Yeah exactly, it's pretty much Lotus Elise. And any engine they put in it, Ecotec or whatnot, is better than the original Rover K Series in the Elise So back to kazi, good post and all, but the Ecotec doesnt make the Speedster fast. Too bad it doesnt have a K Series Honda engine

I wish Pontiac came out with the Solstice, it'll give me respect for the Ecotec engine and the Pontiac name. Man how I want that car... its everything I'm looking for in a car, 6-speed, lightweight, RWD, and the fact that it looks amazing makes it much better. The latest word is that it will not be made :madfawk:

 

I never said the Ecotec motor was fast. I just said it was flexible. I said the application that used it, Speedster, was fast.

 

You can put any engine in a car that light and it'll be "fast". But yes, i understand your point. I prefer the Elise to the Speedster anyways.

Coolest thing about this car, Heads Up Display.

 

http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/olds29_20030329.htm

Phasing out aging brand: Olds cuts Aurora

March 29, 2003

BY MARK PHELAN
DETROIT FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

As the last Oldsmobile Aurora rolled off the line at General Motors Corp.'s Orion assembly plant Friday, workers looked ahead to more than doubling the plant's output when the new Pontiac Grand Am goes into production in mid-2004.

Grand Am production could raise the plant's output to as many as 250,000 cars, more than double the 121,354 it built in 2002, union sources said.

The Orion Township plant in northern Oakland County has a single shift with 1,850 hourly and 150 salaried employees building 495 cars a day. Grand Am production will add at least one shift and could move the plant to three-shift production, a union official said. GM expects the plant to employ 2,200 people in two shifts.

The second shift should begin work as soon as the new Grand Am goes into production, GM said. At least some of the jobs for the second shift probably would go to former Orion workers who moved to GM's Pontiac pickup assembly plant when Orion went to one shift in April. "If the market demands more Grand Ams, we will look at ways to meet demand," GM spokesman Dan Flores said.

The end of Aurora production moves the Oldsmobile brand one step closer to its demise in 2004.

The Aurora was supposed to reinvigorate Oldsmobile when the first model of the V8-powered near-luxury sedan hit the market in 1994. Orion built all of the 215,123 Auroras sold since then, including a "Final 500" limited edition produced over the last couple of weeks.

Neither the Aurora nor several other attractive products like the Intrigue midsize sedan and Bravada sport-utility vehicle were enough to save Oldsmobile.

Founded in 1897 -- it is the oldest U.S. automotive brand -- Oldsmobile will cease to exist when GM ends production of the Bravada, Silhouette minivan and Alero compact built in Moraine, Ohio; Doraville, Ga., and Lansing, respectively.

The Orion plant built 7,217 Auroras, 32,550 Buick Park Avenues, 43,190 Buick LeSabres and 38,397 Pontiac Bonnevilles last year.

Bonneville production will move to GM's Detroit-Hamtramck plant within the next couple of months. GM hasn't said when Orion will cease building the LeSabre and Park Avenue in order to prepare for the Grand Am. GM has not revealed plans for continuing the LeSabre and Park Avenue production.

 

:crying: It's actually sad to see Olds go the way of the terradactyl. The thing they always used to be known for (sport/luxury) slipped away from them, and they became a strictly luxury division. There was a time when a Delta 88 could take on a Camaro Z28. Complete with crushed velvet seats and a column shifter. Where Olds made the biggest blunder was shrinking the Cutlass Supreme to a front drive V6. So 1988 was the beginning of the end if you look at it. My stepdad owned a 1977 Cutlass with a 350, mag wheels, and posi. The Cutlass was Oldsmobile. So when they disgraced it, people turned their backs.