When General Motors rolled out the Pontiac Solstice during the 2004 North American International Auto Show with the incomparable Bob Lutz at its helm, the convertible was a revelation. GM had finally built a viable sports car, we thought, with swoopy lines and a low centre of gravity, big wheels and tires, a nice 2.4L I-4, stirred by a 5-speed stick and rear-wheel drive. Yeah, it had all the right stuff.

Rushed to market, the end product was slightly less than the sum of its parts. Quality control was iffy, top operation was difficult and trunk space, to be kind, was negligible. Good looks sold the Solstice convertible - and its infinitely more attractive Saturn Sky doppelganger - but not much else.

The GXP model helped remedy a distinct power lag with its 2.0L turbocharged mill, but creature comforts and build quality continued to lag, particularly behind Mazda's benchmark MX-5 Miata convertible.

Now the whole of Pontiac is on the auction block and likely headed for the same place where Oldsmobile lives, in peoples' memories. The Pontiac Solstice convertible - and the coupe introduced at the 2008 New York Auto Show - are symptoms of how GM has forgotten its core product and why it is going away.

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