They were close... what they got right was the styling, I've heard people are buying them without even driving them! That says something about how passionate people are about the way they look.

CONS:
Aside from that, the car is typical of GM products. The steering is over damped, the shifter is numb (but precise for a GM shifter), the engine is linear in it's power delivery, but it's boring (and sounds like a tractor off the line), the transmission gearing is very tall (which might be good on the highway for fuel economy) but results in unexciting acceleration (engine bogs under 60mph in 5th gear), the driving position is horrible for short & medium height people (seats are very low with no height adjustment & the dashboard is very high), interior quality isn't anything special (cheap plastics), the top is a pain to use in comparisson to a Miata or MR2 Spyder, the cupholders are in terrible places... one on the passenger side probalby will end up cutting the passenger's knee it's so poorly placed. Little annoying things the chrome bezels on the guages reflecting off the windshield, steering wheel blocking the top of guages or the hazard & fog light buttons on the dash, recline knob on seat being near impossible to reach while door is closed, etc. the list really just does go on and on. With the top up there is TONS of windnoise... and a particularly annoying one right behind the driver's left ear. With the top down, the lack of a "windblocker" between the seats really sets wind blasting the drivers right ear and the passengers left ear. On a cold day, it's almost intolerable. On a warm day it's somewhat pleasant, but makes conversation difficult. In the end there is a lot of wasted space and it seems like it could have just been executed better.

PRO'S:
radio has a nice design to it, turn in is quick, styling, brakes have a solid feel and work well, car rotates slowly so drifting is very controllable when you're at higher RPM's, solid chassis, good suspension tuning for performance & ride.

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UPDATE 1/25/06:

I've revisited the Solstice again, and I've changed a few of the Pros & Cons of the car and still I'm left with an overwhelming number of Cons for the car. The list of things that are wrong with it, still FAR OUTWEIGH the things GM got right. To sum it up, GM has a very capable platform on their hands if they would just take the extra step or time (perhaps beat the beancounters with their calculators) and just "do it right", this car would truly compete with the Miata. If the Miata never existed, this car would be pretty nice, in most regards and earn the praise the American autopress has heaped onto the car.

However, that's not reality. Reality is that the Miata has a 15 year headstart on GM in this segment and they've had time to refine their car to a point of near driving perfection. That being said, it's not understandable why GM would choose to do the things the way they did, given how successful the car has been.

Why not take all those cues that people have been raving about for 15 years and incorporate them into your "competitor design" to really make it a competitor?

The key to the Miata's fun is the balance of the drivetrain, suspension & livability. It doesn't have the fastest accerlation, it isn't the most comfortable suspension or the roomiest interior or storage capacity on the market. But what it does have is the ability to at least get out of it's own way, while letting the driver dance at the limits, plus I can throw the top back, put some overnight bags or golf clubs in the trunk and go away for a weekend with the significant other.

The Solstice has missed this in most regards. The suspension & chassis is quite nice actually... the car rotates very slowly (just like the GTO actually) and will let even novice drivers feel like a driving pro when they can hang the tail out in a turn and keep it in check without scaring themselves to death. So GM did a very good job with the handling in terms of controlling slides/oversteer. The engine is poopy. It's torquey and does propel the car forwards, backwards and perhaps even sideways if that's your thing, but it just does it so uninspiringly. The entire time I drove it on the highway, I had no desire to push it any harder. 5th gear is fairly quiet on the highway and above 60mph performs quite well. I think 80mph is about 2500 rpm, and passing traffic doesn't require a downshift or much effort... however the downshift doesn't hurt either ;)

The transmission really just accentuates that the engine is poopy however. The extra tall gearing that was lifted out of an S-10 pickup truck is evident in the way the car feels as you drive it. Closer gear ratios would have brought the engine more to life and possibly reduced some of that transmission whine that is evident. I think GM figured if they built the current Solstice with this transmission, they could save money later on when they turbocharge the car. This transmission gearing would be optimal for a turbo to wind out. Less shifts, more boost, that's a recipe for fun!

The top is terrible. It's quite stylish and some might argue that the form over function would rule it out, but the fact that the top on the miata has evolved over time to a near perfect manual top operation is evident, while it looks like GM has taken some of the good ideas and ran with it in the wrong direction. The top can be put down in a relative short time (maybe 30 seconds?) but putting it up requires much more effort.

SOLSTICE TOP OPERATION: Unlock center locking mechanism inside on windshield, roll down windows a little, open glovebox and hit trunk button, close glovebox, get out of car, lift up trunk, pull roof away from windscreen, push it into trunk area, possibly go around to other side and push far corner into trunk also (if it didn't go all the way in on it's own, slam trunk shut, push buttress pin into trunk, walk back around to other side, push other buttress pin into trunk, get back into car and enjoy the elements! (putting it up is the same, but requires more time to lift etc.) WARNING: Also the windscreen weatherstripping gets destroyed by 2 pins that align the top with the windscreen. Be very careful that you don't tear the weatherstripping with these pins, otherwise you might find the car leaks after a while.

06 MIATA TOP OPERATION: unlock center locking mechanism from windshield, lower both windows, grab handles and throw top backwards. the top will generally lock into place on it's own, requiring nothing else. putting it up requires you to pull a handle on the inside to release top, lower windows, push down windblocker, grab handles and pull top overhead, lock top to windscreen.

The exhaust note sounds uninspiring and can't mask the coarse eco-tec motor or the transmission whine.

There is just about no storage capacity in the Solstice. The trunk is taken up by a huge box like obstruction that protrudes into the center of the trunk as well as the top. If you want to put something in the trunk, you have to lift the top out of the way and you're rewarded with a space that might be able to squeeze 2 gym duffels in... maybe... but reading another review, says they can get a bag of golf clubs in there?!?!?! I'm going to say BS... especially with the top down... maybe with the top up, but I'm even skeptical about that. The interior has no cargo storage either... no where for your cellphone or coins or anything... i think the back of the seat has a map pocket, but umm... that's really difficult to access while driving. The glove box is tiny and the rear cargo thing located on the center transmission tunnel might be able to hold some CD's, but they'd be a pain to get to while driving. Lot's of wasted space in the car.

In conclusion (again) I think GM has a very capable platform here, but have failed to cultivate it properly... hopefully they spend the additional dollars to develope it further and not just assume it's going to float on it's own now for the next 10 years. If they spend the additional money, it could very well compete with the Miata, but certainly not as is right now.