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Celebrate the summer solstice by building the Pontiac Solstice shooting brake GM never did

Happy summer solstice, everyone! To celebrate, we have a particularly unusual eBay find connected to the Pontiac Solstice sports car. A seller has leftover inventory of fiberglass hardtops designed to turn the Pontiac Solstice roadster into a shooting brake. The seller says they came from a since-closed Indiana company, and they're clearly inspired by another aftermarket part and even a GM concept that never saw the light of day. We'll start from the beginning: the stillborn Chevy Nomad concept. It was a concept that came out about the same time as the original Solstice concept, and it was clearly based on the same platform, featuring a small two-door body and a long nose. It also had unashamedly retro Nomad wagon design cues and cues from the original Corvette. The car never saw production, but clearly people were interested in having a wagon-like sports car. That brings us to the next bit of history with an aftermarket hardtop developed by German company EDAG. We saw a prototype in person, and the overall shape seemed to fit the car — and the wraparound window design certainly seemed Nomadic. Besides the unique look, the hardtop and its functional hatch made the Solstice roadster's miniscule cargo space far more usable. It doesn't appear many of the tops were sold, though. These tops on eBay look very similar to the EDAG tops, though it's not clear if they're a direct replica or something similar. Being that the parts are leftover inventory, the seller notes that some of the tops may be missing pieces for installation, so only those who are handy with bodywork and fasteners, or who are able to lean on someone who is, need apply. Even with some extra work, if you really want a Solstice shooting brake, this is likely easier and cheaper than commissioning a shop to custom-build a roof for your. If you're interested, check out the link. They're $499.99 apiece, and the seller will also provide a set of seals and gaskets for the top for an extra $125.

Junkyard Gem: 2001 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi

The General's Pontiac Division sold Bonnevilles from 1958 through 2005, which turned out to be well over half of the marque's existence. Named after the Bonneville Salt Flats, some Bonnevilles were huge but pretty quick, others were slow-motion land yachts, and some were nearly indistinguishable from their Buick and Oldsmobile brethren. The final generation, sold for the 2000 through 2005 model years, were among the quickest and most distinctive-looking Bonnevilles ever built, but they arrived in showrooms at a time when the clock was ticking for the division's very survival. Today's Junkyard Gem is one of those cars, an '01 with the hot-rod SSEi package. The Bonneville SSEi first appeared in the 1992 model year, just a year after the Buick Park Avenue Ultra was the first of many GM cars to get the 3.8-liter Buick V6 with an Eaton supercharger bolted on top. Production of the Bonneville SSEi continued through the 2003 model year, after which the GXP version and its Cadillac Northstar V8 took over. The 2001 version of this engine made 240 horsepower, good for plenty of torque-steery fun. Could you get this car with a manual transmission? What do you think? Some cursory research indicates that 1970 was the last model year for a three-pedal Bonneville, and even those cars must be incredibly rare. This one looks to have been in nice shape when it arrived here, with the original manuals still in the glovebox. By 2006, the Bonneville was gone; four years later, Pontiac was gone. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Stop all black Bonnevilles!

Lutz dishes dirt on GM in latest Autoline Detroit

Bob Lutz sits down for Autoline Detroit - Click above to watch video after the jump
Autoline Detroit recently played host to Bob Lutz, and, as is always the case, the former General Motors vice chairman dished out some great commentary. Lutz was promoting his new book Car Guys vs. Bean Counters: The Battle for the Soul of American Business, and talk quickly turned to his role as it related to product development and high-level decision making at GM. While on the topic of brand management, Lutz revealed a few rather interesting tidbits about his former employer:
All Chevrolet vehicles were required to have five-spoke aluminum wheels and a chrome band up front, as part of the Bowtie brand's overall image.