Part car geek, part glam girl, Vlachakis insists, “Design is going to be the big thing to pull us out of this mess.” It’s a mission launched by GM products chief Bob Lutz, who has restored power to designers. “They’re back to basically running the asylum,” Lutz said in an interview last week. “Design is the last great differentiator in products,” Lutz said. “All cars work well. They all have about the same fuel economy. They’re all safe. They’re all comfortable. They all have heat and air-conditioning. What you’re left with is, ‘Do I love it? Do my friends admire it? Do I feel good about myself when I drive it? When I’m sitting in it?’”

While Michigan is still heavily involved in design, Detroit is absorbed in designing vehicles that will be produced and on the roads in the next few years, while the more distant future is unfolding out West. Every major automaker is represented in Southern California, with advance design studios spread from the beaches of Santa Monica to the outskirts of San Diego.

Designers wax about the state’s natural beauty and the inspiration they draw from its sunsets and coastline. But there are more practical reasons. An LA studio allows automakers to capitalize on the area’s creative talent and forward-thinking tendencies. The Solstice, for one, was conceived in GM’s design team in North Hollywood. “I thought about the car on the Pacific Coast Highway early in the morning, the way it would look, the way it would feel,” Vlachakis said.

She then spent the next few years in Detroit trying to hold on to that image as the vehicle worked its way from show car to factory floor at the Warren Tech Center. When the Solstice went on sale in 2005, GM sold the first 1,000 online in 41 minutes. By that August, when the Solstice went into production, Pontiac had orders for 12,000 more. A year later, while most Pontiac vehicles were sitting on lots for months, the Solstice moved in less than three weeks. BusinessWeek dubbed the Solstice “Pontiac’s Budget Porsche.”

There are many different colleges in which one would be able to study graphic designing, which they can in turn use to create their own unique vehicles for the future. Some of the more popular colleges to choose from are University of Pheonix, ITT Technical Institute, and Collins College.

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Standard features on all G8s will include an independent suspension; anti-lock brakes, stability and traction control; front, side and curtain airbags; OnStar and XM; power seats, locks, windows, and mirrors; and 18-inch alloy wheels and a rear spoiler. Base G8s will sport GM’s 3.6-liter V-6 with 261 horsepower, teamed to a five-speed automatic. The GT models get a 6.0-liter V-8 worth 362 horsepower and 391 pound-feet of torque, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission with stop-start technology and a limited-slip differential. A six-speed manual gearbox is planned for the new sedan.

The G8 sports a fully independent suspension with MacPherson struts in front and a multi-link rear. Four-wheel disc brakes have anti-lock, traction and stability control built in. And each G8 gets six airbags: duals, sides, and curtains. Inside, the wraparound cockpit will be offered in cloth or leather trim. Heated seats will be offered, and GT models will have two-tone cloth or leather options with red or blue inserts and special instrument faces.

On display at the Chicago auto show this week is a thinly disguised version of the new model with show-car trim including 20-inch wheels, a lowered ride height, painted brake calipers, and a brown leather dash. The concept also wears a restyled Pontiac badge, as GM gauges other ways to update the brand other than with new products.

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Pontiac

“Although the GXP performance series has been very successful in the past, we’ve never attempted to introduce a GXP on our largest volume vehicle and we want to be sure we do it right,” said Dennis Maraone, Pontiac product director. “We believe the package of exterior, interior and performance enhancements we’ve put together on the G6 GXP show car should appeal to 2+2 coupe enthusiasts.”

Highlighting the exterior styling changes is a redesigned front fascia, featuring an integrated lower air dam and an aggressive chrome treatment of Pontiac’s signature twin-port grille, as well as a twin air scoop hood. Around back, the new rear fascia shows off the dual chrome-tipped exhaust and unique “hammerhead” spoiler. Side rocker panels, 19-inch wheels, vented cross-drilled brake rotors, and a 25-mm reduction in suspension height finish off the GXP’s ground-hugging appearance.

Inside, red accents give the GXP a sportier flavor than a standard G6. The red chrome trim on the instrument cluster, center stack and door controls augments the red leather seat and door panel inserts.

Under the hood, the G6 GXP uses a modified 3.9-liter V6 engine mated to a six-speed manual transmission. Linking a ram air induction system with K&N air filter to a cat-back free flowing exhaust helps boost engine output to 270 horsepower and 259 lb-ft of torque.

The GXP performance series was introduced in 2003 with the Bonneville GXP. The Grand Prix GXP joined the line in 2005 and currently accounts for 30 percent of all Grand Prix retail sales. The Solstice GXP launches this fall.

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The future car will be built on GM’s Zeta platform, which is developed in Australia by GM’s subsidiary Holden. The car is delayed as the new GTO is first developed in Australia and then the plants in America will be retooled for the production of the car.

The 2008 Pontiac GTO will be powered by 6.0L LS2 engine with 400 hp and will have a six speed manual transmission. The Zeta platform gets fresh suspension, with a added classy independent rear end assuring better traction and superior handling. The wheelbase is increased to 110 inches.

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The Pontiac Solstice depicted above is one of the first 1000 cars off the line. Chuck Mallett seized it from a South Carolina Pontiac dealer’s clutches with evil intent: to rip out the factory’s 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder and pound in 400-hp’s worth of 6.0-liter LS2-Corvette-V-8, then add a “Mallett V-8 001″ serial plate to the dash.

To squeeze eight cylinders into a four-cylinder hole, it was necessary to notch the right frame rail and shift the rack-and-pinion steering gear a tad. Two belly pans were altered to permit use of the stock V-8 exhaust manifolds and catalytic converters. While clearances are tighter than what GM condones, the installation is clean and neat thanks to the use of OE-style wiring and plumbing.

Twist the ignition key, squint your eyes, and the Solstice morphs into a Corvette convertible humming the standard V-8 rumble. The motor music is piped through a Corsa muffler, then out a single exhaust tip in the interest of stealthiness. Except for Mallett forged-aluminum wheels wrapped by 265/35YR-19 Michelin Pilot Sports and a few discreet Mallett badges, there’s nothing to give away the ruse.

Indulge the throttle, however, and the jig is up. Winding through the stock 3.91:1 axle ratio, first gear is useless except for those with a wheel-spin fetish. Second is almost as bad. But on a below-freezing, low-grip day, we did clock a 4.9-second 0-to-60-mph run by launching in second gear with engine rpm barely above idle, feathering the throttle until the tires finally hooked in the middle of third gear. Our 13.0-second, 114-mph quarter-mile pass should be a cinch to beat on a warm day.

The Mallett-ized Solstice rattles and rocks like no stock Pontiac. Stiffer springs, thicker antiroll bars, tighter Penske dampers, and larger hardware from Stainless Steel Brakes help keep the monster in line-sort of-but you shouldn’t shop here if you expect highly refined behavior.

If you’d be happy with a stealthy beast, act now, because the Malletts intend to build only 100 examples. Prices start at $20,000 (plus the core Solstice or Saturn Sky), not including the larger brakes, nineteen-inch footwear, double-adjustable dampers, and other options you’ll probably want. A two-year limited warranty (but no “Get Out of Jail Free” card) is included.

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