Why was the Pontiac Aztek abandoned on a mountainside?
If the infant Aztek were abandoned on a mountainside, it would eventually come crawling back to civilization because even the vultures and ants wouldn’t touch it. The mosh pit at the Aztek’s unveiling was every bit as wince-inducing as the shambolic Woodstock ’99.
What kind of car was the Pontiac Aztek?
The Pontiac Aztek, that automotive punchline made by General Motors for five long and regrettable years in the early aughts, is on the verge of being considered cool.
What was the removable drink cooler on the Pontiac Aztek?
One of the Aztek’s few claims to cleverness was a removable insulated drink cooler mounted between the seats. That feature was later copied by zero car companies. So poorly was the Aztek’s styling received that General Motors announced it would restyle the thing after only five months on the market. That didn’t help, either.
What did Bob Lutz say about the Pontiac Aztek?
Bob Lutz, who took over the top product job at GM in the aftermath of the Aztek, has claimed that the design was presented to focus groups who felt about the thing the way we all felt about it when we first saw it: They hated it. Well, actually Lutz claimed that the market-research respondents said, “I wouldn’t take it as a gift.”
Is the Pontiac Aztek really a bad car?
Realistically, the Aztek really wasn’t all that bad. By most accounts (from those who drove it), the ill-fated crossover was quite praiseworthy for its driving dynamics (Exhibit A: the glowing review above, from MotorWeek ). Unfortunately, one cannot become a grand failure without first showing obvious signs of success.
Who is laughing now, the Pontiac Aztek?
The Pontiac Aztek: Who’s Laughing Now? Universally panned and quickly discontinued, it’s clear that, almost 20 years on, the Aztek has made fools of us all.
When did the Pontiac Aztek go out of production?
Something was clearly lost in translation, which led to the model’s abbreviated production run. The Aztek lasted from 2001 to 2005, but its memory lives on in every half-baked “100 worst cars of all time” listicle cluttering up the internet.
Where was the Pontiac Aztek and rendezvous built?
Both Aztek and Rendezvous ride on a version of GM’s U-platform, which also underpinned front-wheel-drive vans (and it’s still in use in China today!). In fact, both were built at the same plant in Mexico.