VIDEO: Remembering the Pontiac Aztek launch with C&D
Click above to watch the video after the break
For the past decade, the Pontiac Aztek has been the poster child for design execution gone wrong. The malformed 'ute was intended as one of the first crossover vehicles – part minivan and part SUV, with enough space to enable drivers to go further, and with more stuff. After all, the rear seats were removable, when the hatch was open, you had access to a kickin' boombox, and the center console was removable when you needed a cooler on the fly. Instead, the Aztek was the butt of quite a few jokes, and its plastic-clad ugliness became a microcosm of all that was wrong with the domestic auto industry.
When the Aztek came in 2001, though, the public (and the motoring media) wasn't exactly sure what the quirky little Pontiac actually was, as evidenced by this amusing eight-year old video shot and edited by Car and Driver. Hit the jump to view the five-minute flick, and rewind back in time to the starting point of one of Pontiac's biggest mistakes.
[Source: YouTube]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Sofa King Fast! 11:37AM (7/20/2009)
This car will replace the AMC gremlin in Wayne's World 24
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James 11:45AM (7/20/2009)
Argh...My eyes! My eyes!!
roadkillrob 12:38PM (7/20/2009)
It still makes me throw up a little in my mouth. At least Car and Driver would offer an opinion, unlike Autoweek that never can say anything bad about a car it tests!
airswingman 3:44PM (7/20/2009)
this video can be a good material for the business students , learning how the free market works. lol
Randy 5:17PM (7/21/2009)
"Argh...My eyes! My eyes!!"
No kidding. That hurt my eyes so much I had to type in braille ;) jk
Hey I was thinking... If you replace the front clip (hood, front quarters, grill, skirt) and remove the glass on the back and put a bed in it it would be okay ish
Nelson Cheung 11:43AM (7/20/2009)
One of the ugliest designs in my lifetime that I will never forget. What were the designers at GM smoking and what was management snorting? The fact that some people actually bought this thing really stuns me. Hope future designers study this and learn what not to do. Definitely a Hall of Shamer!
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Jacob 3:42PM (7/20/2009)
I still see these around town. It amazes me!
vf34wrx 11:43AM (7/20/2009)
the product team (product manager, designer, marketing manager, project manager, etc.) and whomever signed off/decided on the design should all be blacklisted from ever working in the auto industry again.
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Eric Liberatore 1:34PM (7/20/2009)
That group is called "Pontiac". I think it's been taken care of...
Farmboy 1:14AM (7/21/2009)
Yeah, Karma can be a bitch. :)
dukeisduke 11:44AM (7/20/2009)
The proper abbreviation for Car and Driver is C/D, not C&D.
The sound is terrible at the beginning (was that Apollo 11 lifting off in the background?). As for opinions? The first lady was dead-on - it's ugly. And the host was prescient about the stares from other drivers. It's the gagging and retching he left out.
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pmalik 11:52AM (7/20/2009)
C/D is coefficient of drag....
chado8705 8:40AM (7/22/2009)
abbreviations.com says its C&D.. which makes since.. because a / symbol usually means "or"...
Alex 12:09PM (7/20/2009)
uhh... a slash "/" typically denotes "of" as in 1/4 = One of Four or as pmalik pointed out C/D = coefficient of drag.
the word "and" is replaced by the ampersand "&" as in C&D = Car AND Driver
dukeisduke 12:22PM (7/20/2009)
No, go look at their Web site - it's even been noted out in at least one op-ed in the magazine, that it's C/D, not C&D. Road & Track is R&T, but Car and Driver (there's no ampersand in their name - it's "and") is C/D. Even the icon for their URL is "C/D".
Protzenegger 1:31PM (7/20/2009)
Duke - does it really matter?
Protzenegger 1:34PM (7/20/2009)
As for coefficient of drag, it's actually Cd, not C/D.
jinsei888 11:48AM (7/20/2009)
Gawd c&d fails so hard
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thatguy69 11:50AM (7/20/2009)
I wonder if people that own and drive a Buick Rendevous know that they're only driving a 'classier' version of this POS.
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Javi0084 12:57PM (7/20/2009)
The Rendezvous looks alright, IMO.