With a reported 9,000 orders so far, Pontiac seems to have a hit on its hands with the Solstice. That number
represents about half of the planned first-year production. But there’s a lingering problem out there, with some
dealers looking to inflate the sticker price with “market adjustments”. This is blamed on pent-up demand caused by
Pontiac’s marketing push that unfortunately got underway about six months before vehicles are to hit the
showrooms. GM is concerned that many prospective buyers are coming into Pontiac dealerships for the first
time, so they’re quietly warning their dealer network to “show leadership” and resist to urge to soak buyers for
another few thousand dollars. This problem is nothing new to Pontiac. Many of us that went shopping for
the first ’04 GTOs were turned-off by greedy dealers looking for an extra $5K; “buy it before we’ll let you
test-drive it” policies were common as well. The model has struggled ever since. Hopefully most dealers learned their
lesson and the Solstice will get a fighting chance to build momentum.
Pontiac Solstice looks to be a hit; dealers warned not to mark up prices
With a reported 9,000 orders so far, Pontiac seems to have a hit on its hands with the Solstice. That number represents about half of the planned first-year production. But there’s a lingering problem out there, with some dealers looking to inflate the sticker price with “market adjustments”. This is blamed on pent-up demand caused by Pontiac’s marketing push that unfortunately got underway about six months before vehicles are to hit the showrooms. GM is concerned that many prospective buyers are coming into Pontiac dealerships for the first time, so they’re quietly warning their dealer network to “show leadership” and resist to urge to soak buyers for another few thousand dollars. This problem is nothing new to Pontiac. Many of us that went shopping for the first ’04 GTOs were turned-off by greedy dealers looking for an extra $5K; “buy it before we’ll let you test-drive it” policies were common as well. The model has struggled ever since. Hopefully most dealers learned their lesson and the Solstice will get a fighting chance to build momentum.