Pontiac Solstice Deck Lid Hinge Benchmark Exercise

The Pontiac Solstice is a two-seater sports car introduced by General motors in 2006. General Motors of Canada supplied a pre-production model to several Canadian Universities for educational and research purposes. The unit delivered to the University of Waterloo has been used for a number of activities, including several benchmarking exercises. Benchmarking is the process of examining an existing product to better understand its design, operation, manufacturing and serviceability. In this case, the front deck lid (or hood, or bonnet) hinge will be examined. The front deck lid provides access to the automobile engine for inspection and maintenance. The Pontiac Solstice engine deck lid is shown in an open position in Figure 1.  Many design requirements were considered when the deck lid and hinge mechanism was designed, including the requirement to provide ready access to the engine, and to ensure that the implemented design was safe, durable and aesthetically pleasing.

The geometry and motion of this deck lid, and the forces acting on it will be examined to explore the design requirements used in its design, and to identify potential areas of improvement. For example, it is possible to replace the deck lids, currently made of steel, with carbon fiber product to reduce weight. This will require reconsideration of the opening mechanism.