GM FYI Blog

Not too long ago, Anne deVille and Lloyd Kinnett shared their stories of finding love and happiness through their new Pontiac Solstices. They just returned from Kansas City for the First National Solstice Meet, and Anne has a full report.

By Anne deVille

Lloyd and I just returned from the First National Solstice Meet in Kansas City, Mo., which was held from July 14-16. Due to high gas prices and the desire to be in each other’s company, we took only one “Sol”. We left a day early so that we would be at the hotel in time to watch all the Sols pull in. We also traveled with two of our “Solmates” and enjoyed the attention that the three cars received on our journey into the heartland.

To our surprise, when we rolled in to the hotel, there were already quite a few “Sols” there… more than I had ever seen in one place! The hotel had set up a place for grooming the cars, and there was always a line of owners taking advantage of this. It was a great gathering place to meet other owners and see what that they had done to personalize their cars. Everyone was very friendly and willing to lend a hand or share cleaning supplies. Quite a few people driving past the hotel pulled in to the lot to get a closer look, and they the free car show.

On Thursday night, we got caught in a light hailstorm but escaped damage, as the Sol performed well in the terrible weather. This was the only rain we had, as temperatures hovered around 100 degrees all weekend.

The party really started when the two Pontiac big rigs rolled into the parking lot Friday afternoon. One of them had a giant “sly” Solstice painted on the side. I couldn’t refrain from staring at the truck trailers. Others couldn’t either, and many took advantage of the photo opportunity. That night we got together in the banquet room for meets and greets and later mingled in the parking lot to chat and admire each other’s cars until the sun went down. Lloyd had painted the Pontiac arrowhead logo on my big toes and that was a hit. So was the V8 Solstice parked in front of us.

On Saturday morning, nearly 100 Solstices paraded down I-70 to the I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Mo., where we lined up single-file to park and gather in the pit area. Vendors were set up to show us the latest in modifications and accessories. There was remote control Solstice racing for the young and young at heart. Most of us took turns driving single-file laps in groups around the track in the intense heat. By afternoon, it was getting crazier as the cars were running three wide. What a sight! After the track events, a fun-filled, scavenger hunt-like run was held before we returned back to the hotel. The evening was topped off with a wonderful dinner, announcements, appreciations, prize giveaways, and a very informative question-and-answer session with a GM representative from the Solstice team.

Sunday we got together for a very fun ride through Kansas City with more fantastic photo opportunities. Again, the cars were the stars as we cruised through historic Independence, then headed to downtown K.C., and stopped briefly at the recently restored Union Station. We then stormed through and caught the unsuspecting shoppers at “the Plaza” by surprise before heading down upscale Ward Parkway and then onward to Gates Barbecue on State Line Road to pick up lunch for a picnic in a nearby park. After all, what’s Kansas City without barbecue?

What a fantastic weekend! But the day wasn’t over for some of us. We were soon whisking off to the land of Oz (Kansas) with my cool (silver) Sol and our friends Melanie in her aggressive (red) Sol, Daryl in his envious (green) Sol, and Curtis and Sherry in their mysterious (black) Sol to see Sammy Hagar perform at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Bonner Springs. Our four cars were on display at Sammy’s Cabo Wabo village before the concert in exchange for free concert tickets. It was a blast watching the concert goers reactions from a distant shaded canopy as we took turns handling questions about the cars. Sammy was great and we always love showing off the cars! This was the icing on the cake.

We were exhausted by the end of the weekend, but the First National Solstice Meet was a huge success. There were approximately 100 cars present, one coming from as far as Rhode Island and another from Canada. There was also a Saturn Sky or two in the group. The mods were incredible and too numerous to mention. Almost everyone had done something to personalize their cars. Future owners came just to get the feel of what it will be like when their new Solstice arrives. A lot of hard work went into the planning and execution of this event and it was something we will always be glad we were a part of. More than $2,000 was raised for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Thanks to all of our new friends and old friends and to the many people who offered congrats to Lloyd and me on our engagement. We were surprised that so may people read our story in this blog and in USA Today. We’re looking forward to next year’s meet!

To see more photos from the event, check out our Flickr albums.