Rear-Wheel-Drive Last Hurrahs: 2006 Pontiac Solstice vs 2013 Scion FR-S

Welcome to day two of Dead Brands Week! Today we’re looking at two rear-wheel-drive sports cars, one from Pontiac and one from Scion, that came along shortly before their respective brands bit the dust. Better late than never, I suppose.

Yesterday it was Plymouth versus Mercury, in a battle of largely superfluous brands. I expected the Plymouth Fury to win, but frankly, I expected a wider margin of victory. That Cougar is the nicest one I’ve seen in a while, but saying “this is the best 1988 Mercury Cougar” is kind of like saying “this is the best Coldplay album.” It might be true, but like maybe three people care. (I kid, DT, I kid.)

Yeah, I vote for the Gran Fury, in case it wasn’t obvious. It reminds me of the ex-government-fleet Plymouths that my grandpa used to pick up cheap at auctions, though he preferred the smaller B-body Fury. That style of Cougar just reminds me of our asshole neighbor when I was growing up, who had one. The Plymouth does have kind of a gritty ’70s private-eye feel to it, as a couple of you pointed out, but to me that’s not a bad thing.

The shift to front-wheel-drive over the course of the 1980s was largely a good thing; it gave cars better packaging, so they could be both bigger inside and smaller outside, and it improved foul-weather driving by quite a bit. But while everyone seemed fine with family cars and economy cars moving to FWD, it didn’t take enthusiasts long to figure out that they lost all the little RWD sports cars in the process. Sure, there were some bright spots, like the Honda CRX and the Volkswagen GTI, that made FWD fun, but a whole generation of enthusiasts – mine – grew up lamenting the lack of that finely-balanced, front-engine, rear-drive sports car feel. It’s part of the reason the Mazda Miata was such a breath of fresh air; it came along when even Lotus was making FWD cars.

Once the Miata proved that we still wanted cars like it, other new RWD sports cars followed in later years, like the two we have here, but neither was enough to save its brand from the chopping block. No matter. The nameplates are gone, but the cars are still here – and still pretty cool. Let’s check them out.

2006 Pontiac Solstice – $8,000

Engine/drivetrain: 2.4 liter dual overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, RWD

Location: Gladstone, OR

Odometer reading: 48,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives great

Sometimes, when a brand gets killed off, it makes sense. Poor sales, redundancy in the lineup, that sort of thing. But other times, they’re just victims of bad management. GM’s bankruptcy in 2009 caused a restructuring of the whole company, shedding a lot of divisions in the process, one of which was Pontiac. It was a shame, because Pontiac was GM’s enthusiast division more than any other, and always full of surprises: the original GTO, the mid-engine Fiero, the AWD 6000 STE sedan, various Trans Ams over the years, and this delightful little roadster.

The Solstice stuck to the basic roadster formula established by any number of British and Italian sports cars: two seats, a longitudinally-mounted engine just behind the front axle, and a manual transmission driving the rear wheels. The engine in question is GM’s Ecotec twin-cam four, displacing 2.4 liters. It’s got just enough power to make things interesting, but not enough to satisfy the critics. The turbocharged GXP version had a lot more power, but honestly, if you can’t have fun with 177 horses in a car this size, you’re not trying. This car has only 48,000 miles on it; apparently somebody only drove it in fair weather.

It’s in good condition inside, as you would expect for so few miles, with nice leather seats. I’m not sure seats this dark in a convertible are the best idea; you’d be wise to park in the shade on sunny days. I mean, yeah, it has air conditioning, but tell that to the backs of your thighs. I have yet to drive a Solstice (or its sister model, the Saturn Sky), but I’ve sat in one, and I really liked the snug, driver-oriented cockpit feel of it. It feels very Miata-like, which I’m sure is not a coincidence.

Outside, it has a few modifications, and whether or not they’re improvements is a matter of personal opinion. The stripes I could do without; I don’t think this style needs them. But I kind of like the 18″ aftermarket wheels. I’m not typically a fan of oversize wheels, but these give it a Hot Wheels vibe, and even better, they’re shod with new tires. I don’t know these cars well enough to know it the convertible top is supposed to be that wrinkly around the rear window, but it doesn’t look quite right.

2013 Scion FR-S – $9,800

Engine/drivetrain: 2.0 liter dual overhead cam flat 4, six-speed manual, RWD

Location: Portland, OR

Odometer reading: 122,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives great

Sports cars are a low-volume business, so if you’re going to spend the money to develop one, you had better save wherever you can if you want the car to be affordable. It makes sense, then, that Toyota and Subaru joined forces to produce this car, so they could each sell a version of it. It’s known by many names throughout the world: Subaru BRZ, Toyota GT86, Toyota FT86, but here in America, for a few years, it was sold under Toyota’s kiddie-oriented economy brand Scion as the FR-S.

The engineering contains bits and pieces from both manufacturers: its engine is Subaru’s boxer design, which keeps the center of gravity and the hoodline both low, but the six-speed gearbox is a Toyota design. This car has also been criticized as not having enough power, but I think anyone complaining about that needs to go drive an Austin-Healey Sprite to get some perspective. This thing has as much power as four Sprites, and weighs about as much as one and a half. It’s fine. This one runs and drives well, but it’s for sale by a dealership, so its past is something of a mystery.

My biggest complaint about Scion’s cars is that the interiors seem gaudy and trying too hard. The FR-S appears to be no exception. I get that it’s leaning into the “tuner” thing, but it comes across as cheesy to me. At least it’s in good condition, except for that weird stain on the driver’s seat.

It’s hard to tell the exterior condition, because the seller photographed it in the rain. One of the perils of selling cars in the Pacific Northwest, I guess. It looks all right, and I wouldn’t expect a car this age to have any rust yet, but the rain does a good job of hiding any paint flaws. Also, I think it has been lowered a little, and I’m reasonably sure the rear spoiler isn’t stock, if any of that matters to you.

I’m really glad that small rear-wheel-drive sports cars like these had a renaissance before everything goes electric. And I’m even happier that so many of them have manual transmissions. And while Pontiac and Scion may be gone, you can still get a new Subaru BRZ or Toyota GR86, – or Miata, of course – with a manual. In a sea of crossovers and massive pickup trucks, its good to know we still have some fun options, and unlike the bad old days of British and Italian roadsters, these are actually reliable, so they make sense as used cars. Which one is more your speed?