I was sitting in traffic the other day and across the light from me was a very clean Pontiac Aztek that was orange metallic (I've never seen one that color) and it didn't have all that gray plastic cladding on it like so many of them did. It was shiny, showroom new looking with nice looking 5 spoke wheels. As I was looking at it I thought itdoesn't stick out like a sore thumb anymore. Yes its still ungainly from some angles, but it doesn't seem as bad now for some reason. I think one of the reasons is that the market is now full of much uglier crossovers and boxy utility vehicles, where 10 years ago the Aztek was the only one. Thoughts?




I remember sitting in one at an auto show 10 years or so ago. I remember the interior was very well laid out and very roomy.

This one actually looks cool.


Aztek vs. Now: Juke, CRV, Cube etc.

 

Good point.

 

I see your point, but this was PONTIAC we are talking about. This was suppose to be the sport brand image of GM.

There were many things different too. All those cars you posted either had a low price tag, great MPG, or both. The Aztec had neither. It cost too much at the time and didn't have a great MPG rating.

Also the Aztec was advertised to a strange target demographic, the generation x hippie/outdoors man type. All the cars above picked much bigger target markets, either by being a "family" SUV/crossover, or with the scion or the kia they targeted younger adults out of college.

Now that you pointed it out, I'm glad at least some auto makers learned from GM's bad mistakes on the Aztec. Now when automakers release an ugly crossover, they make sure it has some trait to convince people to buy it. (High MPG and low MSRP)

 

I don't think all these new ugly vehicles absolve the Aztek of any guilt. In fact, if there is a connection between the Aztek and those other ugly crossovers that followed, it would only make me blame the Aztek more for being ugly AND starting a trend!

To me, the plastic cladding wasn't the feature that made the Aztek ugly. The entire front nose design and the strange, space killing shape of the roof over the rear cargo area were the offending features.

 

I think it's an interesting point. The Aztek is still God-awful in any era, but you do look around at some of the things Nissan is doing (Juke, Cube) or the Scion xB for that matter and you think "man, why did Aztek take such a beating and these other abominations are praised for their 'quirky'/polarizing styling?"

I suppose the fuel milage thing is a possible explanation but then you have to remember that when the Aztek was being produced, gas was relatively cheap and MPGs weren't #1 on most people's minds. So I'm not sure that explains Aztek's overwhelming failure and backlash compared to today's freakshows.

 

I've thought this for a long time. The POST-REFRESH Aztek was actually not too bad. The original version needed help though. Especially the base models (with the grey cladding, too-small wheels, etc.); they were pretty gross.

 

Oh, I forgot about this one.......



Yes I agree, Pontiac should have never gotten a vehicle like the Aztek, or all of those mini-vans they had through 90s-00s. But then again Pontiac had wagons back in the 80s and for years before. So I guess you could say that family haulers like the Pontiac Safari Wagon are apart of Pontiac heritage just like GTOs and Firebirds.



I didn't like it when Pontiac got the Vibe or the Torrent. Then they released a Torrent GXP, though it didn't get as much R & D as some of the other GXP products it turned out pretty good. The GXP should have been the starting point for the Torrent and not the top end model.

 

My parents had that EXACT car when I was growing up (my dad is a "pontiac" guy), right down to the color, fake wood, and wheels. The interior space in that thing was awesome. It rode really nice too

 

That wagon would have been more relavent had it been fitted with a big ol' honk'n 455 Super Duty with shaker and radial tuned sport suspension or whatever Pontiac was calling it in those days.

A G8 GXP Wagon, how sweet would that have been - I'll tell you, pretty damn awesome!

 

What could have been.....

 

I would LOVE to rock that car. Damn it.

I also wish Chrysler would bring back the wagon version of the LX (Dodge Magnum here Chrysler 300 Touring in Europe).

 

I have a 2001 Aztek with 109,000 miles. It has been amazingly reliable and not one, single rattle. I don't think it's too terrible ugly, I call it plain. But I'll forgive it for it's other features. Despite the slanted roof I can jam a lot into it. The seats remove and it's almost as roomy as the minivan it is based on.

It's great for bopping around town with the family.

 

I'll get back to you in 2022

 

Well the Commodore is coming back over as the SS. There have also been rumors of the Ute being back on again so there could be a slim chance for the wagon.

 

The only Aztek with the gray plastic cladding was the first model year. The rest had that painted body color.

It was ahead in a way, at least as far as crossovers are concerned, not necessarily the small box cars. It was on the minivan platform and was meant for people that wanted more of a sport utility looking car. The looks were a bit too derivative for most people. Very quirky.

I don't know if "Breaking Bad" has helped it in the popularity department.