[mceb]

Ohhh this article is claiming the full 5k higher in base price...not sure if that's speculation or not. :eek

Not sure what they mean by more powerful (it's same engine?)

While Sky will add about $5,000 to the base Solstice, it’s expected to be a significantly more refined and powerful vehicle.

How much different than Solstice?

The roadster’s suspension should also exceed expectations, considering Sky’s price point. It’s a four-wheel independent short/long arm suspension, with coil-over Bilstein monotube shocks for improved wheel control and road isolation. The Sky will boast hydraulically assisted rack-and-pinion power steering, and four-wheel disc brakes with ABS.

http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?n=156,175&sid=175&article=7925

Check out the funky Auro interior (black and brown).

 

[mceb]

Picked this off another site so I don't have the link. Interesting how the focus group scores dropped when they learned it was a Saturn. We discussed how hard it is to undo an image already created.

Business Week: 01/17/05:

Quote from page 79:

"They'll (Saturn owners) will also be surprised at the price tags. All of those improvements bumped up costs, of course. While GM isn't saying how much it will lift prices, the Sky is expected to sell for a shade more than the nearly $20,000 Pontiac Solstice roadster, which uses the same engine and frame. Compare that with the under $14,000 for a base-level Ion. "They're nuts," says Art Spinella, president of CNW.

Indeed, GM will be hard-pressed to convince buyers that any Saturn is worth that much. When the company showed the forthconming Sky/Aura to consumers in internal clinics, they registered a 3.9 on GM's 4.0 scale of acceptance - indicating a genuine hit.

But then GM slapped a Saturn emblem on the hood, and the score plummeted to a weak 2.5. "The cars look good" says AutoPacific vice-president James Hall, but he jokes that "a lot of embarrassed people will be driving Saturns."

General manager Jill Ladjiak points to the unit's young, educated buyers, most of whom are women. "We've had a lean product portfolio, some people are surprised the brand is still standing." Bob Lutz vows that GM will be patient as it tries to fix things. But consumers are likely to be less forgiving. If the new cars fizzle, Saturn could still find itself following Oldsmobile into early retirement.

 

[Fformula88]

Its hard to evaluate what kind of value it will be without full details on its standard equipment, and what its exact price will be. The official press release from GM basically says it will start under $25K. Now, that could mean $22.5K which isn't too bad, or $24,995 which is quite a bit.

Still, if the $20K Solstice is basically a stripper with few convenience features, adding them back on with the Saturn would quickly hike the price.

It may also be a sign the really cheap Solstice is simply going to be a loss leader, and may start to creep up in price quickly a couple years into production.