GTP Cool Wall: 2001-2005 Pontiac Aztek

2001-2005 Pontiac Aztec

  • Total voters
    109
  • Poll closed .
White & Nerdy

White & Nerdy

4,209
United States
Wasilla, AK
2001-2005 Pontiac Aztek nominated by TheBook

800px-2002-05_Pontiac_Aztek.jpg



Stats:
Production: 2001-2005
Style: 5-door crossover
Engine: LA1 207 ci (3.4 L) naturally aspirated V6 (rated 180 HP & 205 lb-ft)
Transmission: 4T65-E 4-speed automatic
Layout: Front-engine, front- or all-wheel-drive​

My take? Please make this the first car in the very bottom section of the Cool Wall. As a FWD (or front-based AWD) "crossover", it already doesn't have much going for it as far as coolness is concerned, even if it weren't extremely strange looking. But the worst part is, it could have saved Pontiac by cornering the market on crossovers, which at the time were just starting to become a thing. Instead, it ruined Pontiac by being not only ugly but far too expensive. Thus, it took up massive amounts of time and money to no good effect. Pontiac deserved to live on, but it hadn't quite returned to profitabilty when the fiscal crisis hit. In a mainstream culture that appears to consider performance and the macho factor less relevant every year, we're unlikely to see Pontiac ever brought back. We could have had a real, American car company with a majority-RWD lineup. Instead, we have the Spark, Sonic, Cruze, the new I4/V6 "full-size" Impala, and so forth.

Thanks a lot, Aztek. Thanks a whole lot.
 
It's ugly but it rides pretty smooth.


Seriously uncool though.
 
So the Aztek singlehandedly created the mass movement to front-wheel drive (started in the 80's) crossovers (hello? RAV4?) and killed off Pontiac?

Come on.

We all know the Sunfire is what done Pontiac in.

And the lack of cupholders in the Solstice.
 
The RAV 4 was, at that point, in a smaller size class.

And it could have been the car that made crossovers into, effectively, a must-have for any lineup, but people just looked at it, went "ew", saw the price, went "ew" again, and passed it over. I also never said it started the mass movement toward FWD. And yes, I think it is what ruined Pontiac. Instead of cashing in on a trend that was about to grow quickly, it wasted time & money and attracted more derision to GM. Apparently, there was actually a fairly practical, versatile vehicle hiding under the revolting exterior, and it could even handle moderately rough offroading in AWD form despite being a unibody vehicle with a center differential and (probably) staying FWD until the front wheels slipped, and also being based on a shortened U-body platform (Chevy Venture, Pontiac Montana, Olds Silhouette, i.e. some of the dullest, most utterly unremarkable cars ever). It could have done well and maybe even kept Pontiac off the chopping block had it not gone so colossally wrong.
 
I think the packaging was probably spot on, but the styling was and continues to be hideous.

As for it's moniker as 'Crossover', it is probably more aptly called a softroader - higher clearance for unsealed roads, but a powertrain for soccer mom convenience.
 
By 2001, the RAV4 wasn't so small, and the CR-V was pretty large.

The Aztek was indeed a huge mis-step, but it's only one. Even with their supposedly desirable other models, such as the GTO, Solstice, Vibe (which was basically a Toyota... should've been a hit) and the G-number cars, Pontiac was always going to struggle, being a third-stringer in GM's game plan next to the bright new hope called "Saturn" and the "Chevrolet" main brand that everyone had to play second fiddle to.

Without the Aztek mis-step, Pontiac could have lived, oh, maybe five or six hours longer. GM shed itself of absolutely everything that wasn't Chevrolet or GMC during Carmageddon. Pontiac was always going to die.
 
Seriously uncool. Designed by same guy who later designed C7 Corvette, which also is seriously uncool.
 
If this car was a living creature, it would be some kind of mutant from a secret laboratory or maybe a nuclear disaster zone. Just like Ssang Yong Rodius.
Seriously uncool.
 
Deeply uncool. Car people and non car people alike recoil in horror as these things pass. That is not a cool reaction.

Though given the usual pointless rant against progress from W&N I was very tempted to vote cool just for the hell of it.
 
So seriously uncool that it goes back round, becomes cool again, goes back to uncool, through cool again, and ends up as seriously uncool as a car can be.

Triply seriously uncool.
 
No reputation, even it had one it'd be for how ugly it is. If people only know a car because of that it's seriously uncool.
 
Seriously uncool. I've never really minded the styling, but let's face it, it's not a cool car.
 
White & Nerdy
it could have saved Pontiac by cornering the market on crossovers, which at the time were just starting to become a thing.
Click to expand...
Just starting?

Chrysler had been making them for two decades at that point. Hell, by 1999 even BMW were in on the act...
 
Cool.

I quite like it. It's a bit unique too.
I guess they're quite cheap used?
You could use it to troll with people too!
 
They weren't bad vehicles. They were practical, roomy, and rode surprisingly well. I don't even think they look as bad as people make them out to be. They weren't even that slow either.

It wasn't a vehicle that could have saved Pontiac in anyway. Pontiac was already struggling and even if the Aztek would have been a huge hit, the 2008 Carpocolypse still would have killed Pontiac.

With all that said, people will think you're uncool if you drive one since it's so hated.
 
But you could get the exact same ride quality and powertrain in a Buick Rendezvous, which (while still seriously uncool) is several hundred thousand levels higher than this.
 
TheBook
But you could get the exact same ride quality and powertrain in a Buick Rendezvous, which (while still seriously uncool) is several hundred thousand levels higher than this.
Click to expand...

Ya but then you'd have to drive a Buick. :lol:
 
TheBook
But you could get the exact same ride quality and powertrain in a Buick Rendezvous, which (while still seriously uncool) is several hundred thousand levels higher than this.
Click to expand...

I know, I've been in both haha. But unlike the Aztek, the Rendezvous sold a LOT better.
 
There's a special place in Hell reserved for the Aztek. Some cars give you "the fizz", this just gives you gastroenteritis.
 
Cool.

They were popular choice as a daily driver by members of the Grand Prix club I was in. Very nice ride, well equipped and roomy. The 3400 V6 was plenty powerful but not the most reliable. A 3800 L36 or L67 swap is possible.

Used to think it was the ugliest car on the road, but these days it doesn't seem that ugly compared to some new cars that have come out in recent years.
 
I can think of at least 10 cars that are uglier than the Aztek... which btw (in my opinion), looks actually pretty sweet...

Cool it is...
 
RDF97
No reputation, even it had one it'd be for how ugly it is.
Click to expand...

It does have reputation for being exactly that, though.

I've heard plenty of stories about how practicality is one of the Aztek's strong points. Aesthetically however, it's a mess. Colour/trim combinations like this don't help in that regard either:

2001PontiacAztek.jpg
 
There was also a tent package that came with the Aztek.

01aztek_tent_x.jpg


A how to on putting the tent up.

 

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