Pontiac Aztek
Pontiac Aztek | |
---|---|
Pontiac Sunrunner (Canada) | |
Successor | Pontiac Torrent |
The Pontiac Aztek is a
As a 5-door crossover with a front engine with front-wheel drive and optional all-wheel drive, the Aztek featured a four-speed automatic transmission with a V-6 engine. Marketed by
The Aztek was noted for its controversial styling. Pulitzer Prize-winning automotive journalist Dan Neil, in naming it one of the 50 worst cars of all time, said the Aztek "violate(d) one of the principal rules of car design: we like cars that look like us. With its multiple eyes and supernumerary nostrils, the Aztek looks deformed and scary, something that dogs bark at and cathedrals employ to ring bells. The shame is, under all that ugliness, there was a useful, competent crossover."[4]
Original concept
First shown to the public in 1999, the Pontiac Aztek concept car was well received.[5] It featured "Xtreme" futuristic styling and promised maximum versatility in support of a young and active lifestyle for its intended "Generation X" buyer demographic.
The Aztek went on sale in summer 2000 as a 2001 model.[6]
The production edition of the Aztek was launched with the tagline "Quite possibly the most versatile vehicle on the planet" in conjunction with
Styling
The Aztek was styled under the direction of Tom Peters, who would later design the
Ultimately, the Aztek was criticized for its styling. Mickey Kaus described the Aztek as having "awkwardly empty and square front wheel wells" and a "gratuitous, fierce animalistic snout, which may have been what prompted incoming GM executive Bob Lutz to famously say that many of the company's products looked like 'angry kitchen appliances.'"[8] James Hall, vice-president at AutoPacific Inc[3] ranked the Aztek as one of the ten ugliest cars of all time, Karl Brauer, CEO and editor-in-chief of TotalCarScore.com said the Aztek featured "atrocious proportions wrapped in plastic body cladding," and "looked like a station wagon stretched out by a car bomb."[9]
A poll in
Technology and notable features
The Aztek was produced at General Motors' Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, assembly plant, where it shared an assembly line with the Buick Rendezvous. In Canada, it filled the gap left since the Sunrunner's discontinuation in 1997, while in the US and Mexico it was the first Pontiac-badged SUV ever sold. At launch, the Aztek was available with either front-wheel drive or Versatrak, a full-time, fully automatic all-wheel drive system which provided traction in the snow or rain and could handle moderately rough off-road surfaces.
The Aztek was one of the first automobiles to be designed entirely using computerized rapid-prototyping/rapid-visualization tools.[
The Aztek was able to carry within its interior a standard 4 feet (1.2 m) by 8 feet (2.4 m) sheet of
Safety
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gave the Aztek a Marginal overall score in the frontal offset test. However, they did not conduct a side-impact test.[15]
2004 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Crash Test Ratings:[16]
- Frontal Driver:
- Frontal Passenger:
- Side Driver:
- Side Rear Passenger:
Sales
Calendar year | U.S. | Mexico |
---|---|---|
2000 | 11,201[17] | |
2001[18] | 27,322 | |
2002 | 27,793 | |
2003[19] | 27,354 | |
2004[20] | 20,588 | |
2005 | 5,020 | 90[21] |
2006[22] | 347 | |
2007[23] | 69 |
Reception
GM forecast sales of up to 75,000 Azteks per year and needed to produce 30,000 annually to break even. Just 27,793 were sold in 2002, which was the model's best-selling year.[24]
Pricing of the Aztek was also an issue at launch: the vehicle was too expensive for its intended "
The Aztek had among the highest
Matthew DeBord of The Big Money argued that despite its poor reviews and sales, the Aztek was the car that, in the long run, could save GM. He praised GM for being daring and trying to create an entirely new market in vehicles, rather than simply copying successful formulas. He argued that the Aztek's failure is similar to the failure of the
The car was featured through a tie-in in the sci-fi show Dark Angel in 2000–02.[26] Walter White, the lead character of the 2008 crime TV show Breaking Bad, drove an Aztek.[27] Jalopnik called it "one of the perfect examples of car casting in TV" and noted that the show had White's Aztek repainted in a unique "gray-beige-green tone" to match White's character's original job as a mild-mannered high school chemistry teacher.[28] In 2015, Edmunds ranked the Aztek sixth among U.S. used car buyers aged 18 to 34, crediting the "Breaking Bad Effect" for making the car cool.[29]
The Aztek's "Design by Committee" was criticized in Steve McConnell's software design book, Code Complete 2.[30]
Year to year changes
2001
- All new model available as base model and GT both in front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, the latter boasting an independent rear suspension.
- In February 2001, a red Aztek served as the pace car for the Daytona 500.[31]
2002
- Cladding smoothed and changed to body colored, front marker light/indicators changed from amber to clear, spoiler added to rear glass gate.[citation needed]
- GT model discontinued.
2003
- Aztek "Rally Edition" introduced, which was an option package which featured a lowered front suspension, a larger rear spoiler, body colored grille and 17-inch chrome wheels. Though some regarded it as a model of its own, since it would resurface the Rally name to GM since the discontinuation of the GMC Rally.
- XM satellite radioand a tire pressure monitoring system added to the options list.
2004
- A CD/MP3player became an available option.
- A Limited Edition model was available, with standard leather trimmed seats, a higher grade stereo system, a rear spoiler, aluminum interior trim, standard heads-up display, and an adjustable 6-way driver's seat.
2005
In its final model year, the Aztek gained hands-free operation of its
The Aztek was discontinued after the 2005 model year, and was replaced by the
References
- ^ a b "2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible". Tellmenews.com, April 11, 2013, Sharon Wagner. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
- ^ a b "2014 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible First Look". Edmunds.com, 03/04/2013, Bill Visnic. 4 March 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Welch, David (2000-12-17). "Gm's Aztek: Born To Be A Little Too Wild". Bloomberg.com. BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on October 7, 2013.
- ^ Dan Neil (December 2, 2004). "50 worst cars of all times". Time.
- ^ "Pontiac Aztek 2000-2005". autoevolution.
- ^ "Aztek Home Page". March 4, 2000. Archived from the original on March 4, 2000.
- ^ "Survivor recap: Season 2, Episode 13". CBS. Archived from the original on 2012-10-18.
- ^ "Advance to the Rear". Slate. 9 May 2003.
- ^ Bukszpan, Daniel (March 21, 2013). "10 ugliest cars of all time". CNBC. Yahoo!.
- ^ "The 100 Ugliest Cars". The Daily Telegraph. London. August 25, 2008. Archived from the original on September 1, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ^ "100 Worst Cars of All Time". Edmunds.com. December 12, 2011. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
- ^ "The 50 Worst Cars of All Time". Time. September 7, 2007. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ^ "The 50 Worst Inventions". Time. May 27, 2010. Archived from the original on May 30, 2010. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
- ^ "Versatile Features in Pontiac Aztek Interior Reflect Johnson Controls' Outstanding Capabilities" (Press release). PRNewsWire. Johnson Controls. August 7, 2000.
- ^ "Pontiac Aztek". IIHS-HLDI. Archived from the original on 2012-04-04.
- ^ "2004 Pontiac Aztek". safercar.gov.
- ^ "General Motors vehicle deliveries, United States 1996-2005" (XLS). autointell.com.
- ^ "GM Reports Best December Sales Since 1979" (Press release). GM. January 3, 2003.
- ^ "GM Reports December Sales of 447,900, Down 9 Percent From Record Year-Ago Levels" (Press release). GM. January 5, 2004.
- ^ "GM Reports 392,041 Deliveries in December" (Press release). GM. January 4, 2006.
- ^ "Mexican sales 2005". inegi.org.mx (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 2021-10-20.
- ^ "GM Reports 341,327 Deliveries in December" (Press release). GM. January 3, 2007.
- ^ "GM Reports 323,453 December Deliveries; 3.87 Million Vehicles Sold in 2007" (Press release). GM. January 3, 2008.
- ^ Flammang, Jim (February 10, 2003). "2003 Pontiac Aztek". Cars.com.
- ^ Matthew DeBord (November 17, 2009). "Montezuma's Aztek Revenge". The Big Money. Archived from the original on November 18, 2009.
- ^ "30 Obscure SUV Models Drivers Forgot Existed". Motor Junkie. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- ^ "Pontiac Aztek in "Breaking Bad"".
- ^ DaSilva, Steve (February 17, 2012). "What's The Best Car Casting In Movies Or TV?". Jalopnik. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
- ^ Ronson, Jacqueline (September 11, 2015). "Kids Are Buying Up Pontiac Azteks Because 'Breaking Bad' and Walter White". Inverse. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
- Coding Horror
- ^ Callahan, Terry (January 18, 2001). "NASCAR WCUP: Pontiac Aztek to pace Daytona 500". The Auto Channel.