Pontiac Aztek "The Original Overlander?"

Parker75

Parker75

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Was the Pontiac Aztek perhaps ahead of its time with the Onboard Tent AWD system?

With the growth of the Overland Community will we see vehicle manufacturers begin to get into the Production Overland Vehicle like the Pontiac Aztek?

Interested in this discussion.




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But I would say the Aztec was ahead of its time.

On one hand you have the Priuii and other ugly hybrids. On the other hand you have all these crossover SUVs. There are many traits among the vehicles in both hands that seem to have descended from that ugly duckling. A whole bunch of folks owe apologies to Pontiac for all the derision directed that way.
 
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Anak said:
But I would say the Aztec was ahead of its time.

On one hand you have the Priuii and other ugly hybrids. On the other hand you have all these crossover SUVs. There are many traits among the vehicles in both hands that seem to have descended from that ugly duckling. A whole bunch of folks owe apologies to Pontiac for all the derision directed that way.
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I know we are not supposed to be against any vehicle on this forum. "Its not what you drive" BUT, I draw the line at the Aztec. I don't care. Ugliest hunk of garbage and deserves no respect, and no way will I EVER apologize for any derision directed toward it from me.
 
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I always liked the look of the Aztec, totally different than anything else, at the time. Never drove one, so I know nothing about it as an overland vehicle, though.
 
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Arizona Overland said:
I know we are not supposed to be against any vehicle on this forum. "Its not what you drive" BUT, I draw the line at the Aztec. I don't care. Ugliest hunk of garbage and deserves no respect, and no way will I EVER apologize for any derision directed toward it from me.
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I don't disagree at all. I am just looking for some consistency. If the Aztec was so ugly then why on earth are manufacturers cranking out vehicles that are even uglier? Did no one learn anything from Pontiac's mistake?

Or can I hope for more manufacturers to drop dead like Pontiac? (I would love to see BMW fold over that ugly EV they recently released. That thing makes the Aztec look nice.)
 
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Anak said:
I don't disagree at all. I am just looking for some consistency. If the Aztec was so ugly then why on earth are manufacturers cranking out vehicles that are even uglier? Did no one learn anything from Pontiac's mistake?

Or can I hope for more manufacturers to drop dead like Pontiac? (I would love to see BMW fold over that ugly EV they recently released. That thing makes the Aztec look nice.)
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Oh, I don't think they folded because they built an ugly car. Plenty of manufacturers have built ugly cars. They folded because GM.
At some point the difference between Chevy, Caddilacacac, Buick, Olds, Pontiac, GMC became a grille. Heck, the reason they folded up SAAB was because those guys REFUSED to build a cookie cutter GM.
 
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You could make the point that GM was ahead of its time with the innovation of the "Pontiac Aztek".

The Aztek had all time all wheel drive, a built in cooler, built in rear on-board air compressor, rear controllable audio controller, rear ac adapter, and one of the first rear hatch tent configurations with awning & insect screen.



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Steve said:
Model T top and bottom pics, made from 1908-1927. Model A was 1928-1931. Pizza cutter tires at their finest!
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You are a better historian than I am. Point being, it is something to keep in mind when we are doing thousands of dollars of modifications two are luxury SUV's. I've seen people spend more on upgrades then those guys spent on their Model Ts or As [emoji12]

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I read a really interesting article on the Aztec once, I'll dig around to see if I can find it. Obvioulsy the article focused on what a terrible failure it was, but the interesting part was how they came up with it. From what I recall they basically detailed out all of the functions / accessories they wanted and built the car around those, with virtually no input on actual aestehetics and design..

I absoltuely hated them from day 1, aesthetically anyways. I've never actually been in one, or personally known anyone who has owned one.
 
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KD7WCD said:
You are a better historian than I am. Point being, it is something to keep in mind when we are doing thousands of dollars of modifications two are luxury SUV's. I've seen people spend more on upgrades then those guys spent on their Model Ts or As [emoji12]

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Yea, they went anywhere while being stock. Lots of ground clearance and low end grunt helped. I had a '29 Model A in high school, and my brother had my Dad's '23 T in his barn. Approaching 100 years, still almost all original and unrestored, and still runs.


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