Filed under: Car Buying, Etc., Crossovers/CUVs, Pontiac
2007 big year for Pontiac Aztek: 25 sold
click above for more high-res images of the Pontiac Aztek... if you dare
The Pontiac Aztek may be the butt of more jokes than Britney Spears, but even two years after its demise, the world's ugliest crossover of all time is still selling. In fact, Pontiac dealers chalked up a whopping 25 sales in 2007, and we'd like to meet the visually impaired customers who drove them off the lot and into a lifetime's worth of ridicule. Actually, we'd like to visit the 25 Pontiac dealerships that risked the embarrassment of keeping a two-year old "new" car on their lots. Any mention of Sales Person of the Year should include the fine men and women who pushed, dragged and pulled those Azteks off the lot. How do you explain to the new car shopper why his new car no longer has that new car smell? OK, we're done.
PS: We're well aware that there are many satisfied owners out there who appreciate the practical design of the Aztek's interior layout, smooth ride and the world's best built anti-theft device (i.e. its looks). We apologize for being so insensitive.
[Source: Inside Line]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 10)
sk 7:02AM (1/18/2008)
Monthly payments must be very low and thats probably the reason they sold them to some poor college student.
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TwinTurbo3000GT 9:04AM (1/18/2008)
yes, they're ugly, but they are still better looking that a bunch of other cars on the market that people buy. (Chevy HHR, PT Cruiser, Prius, etc.) So i dont understand the big deal. Hell, if the price was right, I think most of us here, myself included, would buy just about anything.
Gregg 10:12AM (1/18/2008)
Apparently some folks actually think the Aztec is better looking than the PT Cruiser and HHR? My goodness. None of them are pearls, but omg, someone really likes Aztec looks better than something else out there? There's a lid for every dark place, I guess.
Reality_check 11:25AM (1/18/2008)
LMAO! That's the funniest post so far here,
now back to subject, it really sucks,
len me put it this way: It's from GM.
Chase 11:22AM (1/18/2008)
I honestly don't understand what the big deal is either. Its no beauty, but then again, its not ugly. I can't find what makes it outstandingly different from every other American-made SUV of that size made a few years ago. To me it looks like a bonneville front and a prius rear on an equinox. All of those cars are pretty bland, so sure its bland, but not "ugly."
TwinTurbo3000GT 2:27PM (1/18/2008)
@Gregg
Apperently you're a complete moron who has nothing better to do than be sarcastic and criticise other people's opinion on the internet. Congrats on being a loser.
JMAN 8:51AM (1/22/2008)
I also think that the HHR, PT Cruiser, Prius are worse looking than this car. Oh yeah dont forget about the Element OMG. I think that is almost the worst.
user 9:01AM (1/22/2008)
OK car commentators,
You might think it's ugly but one night in Lehigh county Pennsylvania, on route 78 the road became one big skating rink. I had less than 1/4 tank of gas, less than 1/4 of baby formula, a 1 year old daughter in the car, a wife that was shakin more than Mike J Fox, it was 2 degrees outside, the wind was blowing faster than any car could drive and you were bumper to bumper with all kinds of vehicles, which just happen to NOT be moving.
There was one exit and it was uphill, the AZTEK took it like a champ, not one skid, not one slide, no accidents.
As smoothe as a baby's ass. I'll never forget her, looks can be decieving but the ride...ahhhhh the ride
Nissan GodzillaTurbo-Racer 7:17AM (1/18/2008)
Ha ha.
Good commentary.
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Jason 9:17AM (1/18/2008)
Judging from the picture, the Aztek looks fine to me. It looks to me it has gotten a bad rap. I've seen a lot worst on the highway.
Raghu 4:39PM (1/18/2008)
Cindy, Dave, Al and now Jason and you registered with Autoblog as Joe... what name are you going to use next. From all your comments on this time and the past, it is obvious you have some love affair with GM. I guess "love is blind" is true in your case. That is the attitude that has sunk many a company and even many a country.
With even GM themselves having woken up to the fact and starting to put out some better designed cars for the US market (new Malibu), I think you should get start being realistic and call a spade a spade.
And what is with all the aliases anyway? That is some real poor online form.
MoonRover 7:24AM (1/18/2008)
You know, after looking at some of the crap coming out lately, it is getting less offensive, lets say it was ugly ahead of it's time. I predict in a couple of years it will fit in at the ugly party just fine, little tweaking of the headlights, soup up the engine, and you got yourself a winner.
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geo.stewart 8:10AM (1/18/2008)
I'd say it was a car before its time. With a cross between the tundra and the sebring for the front end, and a cross between a CRX and a X6 for the profile shot, I gotta say that Honda would have sold these like hot cakes. Its the CUV equivalent of the new Honda Accord. a bunch of design elements that never gel.
On the flip side, for a business owner who needs transportation; its cheap and people ALWAYS look to see who is in it, so having your name on it is good advertising.
Al 8:45AM (1/18/2008)
Another GM car that gets picked on a lot is the 2007 Malibu. Why, I don't understand. I guess because it's GM. I think the 2007 Malibu is a nice looking car. Whenever I on the road and if I see one, I always ask my passengers what they think of the style. They've all responded by saying it's a nice looking car. Now, they are many ugly looking cars out there, but why they don't picked on, I don't know. Maybe because they are Japanese and as CR knows, they can do no wrong.
Mayur 11:09AM (1/18/2008)
Umm the Malibu isn't Japanese...
Mayur 11:11AM (1/18/2008)
Ah ok never mind I see what you are saying now :(
Cornholio 4:12PM (1/18/2008)
"Whenever I on the road and if I see one, I always ask my passengers what they think of the style. They've all responded by saying it's a nice looking car. "
Welll, you've never ridden with me. I'd call it "bland" and uninspired. Basic transportation without soul. A car purchased for fleet use or by folks who simply don't know or care to cross shop with better alternatives.
And if you asked me about the Aztek? I'd ask you to pull over so I could find another ride....
whofan 7:33AM (1/18/2008)
I remember reading on one GM person saying that if the Aztek had a Honda emblim on the front all would be good with the Aztek. He was obviously referring to Hondas` equilly ugly Element.
Some of the CUV offerings from other automakers comming out as time goes on, are slowly making the Aztek look less offensive. The thing that really ruined the Aztek is the front clip. GM could have easily fixed that. The first cross over?
Perception is the word of the day! reguardless what a vehicle is or looks like, once its labeled by people it sticks. The Chrysler minivan still has it in spades but now it has a stigma placed on it. I say to hell with perception. Toyota lives on this phenomenon.
Look at the Aztek headon with Toyotas parked in line next to it (especially the Tundra) and you could flip a coin to deceide whats uglier.
The 25 people who bought the Aztek probably are the winners who got a great deal one a good but ugly vehicle. They win as long as they don`t plan on selling their Azteks anytime soon.
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psarhjinian 1:14PM (1/18/2008)
Two things:
1. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Keep this in mind, it's important.
2. Given #1 above, my take is that the Element is odd-looking but essentially an ok looking car in the same sense as the Scion xB or Nissan Cube. The Aztek goes one up on the element in shape (the cube trucklets are a nice, postmodern design; the Aztek is more of a fat hatchback) and the details (the cubelets are all essentially clean-surfaced; the Aztek is festooned with bulges, panels, lights and such).
GM's stylists dropped the ball--big time--on the front end detailing. It didn't help that it was based on the comparatively mediocre GM minivan chassis of the time. What's suprising is that this was a contemporary of the Pontiac Vibe, which was styled very well.
The Element and xB did well because, despite the odd looks, they are useful cars with a good mechanical underpinning. The Aztek was a Montana with less space and odd styling; the Montana wasn't a good foundation, and making it odd-looking and less practical didn't help.
I liked the Aztek myself, but didn't buy it because it was really un-fun to drive.
AlexP 1:19PM (1/18/2008)
"Unfun to drive" and you like Toyotas?
Jesus Christ psar, I'm losing all the respect I had left for you. D: