[00:04] >> Yeah, >> boy. It's got Yeah. Yeah. It's got a lot >> You know, horsepower cures a lot of >> Yeah, it sure does.
[00:16] >> right? >> You know, and I'm, you know, I'm a Tesla >> You know, and I'm, you know, I'm a Tesla guy, but the sound sounds pretty good.
[00:40] The car featuring today 2006 Pontiac Solstice. Now, before you run away, just just sit still. 400 horsepower V8 manual transmission. Got your attention now? Okay. Think of it as a Miata on
[00:55] steroids. And the man who designed it, you know him as the designer of Tesla, France van Holthousen. Come on out, France. Good to see you. This >> You know, we know you so much from the Model X, the Model Y, the Cybertruck.
[01:07] People think you graduated high school and went to work for Tesla, but but you had quite a career. You were at Mazda, you designed this, you were at GM for a long time. This is a very special car. How did this come about, the the the
[01:22] sports car? So we'll rewind a little bit. I started my career here in for Volkswagen and Audi and I spent eight years there. >> Met a gentleman who we worked together there, Frank Cedo. And yeah, you know
[01:35] Frank, right? So he wanted to open the studio in North Hollywood with General So I went along with him and we started that studio. That was right around the time 2000201 Lutz came on board. Bob Lutz came on
[01:48] Lutz came on board. Bob Lutz came on board at GM and he wanted to have something exciting to to promote and really build up the brand of Pontiac. really build up the brand of Pontiac. So, he started this kind of uh global
[02:01] design competition within General Motors to come up with a two-seat roadster. $20,000. That was his his ticket. Had to be cheap, affordable, good-looking, fun to drive, and just reinvigorate the the brand Pontiac. Well, he was also the man
[02:15] >> Exactly. >> Using the Holden from the Holden, right? >> Which is which is a great car. If it has one failing, it's a little understated. It's like a the English call a Q ship. It just looks like a regular two-door
[02:30] >> but not a bad looking car. >> No, not a bad looking car. It just didn't have that oomph. You know, Pontiac, the GTO Tiger Strike, just all >> Yeah. If you recall Pontiac at the time, we we call it a lot of cladding, right?
[02:43] the Aztec had come out. There was just a lot of plastic stuff around the car. >> And my my thought was we got to like >> kind of go take a look back and and get >> So we had a design competition ultimately the the sketches that I had
[02:58] that we got to do, >> right? >> right? >> It turned into this. Um so in 2001 kind of right after Pebble Beach had been up at Laguna Secikka had seen all
[03:11] these just you know really cool cars on the track like Cheetahs and E type Jags their raw spirit but they're just you know they they're elegant they're beautiful these kind of cars from the 60s and that really inspired me to
[03:26] looked like this you know that was in September and by December we had a September and by December we had a finished prototype made out of metal with a motor that we that Bob ultimately drove onto the stage in you know January
[03:40] >> It's interesting because that could only happen under Lutz because I remember in the 60s John Delorean he wanted to build a two-seater and GM was very protected. We got the Corvette, we got two seaters, got all the two-seaters we need. You
[03:53] want to build it, you make it a four-seater, Camaro, Pontiac, whatever, they did. >> It was slightly contentious at the time. In fact, when we were in the design studio in Warren, Michigan designing the
[04:06] the Solstice, they put us in a locked room and only Bob, Wayne, Cherry, myself, Vicki, who did the interior design, and a handful of other people else was shut out, marketing people, and nobody was allowed in. It was this top
[04:22] we had, you know, one-on-one dialogue with with Bob and Wayne, and we just quickly. And it was a special a special special time, but everybody was curious Corvette were like, "Wait a minute. We heard about this little two seat thing
[04:38] that you're doing. Is that going to undercut Corvette?" You know, and so it was a little contentious. >> Well, sure. I guess the idea behind. >> Yeah. So, they they were a little riled up, but and I think hence the idea of,
[04:53] you know, branding at Pontiac and really cleaning up the the idea of what Pontiac best movie. >> Yeah, the Yeah. I I never quite got that. It's just, you know, it reminded me of the
[05:06] Queen family Chuckster from the uh the vacation movie. You know, where you go, what what is that? It's it it seemed like such a a foul ball into left field. like such a a foul ball into left field. I I I just such an odd I
[05:19] >> Well, well, you couldn't get any worse. So, like in a weird sort of way, this we had a we had a good starting point to to improve. thought this was a good-look with the Miata. Correct. >> Yeah, exactly. We looked at the Miata.
[05:33] The car needed to have like this American American feel to it. And like I romantic era of sports car driving. That's what I was like referring to where just these really clean shapes, you know, no excess on it.
[05:47] >> And this was designed to be a sports car cuz when the Firo came out, it was a two-seater commuter car and it had the Iron Duke, the little four. not a very good car and then they realized people are using it for sporty purposes. Let's
[06:00] make it and the last iteration with the V6 and the five oh it's pretty good car but by that time the reputation have been sullied by the you know the >> I mean it was really while we were in the process of developing the car it was
[06:14] really important that we try to keep the the cost of the car under $20,000. That has to be >> 1995 right um as a starting point. And so that really led us to a lot of unique
[06:27] decisions. Um we went in and had to >> really use part the parts bin of General Motors to kind of >> put stuff on this car that you know we specifically. So if you kind of go around the car like the front fog lights
[06:41] around the car like the front fog lights are off a GTO. The rear reflectors are off a Buick Envoy. The door handles are just like parts bin door handles that door handles seem big for the car. >> Yeah. They see these seem like a big
[06:56] your whole hand inside there. >> They were the cheapest door handles that GM was making at the time, right? >> And you know, originally we I had wanted to do a flush >> door handle and I had seen the Fiat
[07:09] Barquetta with a little lever. Um, and you know, fast forward to Model 3. handle in there. >> Get your [laughter] door handle. Gotta >> But it was too expensive. If you know, they were making this little Bquetta
[07:22] door handle in a little little garage in Italy, and it was just too expensive to try to get the parts. Um, >> but when it came out, it had I think it had more horsepower than me. I think the Miata was 160. This was what, 177?
[07:35] >> Yeah, it was a 2.4 L EcoTech motor they used all over the place. A lot of cars. >> Yeah. >> But, you know, rear wheel drive. It was >> architecture. GM didn't really have anything to build this car off of, so
[07:49] they created the the cap architecture and they built this car on it. It's unique in a lot of different ways. It used uh sheet hydroforming for both the chassis, so it's got hydroform rails. So, a similar idea to the Corvette with
[08:02] a tunnel. So, it's the the combination of the the uh tunnel and the sheet hydroform rails really made a a solid chassis. And then in order to get the shapes and the width and if you look at like the bonnet wraps over um in order
[08:16] solution was sheet hydroforming. No doing sheet hydroforming. It was you know and so they partnered with a company in Japan I think called Amino and became the first car where you could
[08:30] get deep draw really beautiful finishes but it's single-sided dye. So it was much less capex to do the program like you I don't think you could stamp the hood with a draw in conventional stamping.
[08:43] >> Okay. Now now the Solstice was the performance arm and the Saturn was more the fun commuter car. >> Yeah. So that the concept was you know we have this cap architecture that we've started the Solstice you know kicked it
[08:58] off. There was a a GXP Solstice that had turbocharged. I think it got up to 260 horsepower. So, a little bit more spirited, different fasc. And then we did a coupe as well. So, that was pretty
[09:12] >> And the card weighed what, 28 20? >> Yeah, around 2,800 lb. Maybe a little more with the turbo. >> So, right around three uh,000 lbs. And architecture, let's expand on it." So they um they wanted to do a Saturn
[09:28] >> Um and the the inspiration for that came from Vauhall. There was a study done from of the Voxhall >> and so we stayed behind in Michigan as this car was being done and then >> did the the Saturn Sky version. There
[09:43] was a Redline version which is the same the same thing and in in a weird sort of way was kind of the badge engineering if you remember those days where >> Right. Right. Yeah. >> And I think we did a pretty good job of
[09:56] If you know the Saturn, >> I thought it was a good looking car. I mean, and this one, we're not hold them off any longer. This one is special. is it? >> So, it's an LS2.
[10:09] >> Yeah. 400 horsepower. So, it's a quite an upgrade from the 177. >> So, this would be exactly Corvette's worst nightmare, isn't it? You're taking the Corvette, the LS2 was in the Corvette in those days. Yep. So, you
[10:22] just take it out and you put it in a car that's $1,000, $2,000 cheaper. don't know what the Corvette was, but this car was, you know, >> 20 grand. And then with the conversion that uh Mallet was doing is another
[10:37] know, cheaper than that. >> Okay. So, that conversion was not done by GM, but was it sanctioned by GM? >> I don't know the story. It in some way it must have been because Mallet had said he was going to do a 100 cars,
[10:51] >> like Yenko. Yeah. >> Yeah, exactly. >> And Chuck M Chuck Mallet. Is that Well, it's so funny how the name sticks. I remember when I was reading about Oh, that sounds good. But I never saw one.
[11:03] Yeah. This is the first time and and nowhere do you know. Does it have a V8 >> It doesn't. Um, you know, I think the mallets they put badging on it. Me being, you know, more of a purist, I I took the the badging off. But yeah, this
[11:17] is the only location where Oh, right. that we're that we see that it's a V8. >> Yeah, you're when you're driving can't really head on. I [laughter] can't see >> Do I reach down here? >> It should be right on the side. Find it.
[11:31] >> I'm going to pop something. I don't want Oh, here it is. Well, there's a piece of trim. I don't want to pull it. So, see what I'm
[11:53] And this is your personal car, right? >> Yes, this is my car. Um, you know, we >> my wife and I actually ended up designing the car together before we >> well, that's caused a few fights. I'm designing a car with your wife. I can't
[12:06] imagine. >> But she owned a original car and had almost no miles on it. And sadly, we lost it in the fire in Aladino. And so I thought like we have to find a car to replace that. And this was a really
[12:19] clean car that came up and it just so happened to have this wonderful V8 in it >> Well, that looks like a factory installation to me. It's very well done. >> I mean you didn't have to compromise the headers. Are those the stock headers or
[12:33] special to fit in there? >> I think they're on the LS2. They're the that they do is they upgrade the suspension. So, it's about 150 lbs more weight, but the weights shifted rearward, so the B the weight balance is
[12:47] still like 53 47 on this car roughly. >> So, it's pretty good. Yeah. up front. >> Uh they upgrade the radiator uh suspension, brakes, and >> and obviously if you get 400 horsepower,
[13:02] >> Yes, of course. I think they there's an LS3 and LS7 upgrade that they do as well. They you can get a a six-speed transmission in it. This still has the original transmission from the car, which is out of a Chevy Colorado pickup
[13:17] a LUK clutch in it. >> Now, was this warrantied by GM? >> GM warranties the car, but then Mallet did a 2-year, 24,000 mile warranty on it, which I thought was pretty good for a small little retrofit company. So you
[13:32] bought the car for 20,000 and you give it to him and he would >> for another 20,000 he would modify it and you get back a turnkey >> upgrade and you know they handle the OBD so there's no weird you know lights on
[13:46] >> Are they still around? If I showed up with a 20-year-old Solstice is this >> from my understanding they've moved from Ohio to North Carolina South Carolina >> Yeah. >> Yeah. cuz I'd never seen I've heard
[14:00] great car that is. >> And you know, it's a couple hundred pounds lighter than a Corvette >> with a Corvette motor in it. Kind of pretty fun to drive. >> Yeah. Yeah.
[14:12] >> These are upgraded brake brakes from from Mallet as well as part of the >> But, you know, like the clamshell hood, it's kind of romantic, you know, like feels like a Jag a little bit. >> It's hard to believe it's 20 years old.
[14:25] looking. I I never quite got the whole Saturn thing where, hey, bring the family and we're gonna meet in some city in Texas and have a barbecue. Yeah. Okay. Guys, I'm just uh I just want to drive the car. I don't
[14:38] kind of pioneering as well. They they I think Saturn was one of the first cars with plastic, you know, door panels, >> right? But they really tried to make it successful. You had >> they would have
[14:51] >> these rallies were pretty big. >> Yeah. I Yeah. you had 8,000 people show up or something and they sold quite a few cars and then one day Saturn just >> I mean, I felt kind of bad. You know, I work on the Pontiac Solstice and then
[15:05] >> right? >> I work on the Saturn sky. They kill the brand. Like, I don't know. It's a little foreshadowing or something, but >> Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it seemed to be reasonably successful. Was it just hard
[15:18] Was that >> I think I'm not sure the profitability. I know the bomb cost was less than the actual retail at the time but you know it was 2009 2010 they stopped I think the recession came
[15:31] >> and then the crash in 200 >> crash and so then people were just >> that's what it did >> and I think that was the the end of that struggling as well and so it was you know contentuous time but I think during
[15:45] its run in the three or four years that it was for sale they sold around 64,000 >> you know I never hear them coming up for sale. I I'm looking and bring a trailer. I just You think, "Oh, this is the first one I've ever seen."
[16:01] I've seen them a little bit, but Yeah. I mean, this is I think rivals the car that we lost in the fire in terms of it's just it has 5,000 miles total on because it's a V8. >> Yeah. Right. Exactly.
[16:15] >> Let's go for a spin. >> Let's Let's give it a shot. with >> my giant door handle?
[16:35] it to Madalik, would they do the conversions to this day? They're still conversions to this day? They're still around cars. I know. Yes.
[16:49] I'm going to put my seat belt on in a minute.
[17:06] >> Yeah, >> boy. It's got Yeah. Yeah. It's got a lot of power and it doesn't look like a Franken car. You know what I mean? It It looks It looks like it belongs here. Well, I you know, I don't know if you
[17:20] little bit bigger. They're they're 19s and 20s. And when we were designing the car in the studio, I had the same actual wheel in the studio that we were using until we designed our own. And I thought
[17:33] it would be cool to like put those same wheels back on this car and get it back >> Boy, this thing is great. You know, horsepower cures a lot of problem. >> Yeah, it sure does. Sure does. You know, and I'm, you know, I'm a Tesla guy, but
[17:47] the sound sounds pretty good. >> Yeah, it does sound very good. >> Yeah. So, this is the longest you've been anywhere, right?
[17:59] >> Yeah, definitely. I was at VW and Audi for 8 years. >> GM for I keep thinking everybody's 28 to 32 years old. can't I can't [laughter] >> but I think we're, you know, in a really
[18:12] unique time in transportation with the autonomy coming. The EVs are, you know, >> You know, I always tell guys, this is the golden age. In the 60s, you got
[18:24] horsepower with no brakes, no handling, >> unsafe, dangerous cars, >> Yeah. >> I mean, now you've got there are no bad >> I mean, now you've got there are no bad cars anymore. People
[18:43] the color or they're tired of it, not because it wore out or broke. You know, it doesn't really happen that. I remember my dad every two years we go to Midas Muffler to get our free muffler with the warranty cuz the salt would eat
[18:56] Yeah. >> You you got the muffler free, but you had to pay for a tailpipe if it needed a tail pipe. That was the idea. So they a guy would come out who had just a one big muscle arm and he had a pair of
[19:11] pliers and he'd squeeze your your tailpipe until it just crushed and then >> Oh, look. I need a new tail pipe. >> Yeah, you need a new tail. Yeah, my my father yelling at that. I mean I'm we I mean we bought a 66 Ford
[19:27] and in the summer of 68 69 there were bubbles on both fenders from >> you know throwing up the salt, you know. Well, now the corrosion technology, the paints, it's unbelievable. Cars will last a lot longer. And I think if you
[19:41] take care of a car, this car is, you know, unrestored. It's >> 20 something years old. >> 20 years old. you had a kid when you bought this car, he'd be in college now.
[19:53] >> There you go. That's unbelievable. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Do you think he is? I I think they've still they're still in business. >> I It just seems like something I should
[20:08] >> I It just seems like something I should hear about cuz it's such a great idea >> and it's not going to ruffle any feathers. It just looks like it looks like a Pontiac Solstice, you know? >> They do a great job, I think.
[20:21] >> Yeah, they do a wonderful job. I mean, this thing is unbelievable. And my gosh, the fun factor is >> they kept the old slow 140 mph speedometer. >> My kids still think that whatever the
[20:35] goes. >> Yeah. You know, my mirrors are are in kilometers and one key goes, "Whoa, 320. This goes 320." >> But what I think is nice about this motor, too, it's really docel. It's easy
[20:50] >> You know, I give General Motors a lot of credit. I got that Z01 Corvette. Can't stop talking about it. You know, it's as exotic as any motor. Flat plane crank,
[21:02] four cam, four valve, >> 1,250 >> Yeah. >> I mean, it just for less than the sales >> Exactly. >> Well, I always say that your Corvettes
[21:15] are attainable. I made the mistake of saying the ZR1 is a car, you know, a regular guy could drive. Mr. But okay, that is the most expensive version. But when the C8 came out, it was $68,000. >> And I remember the same week the NSX
[21:31] >> And I remember the same week the NSX came out and that was $25,000, >> And any of the European cars are double that. >> Yeah, exactly. >> $20,000 car. That seems hilarious,
[21:43] >> right? >> Well, it's minor minor engine upgrade, >> Yeah. And I think they did a really good job of keeping the balance as neutral as possible. So the handling is still >> you don't give up. You don't It's not
[21:57] over steering, under steering. Definitely can over steer.
[22:09] >> They're pretty new. >> I do. >> And it's nice. It's a nice stock motor, not not some cammy thing where you have
[22:21] >> And like I was saying before, I think they make bigger kits like LS3 or LS7, >> 570 horsepower. Like that's a little extreme for the size car at that point.
[22:33] This is a pretty good balance where it's tame to drive. Like you said, it's no >> Well, if you didn't know what it was, you'd think it was just a regular soul you'd think it was just a regular soul unless you put your foot in it.
[22:58] screaming, you know. >> Right. Right. >> Yeah. My Bristol 403 is expensive car. And it says, "The reason this car does not have air conditioning
[23:13] >> is so you can enjoy the pastoral smells as you drive the car. It's not such a >> Oh, yeah. That's why I don't have it." Yeah, right. Fact, it's 104°, >> right? Melting, but it smells good. >> Don't really need six speeds in this
[23:27] >> No. And you you know, it's a pretty bulletproof transmission coming out of >> And it's an easy to drive car. >> Oh, this it's very, very good. When we
[23:39] of discussion around whether they should use a V6. >> And give it a little more horsepower, but I think the extra weight and the but I think the extra weight and the cost of V6 ultimately was the demise of
[23:53] >> And so then they started looking at turbocharging the, you know, the four-cylinder. And they were using that that four-cylinder, the EcoTech motor everywhere. So the cost was really affordable. I don't think they were ever
[24:07] thinking of putting a V8 in it like this. >> Cow's not moving around. Very sturdy, very well-built car.
[24:22] >> Yeah. Again, I think the tunnel, the hydroform rails, convertible. >> Must be heartbreaking as a designer. You work on something, it's going fine, I cancel. What? Well, why why why did we
[24:37] get rid of this? What happened to you? >> Well, we're also canceling the Model S. >> the end of an era there, too. >> Well, the Model S is certainly one of the most important cars of the of the
[24:51] millennium, I guess, if not the most. I mean, a real game changer. what people thought it was. >> You know, I I talk to people all the time and they go, "But what does what does Tesla sell? Like 10,000 cars a
[25:04] year?" No, they're the biggest luxury maker in the world. >> in the hundreds of what the people they just because they don't see advertising >> right? Well, it's sad to see story brands like Pontiac disappear as well.
[25:18] >> I know. Yeah, it really is. Yeah. >> When you're making a car like this and you still have to, you know, get rid of the brand, it's really sad to see. Well, the writing was on the wall when they all went to the same motor, same
[25:32] engine, right? >> I used to love the day Buick had the nail head and had, you know, >> y
[25:45] the right noises. Put a little louder exhaust on this thing. it's pretty loud. >> Yeah. But like I always say, horsepower sells cars. Torque wins races. That's right.
[25:59] >> And you put your foot in this and boy, you just feel it. I broke the tires >> That's why I asked they were old. They were spinning.
[26:14] >> Did this ever come with an automatic? I guess it did. >> Miss the stock shocks and everything, right? They're upgraded shocks that Mal does. Yeah. Just to handle handle the
[26:26] >> Yeah. >> So, it's a little tighter suspension than the stock car. Stock car comes on >> Yeah.
[26:38] >> Did they make a hard top for this, too? >> Pontiac actually made a a coupe version that on removable target top. >> Oh. Oh, that's interesting. >> And they they only made just about a thousand of those. So, those are
[26:50] thousand of those. So, those are >> hard to find. >> Build it again. Bring it back. >> I know, right? Bring it back. Well,
[27:03] >> so odd to see France in something none electric. So, this is uh like top going >> I know, right? >> It's like the dark side. But, right? >> That's right. Yeah. I mean, to me, I
[27:16] love the fact that I I have gas and I have electric. If a gas is $7 a gallon >> right, >> I I use my Tesla to run around town and out and I take something like this. >> Yeah. I think having options from uh you
[27:32] know, just makes makes our country more sustainable, too. >> Well, France, thank you very much. We're eagerly anticipating the arrival of the >> Yes. >> Very soon. Very soon.
[27:47] >> Very soon. Very soon. >> Very soon. 10 years in a 10 years >> Yeah. >> Well, thanks Jay. Pleasure. Always a >> Folks, you ever get a chance to drive one of these? Take it. Just just a great
[28:01] car. This it's called the Mallet V8 and it's uh I got to admit I was not aware of this until it showed up here on my doorstep. So, we'll see you guys next week with some more surprises. See you then. Thanks.