Talk:Pontiac Aztek

Plagiarism

This article is almost word-for-word taken from here: http://www.netcarshow.com/pontiac/2001-aztek_srv/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.193.24.142 (talk) 16:39, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

"This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia." --Typ932 ^T·C 17:14, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

This article is too kind.

This article is really too kind regarding the UGLY styling of this thing. If I were the only one who thought it was ugly, I would call it my opinion, or whatever. But nearly everyone was making fun of this one.

Perhaps GM is doing a bit of wiki-PR-editing? Or perhaps the only people on the planet that care about the Pontiac Aztek now that it has (thankfully) been pulled from production are the 0.0001% of the world that actually likes it.

LOL at this POS. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.137.203.105 (talk) 21:58, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia is not an opinion journal. Also, there's not much real reason for GM to risk bad PR getting caught editing a page discussing a relatively unpopular entry in its lineup, particularly one that hasn't been manufactured for seven years, and for a GM brand that has been defunct for three. And for that matter, compare the article's content with that of the Nissan Juke, which also has a rather unusual appearance, but whose mechanical bona fides are somewhat more well-established (the U-Body/GMT-250 Aztek was in essence a minivan cleverly disguised as a CUV, even though the concept was reportedly much more robust). Boomshadow ^talk _contribs 19:27, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

It's not that bad until you get to the rear profile. Looks like they just gave up and decided to flatten it out with cheap plastic. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.23.29.8 (talk) 19:16, 25 January 2013 (UTC)

Totally looks like GM wrote this page. Lead section muffles critical and public disdain by citing a resurgence in popularity based on... Breaking Bad??? And the section that actually talks about critical and public response to the styling is entitled "Public Shaming." How about something more NPOV, like "Critical and Commercial Response"? (Incidentally, I agree with the above--it's the chopped-off rear end that made it look hideous.)Schoolmann (talk) 20:19, 18 March 2015 (UTC)

Contradiction

The article states:

• Introduced in 2001
• This car was only on the market for two years, the shortest period for any American vehicle ever made
• it will be discontinued after the 2005 model year

2001-2005 is not two years, so one statement or the other is wrong.

I also have my doubts about 'the shortest period for any American vehicle ever made.' —Morven 21:45, Nov 15, 2004 (UTC)

I'd say the Lincoln Blackwood at 15 months is the shortest production run of a non-limited-edition vehicle. The Aztek actually sold pretty well. I'm editing. --SFoskett 17:01, Nov 16, 2004 (UTC)

---

There's some pretty strong POV stuff here. I'm taking the edge off.
Full disclosure - I own one. --Xj14y 19:41, 30 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I really like how you redid it. Even though people THINK the Aztek was a flop, it wasn't really a failure. It sold surprisingly well, if not a home run. --SFoskett 20:50, Dec 30, 2004 (UTC)

---

Some more commentary highlighting the differences between the concept and final versions would be nice too. I like the concept, but the original model was much chunkier and flabbier, more of an ugly platform-engineer hack :/ --Anon, 6 Oct 2005

---

Was the concept actually well liked? I distinctly remember it being blasted in the press. "Pity Pontiac, its stylists can't style and its marketing department can't spell" to quote Robert Cumberford in Automobile, for example. -- Citric, 12 May 2006.

---

Car and Driver (or was it Automobile?) said of the show car- something like "We have a new term for ugly, Aztek Ugly." If I still had the magazine, I'd look up the exact quote. (IMHO, the successor for the title of "Ugliest Vehicle on the Road" is the Subaru B9 Tribeca. ;)

25 sold in 2007

Interesting information that should probably go somewhere in this article. Roguegeek (talk) 02:47, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

Other Cultural References

How did anyone miss the 30 Rock cultural reference? http://wiki.riteme.site/wiki/Into_the_Crevasse Jack and the writers attempt to improve the microwave kept adding more and more features until they reinvent the Pontiac Aztek.

Possible original research

Regarding the line "The Aztek's exterior styling might have influenced Japanese automaker Lexus when they introduced its RX330 and successor RX350 crossovers - its L-Finesse styling has definitive cues taken from the Aztek."

It's an interesting possibility. I'm flagging it as "citation needed" for now, though.Boomshadow ^talk _contribs 15:07, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

Other Aztek influenced?

Boomshadow, might I suggest an even more suspect candidate in addition to the Lexus;- the NISSAN JUKE. The front especially , with the generally mashed-up look, and specifically the similar lower-lip treatment and the top-mounted repeaters in exactly the same place. The interiors also show remarkable similarities: cowled central dials, round air vents and the seat shapes - give or take a few age-related differences.

The Aztek rear design too (light clusters, dual split windscreen) echos some recent japanese (Honda Insight. Toyota Prius) and even European designs (Citroen C4). Maybe Aztek was just, unfortunately, ahead of its time and not that bad as so many think? I am certainly one of the few who liked it. Joseph S. Mawejje (talk) 17:47, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

Well, I am not entirely certain the designers of the later vehicles (or anyone else) would admit having been influenced visually by the Aztek, but I certainly consider the Aztek to have been a key part of the marketing segment of crossovers. Even so, as you say, the Lexus RX-series crossovers have some design elements in common, notably in overall shape and proportion. The kammback style goes at least as far back as the Volkswagen Type 3 Fastback (the 1500 TL model), if not all the way back to the sedans of the 1930s and 1940s. The Honda CRX certainly used a horizontal split-window kammback, as did both the early and current Honda Insight and the current Toyota Prius

I am not at all certain the Nissan Juke was purposely influenced by the Pontiac Aztek, but they seem to have decided to go for a love-it-or-hate-it polarization as the primary design principle. On the other hand, I am honestly not sure that Pontiac's design crew really thought people would dislike the Aztek's appearance quite so much.Boomshadow ^talk _contribs 21:02, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

References