[JohnD]

I like the lines a lot! I think it flows really niceley and does a good job of bringing Frans' original concept to life. Remember, the first drawings of what would become the Solstice were as a coupe - not a roadster.

As for the top, this goes back to the Porsche 911 Targa of the 1960s and 1970s. At the time, Porsche did not think they could do a roadster and pass the safety regulations so they came up with the Targa design incorporating a massive rollbar to replace the fastback. Over the front seats was a removable, foldable cloth panel that could be stowed in the back. You also had a hard top that could be left at home. This is all reflected in the Solstice Targa.

One difference, in the early 911 Targas the rear window was a "zip out" affair, so that it could too be removed, leaving a near-convertible effect with a rollbar. In later models the zip-out rear window was replaced with fixed glass.

The 911 Targa roof lines with the heavy rollbar were very different from the 911 coupe. The top always looked awkward and clunky to me. The Solstice Targa doesn't suffer from any of that.

By the way... I was seriously considering buying a "softback Targa" (the term for the zip-out rear window models) when I ended up going with my Porsche 356 Coupe instead. I know a lot about those cars and was always intrigued by the innovative design of having a cross between a convertible and a coupe... The Solstice, as a car designed to revive the "classic sports car emotional response" does a pretty good job of doing that with the Solstice Targa.

The trick is not to compare it to a 2008 Porsche Cayman - try comparing it to a 1970 Porsche 911 Targa. Then it all makes sense.

I think GM has a winner here. I'll still keep my SKY Roadster, thank you very much, but the design is pretty classy-looking and will probably appeal greatly to those roadster-types who like to keep the top up most of the time anyway!