So that's that.

After 12 months and more than 17,000 miles, the sun has finally set on our time with our long-term 2006 Pontiac Solstice. If you've read anything we've written about the Pontiac in the last year, you won't be surprised that we're not terribly broken up about the parting of ways with this little roadster. While it provided us with lots of wonderful photographs, the sexy-looking drop top wore us down over the long haul with high levels of interior noise, a jarring ride around town and a drivetrain that provided more vibration than enjoyable performance.

The sun is beating down, wind is whipping over a raked-back windshield, and our slinky steed is swallowing asphalt at one-and-a-half miles per minute. We're driving a 2006 Pontiac Solstice from Northern Oregon to Los Angeles in a single day, and life is good.

Badge engineering. No, it's not the art and science of manufacturing emblems shaped like bow ties or blue ovals. It's when a carmaker introduces a vehicle that's essentially a clone of an existing corporate model with minor styling changes, such as a different grille, taillights and, of course, badges. Nowadays there are even Saabs based on Subarus and Chevrolets.

The Pontiac Safari was a two-door sport wagon, produced from 1955 through 1957, a shared a similar design to the Chevrolet Nomad. During its production lifespan, the Safari received moderate updates that included changes to the grille and side trim. Even though the Nomad and Safari shared a similar body, the Safari sat atop a longer chassis and had a wider wheelbase

The first Solstice Coupe was launched back in 2002. Back then it was a simple Concept, but as many other concepts it told something about the future. And after seven years it will become reality.

Pontiac has taken what customers love about the popular and powerful Solstice roadster and upgraded it for 2008 with new technologies and many standard and optional features. With two Ecotec compact powerplants and a choice between a standard Aisin five-speed close-ratio manual transmission and an optional five-speed automatic, the Solstice and Solstice GXP are true roadsters.

For 2009 the Pontiac G5 offers more power and better fuel economy, all thanks to a 2.2 liter Ecotec engine that delivers 155 hp and has a fuel economy of 37 mpg.

Pontiac announced today updates for the 2009 G6 family: coupe, sedan and convertible. The Coupe version will be priced at $22,890 (GT coupe starting at $25,280); the convertible at $32,970 and the sedan version from $24,125.

The Pontiac G8 GXP is a tremendous performance bargain, built with the best parts from the GM parts bin; the GXP offers owners quite possibly the best fun/dollar ratio on the market. It comes complete with a 19 inch Cadillac CTS-V inspired wheel and brake package as well as an LS3 V8 from a Chevrolet Corvette sending 415 HP to the rear wheels via an optional six-speed manual and a very racy limited slip differential. This is all good for a quarter mile time of 13 seconds flat at 108 MPH and a 0 to 60 MPH time of, with the luxury of four doors.