Pontiac Aztek#User shaming
{{Infobox automobile
| name = Pontiac Aztek
| image = 2002-05 Pontiac Aztek.jpg
| manufacturer = General Motors
| production = July 2000 – December 2004
| assembly = Mexico: Ramos Arizpe (Ramos Arizpe Assembly)
| designer = Tom Peters (chief designer: 1997)
| class = Mid-size crossover SUV
| body_style = 5-door SUV
| platform = U-body/GMT250
| related = Buick Rendezvous
| layout = Front-engine, front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive
| engine = Gasoline:
3.4 L LA1 V6
| transmission = 4-speed 4T65-E automatic
| wheelbase = 108.3 in (2,751 mm)
| length = 182.1 in (4,625 mm)
| width = 73.7 in (1,872 mm)
| height = 66.7 in (1,694 mm)
| weight = 3,779–4,043 lb (1,714–1,834 kg)
| predecessor = Pontiac Sunrunner (Canada)
| successor = Pontiac Torrent
| model_years = 2001–2005
}}
The Pontiac Aztek is a mid-size crossover SUV marketed by General Motors introduced in 2000 for the model years 2001 through 2005. As a four-door crossover with front-wheel drive and optional all-wheel drive, the Aztek featured a four-speed automatic transmission with a V6 engine. Marketed by Pontiac as a "sport recreational vehicle," the Aztek used a shortened platform shared with GM's minivans (e.g., the Pontiac Montana) featuring 94 cubic feet of cargo room with its rear seats removed. The design employed conventional rear outswing doors rather than sliding doors, and a split rear tailgate, the lower section formed with seat indentations and cupholders. Other features included a front center console that doubled as a removable cooler, optional rear stereo controls in the cargo area, optional sliding cargo floor with grocery compartments, and optional camping package with an attachable tent and air mattress.
Original concept
First shown to the public in 1999, the Pontiac Aztek concept car was well received.{{cite web |title=Pontiac Aztek 2000-2005|publisher=autoevolution|url=http://www.autoevolution.com/cars/pontiac-aztek-2000.html}} 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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.pontiac.com:80/aztek/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000304112829/http://www.pontiac.com:80/aztek/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 4, 2000|title=Aztek Home Page|date=March 4, 2000}}
The production edition of the Aztek was launched with the tagline "Quite possibly the most versatile vehicle on the planet" in conjunction with CBS's hit reality show Survivor in 2000.{{cite web|title=Survivor recap: Season 2, Episode 13|publisher=CBS|url=http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/recaps/213/recaps.php?season=2|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018095815/http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/recaps/213/recaps.php?season=2|archive-date=2012-10-18}}
Styling
File:Pontiac Aztek IMG 20180408 125542.jpg
The Aztek was styled under the direction of Tom Peters, who would later design the Chevrolet Corvette (C7).{{cite web
| title = 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible
| publisher = Tellmenews.com, April 11, 2013, Sharon Wagner
| url = http://tellmenews.com/2014-chevrolet-corvette-stingray-convertible-take-a-look/178410/sharon-wagner
| access-date = May 12, 2013
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131029201226/http://tellmenews.com/2014-chevrolet-corvette-stingray-convertible-take-a-look/178410/sharon-wagner
| archive-date = October 29, 2013
| url-status = dead
}}{{cite web | title = 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible First Look | date =4 March 2013 | publisher =Edmunds.com, 03/04/2013, Bill Visnic | url =http://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/features/2014-chevrolet-corvette-convertible-first-look.html}}{{cite news| title = Gm's Aztek: Born To Be A Little Too Wild | publisher = BusinessWeek | date= 2000-12-17 |first=David |last=Welch
| newspaper = Bloomberg.com | url =http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2000-12-17/gms-aztek-born-to-be-a-little-too-wild| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20131007014528/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2000-12-17/gms-aztek-born-to-be-a-little-too-wild| url-status =dead| archive-date =October 7, 2013}} According to an analysis in 2000, BusinessWeek said the Aztek was to signal a design renaissance for GM, and to "make a statement about breaking from GM's instinct for caution." One designer said that during the design process, the Aztek was made "aggressive for the sake of being aggressive." Peters, the Chief Designer said "we wanted to do a bold, in-your-face vehicle that wasn't for everybody." The 2000 Business Week study said the Aztek was "the first awkward step toward innovation by a company that has avoided that path," likening "the debacle to Ford's remodeling of its 1996 Taurus sedan."
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."{{cite magazine |author=Dan Neil |date=December 2, 2004 |title=50 worst cars of all times |url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1658545_1658544_1658540,00.html |magazine=Time}} 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.{{'"}}{{cite web
| title = Advance to the Rear
| date =9 May 2003
| publisher =Slate
| url =http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/gearbox/2003/05/advance_to_the_rear_2.html}} James Hall, vice-president at AutoPacific Inc, ranked the Aztek as one of the ten ugliest cars of all time, while 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."{{cite web
| title = 10 ugliest cars of all time | publisher= Yahoo!
| work=CNBC | first=Daniel|last= Bukszpan | date=March 21, 2013
| url = http://autos.yahoo.com/news/10-ugliest-cars-of-all-time-231104344.html?page=all}} A poll in The Daily Telegraph in August 2008 placed the Aztek at number one of the "100 ugliest cars" of all time.{{cite news|title=The 100 Ugliest Cars|work=The Daily Telegraph |date= August 25, 2008|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2008/08/29/mfcars5.xml&page=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080901004810/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2008/08/29/mfcars5.xml&page=2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 1, 2008 | location=London | access-date=May 22, 2010}} An article by Edmunds.com placed the car first of the "100 Worst Cars of All Time" not only because of its styling but also because it "destroyed an 84-year-old automaker."
{{Clear}}
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 U.S. and Mexico, it was the first Pontiac-badged SUV ever sold. At launch, the Aztek was initially available with front-wheel drive, but later in the 2001 model year, a full-time, fully automatic all-wheel-drive system dubbed Versatrak was made available. The all-wheel-drive system provided traction in the snow or rain and could handle moderately rough off-road surfaces, thanks to its hydraulic gerotor pumps and multi-plate clutch packs, instead of the typically used viscous couplings.{{Cite web |last= |date= |title=2002 Buick Rendezvous Program #2023 |url=https://motorweek.org/road_tests/2002_buick_rendezvous_program_2023/ |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=MotorWeek |language=en-US}} Versatrak models were equipped with a fully independent rear suspension with aluminum-alloy control arms and crossmember, as well as rear solid disc brakes, instead of the rear beam axle and drum brakes on front-wheel-drive models. The Versatrak system was supplied by Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG, under license from McLaren Traction Technologies.{{Cite web |title=GM to Offer All-Wheel-Drive System on New Buick Rendezvous |url=https://www.theautochannel.com/news/press/date/20000214/press007892.html |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=www.theautochannel.com}}
The Aztek was one of the first automobiles to be designed entirely using computerized rapid-prototyping/rapid-visualization tools.{{citation needed|date=May 2013}} The dashboard was designed by Johnson Controls, and featured Pontiac's trademark red lighting scheme along with an optional head-up display.{{cite press release |agency= Johnson Controls |date= August 7, 2000 |title= Versatile Features in Pontiac Aztek Interior Reflect Johnson Controls' Outstanding Capabilities | publisher= PRNewsWire| url= http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-07-2000/0001284297&EDATE=}}
The Aztek was able to carry within its interior a standard {{convert|4x8|ft|m|adj=on}} sheet of plywood and was available with two rear cargo area options: a pull-out cargo tray that held up to {{convert|400|lb}} that rolled on built-in wheels when removed from the vehicle, or a versatile cargo net system that held up to {{convert|200|lb}} and could be configured (a claimed) 22 different ways. Options included a center console that doubled as a removable cooler and a tent/inflatable mattress package that, along with a built-in air compressor, allowed the Aztek to double as a camper. Extending this image was a seat-back mounted backpack, and a number of specialty racks for bicycles, canoes, snowboards, and other such items. An optional ten-speaker Pioneer stereo system provided a set of controls located at the rear of the vehicle for tailgate parties as well as an unusual two-piece tailgate with built-in cup-holders and contoured seating area for added comfort.
Safety
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gave the Aztek a Marginal overall score in the frontal offset test. However, it did not conduct a side-impact test.{{cite web|title=Pontiac Aztek|publisher=IIHS-HLDI|url=http://www.iihs.org/ratings/ratingsbyseries.aspx?id=286|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404031133/http://www.iihs.org/ratings/ratingsbyseries.aspx?id=286|archive-date=2012-04-04}}
2004 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Crash Test Ratings:{{cite web|title=2004 Pontiac Aztek|publisher=safercar.gov|url=http://www.safercar.gov/portal/site/safercar/menuitem.db847bd57e3dc1f885dfc38c35a67789/?vgnextoid=c95df2905bf54110VgnVCM1000002fd17898RCRD&vgnextrefresh=1&ID=2919}}
- Frontal Driver: {{rating|3|5}}
- Frontal Passenger: {{rating|4|5}}
- Side Driver: {{rating|5|5}}
- Side Rear Passenger: {{rating|3|5}}
Sales
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.{{cite web|title=2003 Pontiac Aztek |first=Jim |last= Flammang |date=February 10, 2003|publisher=Cars.com|url=http://www.cars.com/go/crp/research.jsp?section=reviews&crpPage=reviews.jsp&makeid=40&modelid=4810&year=2003&myid=&acode=&mode=&aff=national}}
Pricing of the Aztek was also an issue at launch: the vehicle was too expensive for its intended "Generation X" audience and was priced significantly higher than competing vehicles. After the 2001 model year, the GT model was dropped and pricing was slashed, in addition to extremely generous rebates and cut-rate financing instituted by GM in the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}}
The Aztek had among the highest CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) scores in its class, and won the appellation of "Most Appealing Entry Sport Utility Vehicle" in 2001 from J.D. Power and Associates, an independent consumer survey organization which noted: "The Aztek scores highest or second highest in every APEAL component measure except exterior styling."
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 Apple's Newton and Macintosh Portable, both of which revolutionized the computer industry and became the basis for later successful products made by Apple.{{cite news |title=Montezuma's Aztek Revenge |author=Matthew DeBord |date=November 17, 2009 |work=The Big Money |url=http://www.thebigmoney.com/articles/judgments/2009/11/17/montezuma-s-aztek-revenge |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091118152245/http://www.thebigmoney.com/articles/judgments/2009/11/17/montezuma-s-aztek-revenge |archive-date=November 18, 2009}}
The car was featured through a tie-in in the sci-fi show Dark Angel in 2000–02.{{cite news |title=30 Obscure SUV Models Drivers Forgot Existed |url=https://motor-junkie.com/30-obscure-suv-models-drivers-forgot-existed/48822/ |access-date=30 August 2022 |work=Motor Junkie |date=21 June 2021}} Walter White, the lead character of the 2008 crime TV show Breaking Bad, drove an Aztek.{{Cite web|url=https://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_223266-Pontiac-Aztek-GMT250-2004.html|title = Pontiac Aztek in "Breaking Bad"}} 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.{{cite news |last1=DaSilva |first1=Steve |title=What's The Best Car Casting In Movies Or TV? |url=https://jalopnik.com/whats-the-best-car-casting-in-movies-or-tv-1848553771 |access-date=May 1, 2022 |work=Jalopnik |date=February 17, 2012 |language=en-us}} 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.{{cite news |last1=Ronson |first1=Jacqueline |title=Kids Are Buying Up Pontiac Azteks Because 'Breaking Bad' and Walter White |url=https://www.inverse.com/article/6092-kids-are-buying-up-pontiac-azteks-because-breaking-bad-and-walter-white |access-date=May 1, 2022 |work=Inverse |date=September 11, 2015 |language=en}}
The Aztek's "Design by Committee" was criticized in Steve McConnell's software design book, Code Complete 2.[https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-pontiac-aztek-and-the-perils-of-design-by-committee/ The Pontiac Aztek and the Perils of Design by Committee], Coding Horror
Year to year changes
=2001=
- All-new model available in base and GT trims 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.{{cite web|title=NASCAR WCUP: Pontiac Aztek to pace Daytona 500|date=January 18, 2001|first=Terry|last=Callahan|work=The Auto Channel|url=http://www.theautochannel.com/news/date/20010117/news034620.html}}
=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|date=October 2013}}
- GT model discontinued.
=2003=
{{unreferenced section|date=October 2013}}
- 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, it would become GM's first use of the Rally name since the discontinuation of the GMC Rally passenger van.
- DVD entertainment system, XM satellite radio, and a tire-pressure monitoring system added to the options list.
=2004=
=2005=
{{unreferenced section|date=October 2013}}
- In its final model year, the Aztek gained hands-free operation of its OnStar system. Exterior color offerings were also changed.
- The Aztek was discontinued after the 2005 model year, and was replaced by the Theta-platform Pontiac Torrent. The Aztek's production line in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, was retooled for production of the Chevrolet HHR, although Buick Rendezvous production continued for another two years. The last Pontiac Aztek rolled off the assembly line in December 2004.{{Cite web |title=Farewell, Aztek |url=https://www.wardsauto.com/general-motors/farewell-aztek |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=www.wardsauto.com |language=en}}
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [http://www.roadandtrack.com/voices/columnists/bob-lutz/bob-lutz-tells-the-inside-story-of-the-pontiac-aztek-debacle Bob Lutz tells the inside story]
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Category:Cars introduced in 2000
Category:Cars discontinued in 2005
Category:Crossover sport utility vehicles
Category:Mid-size sport utility vehicles