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Well I got to test drive a Saturn Sky today - Manual, Chili Pepper Red. Seemed to have plenty of power to me - maybe I don't need to wait for the Red Line - even had a nice sound to the exhaust and loved the handling. Did not so much like the placement of the rearview mirror - for me at 6 foot tall with 32" inseam - the mirror tends to be squarely in the center of my line of site when looking to the right say to check for cross traffic at an intersection. Also noticed at the first stop light that the top of the windscreen did an excellent job of hiding the traffic light (as has been posted here previously and which I thin I could adjust to). Very good wind deflection at 60 mph or so on the highway, windows up, no add-on windscreen. The ride did seem a bit stiff - but only 36 miles (or was it 63) on the one I drove - maybe it gets better - but then the Red Line is supposed to have a stiffer suspension, right? Maybe waiting for the Red Line is not such a good idea. Then again I like the dual exhaust and the Stabilitrack etc. The door and power mirror buttons are quite far back towards your elbow rather than at your finger tips - but I could get used to that.
The guy at the dealer who enters the orders said they already had customers waiting for all of their expected allotments (26 total, 6 already delivered) - he also noted that under the new GM rules they have to earn their images each week - and they have been getting 1 or 2 each week - based on things like total volume, completion of training courses and such. He has tried to order a Red Line - but no deal yet - expects them to be available in the fall in very small quantities - and expects the extra $ for the Red Line could be as low as $3k. But also added hard to say how the recent change in Saturn vs GM will affect how easily the dealers can know in advance what they are getting.
I also went down the road a bit and drove a Mazda Miata Grand Touring 6 Speed. In terms of fit and finish and room inside the car etc - nothing to complain about - and actually seemed like just a tad more elbow space on the driver's left. Pretty well loaded with traction control and such it was within about $2k of the standard Sky with options. There did seem to be quite a bit more wind/turbulence at highway speed even with the windows and the built-in tiny wind defletor up compared to the Sky. There is very little space around the gas pedal - my shoe was rubbing on the carpet while driving. The top goes up and down very easily with one hand while seated in the car. I have been driving 5 speed cars for so long I kept forgetting that I had 6th gear available. The gear pattern is a bit odd (to me) with reverse being the top left most position accessed by pressing down on the stick (like the older Volkswagen Beetles and probably other cars). And the ride in this Miata was also stiff - not quite as stiff as the Sky, but then I think it has a few more miles on it so perhaps past the break in period on the struts/springs/shocks.
All in all if someone walked up to me and said I could have either one and all I had to do was toss a coin and heads I get the Sky - tails I get the Miata I think I would be happy with either one. I still prefer the styling of the Sky and would like to test drive a Sky Red Line (or at least a Solstice GXP) before I have t make a decision - but it might some down to being able to take delivery of the Miata in November when my current lease is up vs waiting until I cannot say exactly when to get a Sky. (then again by Novmber the 2007 Miata will be out and I may have to start my comparison all over again - and might still try to get a test drive in a Honda S2000, just for fun).
The guy at the dealer who enters the orders said they already had customers waiting for all of their expected allotments (26 total, 6 already delivered) - he also noted that under the new GM rules they have to earn their images each week - and they have been getting 1 or 2 each week - based on things like total volume, completion of training courses and such. He has tried to order a Red Line - but no deal yet - expects them to be available in the fall in very small quantities - and expects the extra $ for the Red Line could be as low as $3k. But also added hard to say how the recent change in Saturn vs GM will affect how easily the dealers can know in advance what they are getting.
I also went down the road a bit and drove a Mazda Miata Grand Touring 6 Speed. In terms of fit and finish and room inside the car etc - nothing to complain about - and actually seemed like just a tad more elbow space on the driver's left. Pretty well loaded with traction control and such it was within about $2k of the standard Sky with options. There did seem to be quite a bit more wind/turbulence at highway speed even with the windows and the built-in tiny wind defletor up compared to the Sky. There is very little space around the gas pedal - my shoe was rubbing on the carpet while driving. The top goes up and down very easily with one hand while seated in the car. I have been driving 5 speed cars for so long I kept forgetting that I had 6th gear available. The gear pattern is a bit odd (to me) with reverse being the top left most position accessed by pressing down on the stick (like the older Volkswagen Beetles and probably other cars). And the ride in this Miata was also stiff - not quite as stiff as the Sky, but then I think it has a few more miles on it so perhaps past the break in period on the struts/springs/shocks.
All in all if someone walked up to me and said I could have either one and all I had to do was toss a coin and heads I get the Sky - tails I get the Miata I think I would be happy with either one. I still prefer the styling of the Sky and would like to test drive a Sky Red Line (or at least a Solstice GXP) before I have t make a decision - but it might some down to being able to take delivery of the Miata in November when my current lease is up vs waiting until I cannot say exactly when to get a Sky. (then again by Novmber the 2007 Miata will be out and I may have to start my comparison all over again - and might still try to get a test drive in a Honda S2000, just for fun).
