Now you can own it, first Pontiac Aztek off the line

[Pete J.]

It's clunky...awkward...badly proportioned...the lines don't flow... it's not a cohesive design...the plastic cladding makes it look incredibly cheesy...there are too many conflicting angles...and that's just for starters. Truly one of the ugliest designs of all time–all time– and that's saying something.

I remember when they first came out, the local dealer had one outside on a turntable. I was across the street at the Acura dealer waiting for my car and I stood there dumbfounded. I kind of wanted it to look good, but as it turned I couldn't find a single angle that looked good. The two tone paint job made it look like a hatchback had landed on top of a van. The front looked like a poor attempt at the Batmobile. It looked to short for the height and too tall for the length. The typical of the time, plastic stuff added to the bottom looked like a poorly designed aero kit. Other than that it looked fine, NOT!

[Tom Geiger]

It's clunky...awkward...badly proportioned...the lines don't flow... it's not a cohesive design...the plastic cladding makes it look incredibly cheesy...there are too many conflicting angles...and that's just for starters. Truly one of the ugliest designs of all time–all time– and that's saying something.

Plastic cladding? Try a Honda Element. Ugly as sin, sold well. And there's no excuse for the Nissan Cube or the Kia Soul but you see a bunch of them on the road and there's no big contingent against them like the Aztec. There is also a big Toyota 4X4 thingie that I think is particularly ugly, has the nose of a 1960s International truck, but again those sell well. Go figger!

[Pete J.]

Plastic cladding? Try a Honda Element. Ugly as sin, sold well. And there's no excuse for the Nissan Cube or the Kia Soul but you see a bunch of them on the road and there's no big contingent against them like the Aztec. There is also a big Toyota 4X4 thingie that I think is particularly ugly, has the nose of a 1960s International truck, but again those sell well. Go figger!

The Asian cars were an offshoot of the kei cars of Japan and were well developed long before they ever hit our shores. I think they are a hit over here because of a "back to basics" or eco group. Space and fuel efficient, low cost and kind of cartoon futuristic looks. In other words a box with wheels to get from point A to point A+ and they stand out. Kind of geekie in a way that the Aztec never achieved. In other words kind of a next gen VW Bug or Microbus. Shouts I care about the planet but I still have important places to get to.

Oh and while you are mentioning these, don't forget the big hit with gamers, the Scion Xb aka Xbox.

[MrObsessive]

Hey Bill! Haven't seen you in a long while, hope all is well!

GM carried too many brands that essentially sold the same product for years. In the consolidation of it was either Buick or Pontiac getting the axe. I don't believe Pontiac did anything wrong, but I believe Buick survived because it's GMs big nameplate in China. In China it was always considered a prestigious car, a car a plant manager would drive. So if they killed Buick in the USA, that American aura would have been damaged in China and I believe GM is close, if they haven't already, sell more units in China than the USA.

Hi Tom! I've been doing fine.......VERY busy at work, so no time for building lately.

Yes, China is pretty much the sole reason that Buick is still with us, otherwise they would have been on the chopping block as well. My main point with Pontiac is that GM had a pretty good plan to breath some life into them, but due to the bankruptcy among other things, those plans got the kibosh.

GM always did things a bit too late which is typical of big corporations-----instead of doing this for Pontiac say back in the late '90's/early '00's, they waited until things got really bad for them, and decided "OH! Let's make Pontiac our high performance division with cars only exclusive to them........like Cadillac."

But...........what did they give us?? The Aztec, the G5 (warmed over Cobalt), the Vibe (??), and there was another forgettable small car that they foisted on us which was a rebadged Daewoo.........can't remember the name of it which is just as well.

A couple bright spots for sure.........the G6 wasn't a bad car at all especially the GTP versions, and then you had the Solstice, and then they came out lastly with one of my favorites-----the G8!

But it was just too late for them, and now they're history.

[Tom Geiger]

And we can't forget the GTO! I got to drive them at a GM drive event when they were new. They were amazing. The V8 had just the right amount of roar and the manual tranny was a lot of fun. I only got to drive it on their little course and would love to take one out on the open road. I notice that they're still holding their value.. darn!

[MrObsessive]

And we can't forget the GTO!

Right! The only 2 door car I could get in and out of comfortably when I was 330 lbs+ a number of years back! I sat in one at our local car show, and was pretty impressed how much room was inside for a smallish coupe. They're probably holding their value due to Pontiac now being defunct, and they were pretty much dismissed (at the time) for not being a "true" Pontiac.

Holden is still a GM product despite being in Australia, and it was one of Pontiac's better offerings for the time. In fact, that was one of the cars that was supposed to be part of the "new" Pontiac. A restyled GTO for the American market, the G8 in sedan, wagon and an El Camino type sport ute, possibly a new Firebird, and there was to be a new gen Solstice at this point.

There was to be no G5, no Vibe, no stupid G3, and of course no Aztec..........and IIRC, only the hotter G6 variants were to be offered. All this in limited build numbers.

All scrubbed when Pontiac's death knell was rung.

[Craig Irwin]

Pontiac, Mercury, Oldsmobile and Plymouth all died for the same reason, the big three were competing with themselves with badge enginered versions of the same cars.

[prostockmania]

Tom, I can tell you where to get the yellow Aztek you want. I just traded mine off. I had a 2001 hard loaded AWD, with the black and gray leather interior. I bought it to replace an older Suburban, and I have a soft spot (in my head or heart, I can't tell) for the underdog cars. After the novelty wore off, it was actually a decent daily driver, very comfortable, good on gas, and with some decent all terrain tires, it would dig in the mud pretty good. But mine was one problem after another, and the parts for it were surprisingly expensive. At 100k, I didn't expect the trouble it was having. Even though I really liked it, I wouldn't have another one.

Although ugly, my parents bought a Bright Red 2004 brand new, I did all the maintenance, etc, it was very dependable(unlike yours apprently). They traded it off when it had 115,000 on it. Only thing ever done was brakes, tune-up at 100,000 and tires at 85,000(on the original tires).

Edited August 3, 2013 by prostockmania

[Harry P.]

Although ugly, my parents bought a Bright Red 2004 brand new, I did all the maintenance, etc, it was very dependable(unlike yours apprently). They traded it off when it had 115,000 on it. Only thing ever done was brakes, tune-up at 100,000 and tires at 85,000(on the original tires).

Man, I wish I could get that kind of life out of a set of tires. My Mustang has only 30,000 miles on it (not even... actually 28,500) and the tires are worn to the point where they need to be replaced. I'm not a "light the tires" kind of driver (and the fronts are just as worn as the rears, BTW), so a set of brand-name tires lasting only 30,000 miles is a real drag.

[Joe Handley]

What kind of tires are on the Mustang Harry? My 200 only has T-rated Eagle LS2' and I'm not too sure if I should expect any more miles than you've got out of those hockey pucks.

BTW, Have you suddenly notices a larger than normal number of Azteks on the roads around here too?

[Harry P.]

What kind of tires are on the Mustang Harry?

Goodrich G-Force T/A. Those are the factory-stock tires.

[Joe Handley]

Well, I know to avoid those now too.....................

[ToyLvr]

One of my buddies in the local model car club encountered one of the earliest Aztec while traveling south on I-75 near Dayton, Ohio.

It was a yellow one.

It was the first time he had seen one, and he thought that it was so UGLY that it had to be something that escaped from the nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in their top-secret U.F.O. hangar!

[Joe Handley]

LOL!!!

[ToyLvr]

Regarding the Aztec used in the "Breaking Bad" TV series, I think it was the perfect choice as the personal vehicle for character Walter White, who is portrayed as a sort of a "geek" chemistry teacher (no disrespect intended to any real chemistry teachers here on the forum).

I agree that this particular TV car would be quite a collector item after the series finale, assuming it is still around.