2008 Sky Redline A Perfect Paradox

There are certain cars that, on paper, seem like they should be very exciting. The 2008 Saturn Sky Redline is one of those cars. Sexy two-seat configuration, swoopy styling, top down motoring, and best of all 260 turbocharged horses lurking under the hood. But for most of my week with the car I was decidedly underwhelmed. Maybe it was because the car I had came with a five-speed automatic. In the end it took a very special set of circumstances to turn it all around for me. More…

It’s no secret, especially here on CarDomain, that I have an extremely soft spot for the Pontiac Fiero. I have made some detailed comparisons between the Fiero and the normally aspirated Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky twins. I just don’t feel that there’s been twenty years of progress from the last Fiero to the current Solstice and Sky. Some of my observations have been empirical, based solely on the numbers, while other are subjective, due in part I believe to familiarity to the five Fieros I’ve owned over the years.

Initial impressions on the Sky Redline centered around two things, the awkward top mechanism, and the car’s almost total lack of luggage space–especially with the top down–which combine to make the Sky (and the Solstice) basically a second or third car. As other small, inexpensive 2-seaters like the Miata have solved this packaging problem, I’m having a hard time accepting that GM couldn’t have come up with a better solution. And I know that I’m not alone in this observation.

And then there’s the interior. There’s no way to get around it–it’s tight, and I’m only five foot eight, 190 slightly overweight pounds due to too many fast food breakfasts on the road. I simply couldn’t get situated properly, feeling that I was up too high, which caused the windshield header bar to often obstruct my view of overhead traffic signals. This is an almost fatal flaw when it comes to selecting a car.

And my initial impressions driving the car–albeit I was stuck in notorious Southern California traffic–weren’t positive at all. First, the car was delivered with the top down, and, as it simply wasn’t practical to use my Bluetooth hands-free phone adaptor, I attempted to put the top up. It’s a manual top and it’s not easy to operate. And if the handle isn’t folded just right, it’s impossible to latch the top to the header panel. It took a few minutes to figure it all out.

And driving the car, it felt disconnected, heavy, and not at all engaging. Again, my immediate point of reference wasn’t one of its direct competitors but rather my own 1988 base Fiero 4-cylinder coupe, where I feel very much at home. To make sure that I wasn’t alone in this observation, I had a good friend–another car guy who gets to drive a lot of different cars every month–take it out for a spin. Without any prompting from me, his feelings mirrored mine almost point for point.

It took a very special drive to turn it all around for me. I am an automotive photographer and this involves many sunrise photo shoots, which means a lot of early morning wake up calls–in this case 3:30 AM as I had to drive 90 minutes from home to a site just outside of Barstow, California to meet the owner of a car I was shooting for one of the magazines I contribute to.

After a stop at Jack in the Box for a #24 Cibatta Breakfast (large upgrade so I would get a sufficient dose of caffeine) I headed north through Riverside enjoying the fact that there was virtually no one else on I-15. The Sky and me started to come together as the caffeine kicked in as I started the climb up through the Cajon Pass. It was then that I popped in a favorite surf music compilation disc, Surf Fiction, that I picked up at, in all places, a gas station outside of Munich, and fast forwarded to track 28, a Ventures’ medley with an updated re-recording of Hawaii 5-O.

Into the tunes and not really paying attention, I continued my climb and started to take advantage of all 260 horses under the hood. It was then that I felt the Sky was in its element as it pulled strongly in the upper rev ranges as I climbed over the summit and down into Apple Valley through Victorville on my way to my pre-sunrise rendezvous with my subject. As I was running a bit late, I will admit that I was traveling faster than I probably should have, but the sun waits for no photographer.

As I approached Barstow I knew it was going to be tight as I could see some faint rays of light reflecting off of the top of the front fenders. It was then that the seductiveness of the Sky’s shape hit me. I was unfair to compare it to my beloved Fieros; rather it should be compared to ballsy, classic British two-seaters. A big Austin Healey six immediately came to mind, its combination of brutal beauty and brawn was a much better counterpoint than the lithe Fiero.

I met my subject with just a few minutes to spare, and afterwards we had breakfast reviewing the images before heading back to LA to return the Sky. As I had a little bit of time, and to avoid rush hour freeway traffic, I flipped the top into the trunk and took back roads, including parts of Route 66 on the drive into the LA basin. I tried a few more CDs and each helped to enhance the drive as I cranked up the volume and got into a certain rhythm.

By the time I was on the 405 approaching Torrance, my opinion of the car had turned 180 degrees. All its flaws were still there, yet they melted into insignificance as I pulled into my destination. At that point I just wished I’d have more time in the Sky Redline, not wanting to hand over the keys. In the end, that speaks volumes about the car. Ultimately it comes down to the right car, wind in the hair, a great road, and the proper tunes; together it’s an intoxicating combination.