Pontiac Solstice Coupe

There's a problem with convertibles. Unless you live where it's always warm, you can count on having the top up most the time. Most convertible soft tops in the up position leave much to be desired when it comes to sex appeal. The Solstice didn't fare much better. While the two humps behind the headrests looked cool with the top down, this forced the soft top to be oddly shaped and ended up looking like it didn't fit quite right.

Much like the Z3 coupe and the Z4 coupe, the hardtop changes everything, but it still has a removable targa top. That's the best of both worlds. Pontiac 1, BMW 0. The shape is instantly classic, reminiscent of the Jaguar E-type, but instead of having a British flare, it has a hot rod attitude, truly embracing Pontiac's "driving excitement" slogan. There's one design element that really exemplifies this attitude: the side windows. They look chopped. No one else can own that look. It is very American, and very hot rod. You might as well be driving the Batmobile (Micheal Keaton) as far as visiblity goes, but this blog isn't about ergonomics, it's about aesthetics, and this thing is pretty. That forward slopping line is what separates the Solstice from other "cute" convertibles.

On to the criticisms, I would have liked to see the third brake light integrated into the spoiler. Speaking of the spoiler, I like it from the side view, but not the rear 3/4 view. Other than that, the car looks great from every angle. Unless it's yellow. In which case, it's best viewed from below. Or at night. In a dark alley.

I am really impressed by this fine example of American design. It's not trying to be Japanese or European, and even more impressively, it's not retro. Yet, it embodies the elements of what makes our retro hot rods so appealing. It's raw. It's aggressive. It's unapoligetic. It's driving excitement.

Vanilla gets all the toppings!

The Honda Accord has long been a vanilla car. It has never been offensive, but it's never been the topic of conversation. The new Accord sedan is no exception. Ah, but the coupe has caught my eye. The coupe has always been marginally better looking. Vanilla, but with sprinkles. This time around, it gets all the toppings.

The new Honda Accord coupe finally looks like a coupe, rather than a sedan with less headroom in the back seat. The body sits in a forward rake, with accentuated character lines lifting the back of the car. All of the lines lead your eyes to the back, which is the best angle to view the car from. Too often is the rear neglected in the design process. The wheels fill out the wheel wells appropriately and proportionately. Finally, I like how the headlights aggressively wrap around onto the front quarter panels without appearing too big and without housing an offensive amount of chrome.

The only thing that misses, is the front grille. Honda could have looked only as far as their own luxury brand and brought in a resemblance to the Acura TL front grille to make the new Accord really come together. Even without a nice smile, the Honda Accord coupe steps up along side the Infinity G35 coupe and Nissan Altima coupe as a tasty two door sports sedan.