6. Pontiac Solstice
Built from 2005 to 2009, the Pontiac Solstice was one of the brand’s swan songs. It was a compact sports car GM built on the Kappa platform. It shared this base with the Opel GT, Saturn Sky and the Daewoo G2X. It included two inline-four engines, a 2.4L Ecotec LE5 and a 260 HP turbocharged 2.0L in the GXP version.
The GXP engine had the record-breaking highest specific output of all time with 2.1 horsepower per cubic inch. They based the design on the eponymous 2002 concept, and this car still is attractive. But, the downside came with the huge 2014 recall of 1.4 million GM vehicles due to a defective ignition switch.
The ignition switch defect made the cars prone to all sorts of unpleasant situations. Some of them were hazardous, like a sudden loss of power or complete airbag deactivation. The defective ignition switch was truly dangerous. A total of 13 documented deaths occurred due to this particular fault.
The 2006 and 2007 Pontiac Solstice is especially known to suffer from this issue, so avoid it at all costs. Or, at least check to see if the seller has fixed the problem appropriately. An affordable price tag, cool design, and decent performance are nothing compared to elementary safety. So, be aware of them if you are on the lookout for this compact Pontiac sports car.