, but responded to the other one:

--- --- ---


There are a whole ton of people making performance and body kits for it. Norms Fiberglass is the most popular: https://normsfiberglass.com/solstice.html

The airbag malfunction message... it might actually be coming from the Passenger Side Presence sensor. In 2017, GM issued a recall. You'll get a brand new passenger seat cushion and sensor... that may be all that is needed to fix it. Check this site: https://experience.gm.com/ownercenter/recalls ... I'd be willing to bet it hasn't been done and it'll be free to you.

There's a lot of parts available online right now... but keep in mind they made only a fraction of the number of Solstices compared to Fieros. They made over 380k Fieros... but they only made like ~65k Solstices. The cars are at their lowest point right now. Sometimes, I see cars being parted out that are in a nicer condition than my own car (we're at that point). So if you see something you need / want... it's best to get it sooner than later. The "drop-off" for support will likely happen much more quickly to Solstices than it did for Fieros.

Another thing worth mentioning... I assume you have the non-turbo version. It was a very restricted motor when it was sold. I had a 2006 originally that I bought new in 2005. I sold it in 2009, but I'd upgraded a few things and the performance difference was night and day. Stock, your Solstice is more or less the same as a well-optioned Fiero GT in terms of 0-60. But replacing the exhaust manifold with a shorty header, the catalytic converter with a high-flow one, and a cold air intake... it adds a SUBSTANTIAL amount of power. Like... I cannot even emphasize. The shorty header is made by Clear Image Performance: https://clearimageautomotiv...lstice-shorty-header ($425)

There are dozens of cold air intakes for ~$100... you can just get a used one and then get a new filter. And for the catalytic converter... you'll want to get one that offers higher CFM.

It'll shave a whole second off your quarter mile from the mid-15 seconds you have right now. I was blowing away BMW 330s and 350Zs.

Also, be gentle with the manual transmission. It's a really good 5-Speed made by Aisin, but they don't sell parts for it anymore. If it needs to be rebuilt, they have to find a used replacement.


EDIT: I'd regrettably state too that the worst stock Solstice still handles better than the best stock Fiero. But it shows... the Solstice was a niche car that used a lot of off the shelf parts, but they didn't skimp where it mattered. The chassis is hydroformed using the same technology and process as the Corvette (C6 at the time), and uses the same suspension technology that was available only for the Corvette and Cadillac CTS. It has things like aluminum control arms, etc. It even uses the same Bilstein shocks that were offered for the Corvette (though slightly different compression ratio so different part number). But they designed a very good handling car.
tbone42 JUL 21, 06:29 PM
I appreciate it, Todd. all good info. Getting ready to put the Fiero up in the mall to ight. Hope it can go to someone that can bring it back to life or at least need a bunch of the parts.

So far so good with Solstice. Needs an alignment also feels like suspension could use some freshening up somewhere. The blower motor also makes a noise that was freaking me out on low speeds. Thought it was the clutch or something for a minute.

I drive like a grandma in the low gears. I'm ok with not smashing it down but I do miss the low end torque of the fiero. I know I'll never get out in the road as fast so I adjusted.