The golden rule in vehicle styling is that if a designer can’t create a vehicle that is achingly beautiful, it should at least look inoffensive. Pontiac achieved that goal on many occasions but was lampooned when it released the Aztek. Everybody had an opinion about its appearance, and few people had a kind word to say. This 2003 Aztek is an interesting vehicle. It is a one-owner survivor with 49,000 miles on the clock, and I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Curvette for spotting it listed here on Craigslist in Post Falls, Idaho. The Aztek could be yours for $9,999.
Released for the 2001 model year, the Aztek was built on a shortened version of General Motors’ generic minivan platform. It is hard to believe that the styling was performed under the watch of Tom Peters, the man who later led the design of Chevrolet’s C7 Corvette. The two areas that are most often criticized are the nose and the rear side windows. The former isn’t elegant, while the latter almost looks like an afterthought. Built in 2003, this Aztek was ordered in Light Spiral Gray. It still presents impressively, with no matte areas or signs of patchiness. The panels are straight, and the plastic shows no evidence of physical damage or UV deterioration. The glass is clear, and the alloy wheels are free from obvious physical damage.
Designed to seat five people, the Aztek’s interior had some clever design features. If owners moved the back seat out of the way, the Pontiac could carry impressive, bulky loads. The bottom half of the tailgate featured molded seats and cupholders. Owners could head to the dog park, drop the tailgate, watch Rover run amok, and have somewhere to sit their skinny decaf soy latte. Our featured car’s interior is in good condition, with no evidence of wear or mistreatment. The seats and other upholstered surfaces are excellent, and the pale carpet looks surprisingly good. It should also be quite comfortable, courtesy of the air conditioning, power windows, power locks, cruise control, and an AM/FM stereo CD player with wheel-mounted controls.
Pontiac adopted a “one size fits all” philosophy to the engine powering the Aztek. It selected the “LA1” V6, with a capacity of 3,350cc and power and torque figures of 185hp and 210 ft/lbs. All cars featured a four-speed automatic transmission, with our featured vehicle equipped with the optional “Versatrak” all-wheel-drive system. That doesn’t make the Aztek a genuine off-roader, although it copes with harsher territory than many of its competitors. This one-owner classic has a claimed 49,000 miles on the clock, which we must take at face value due to a lack of documentation. Although not stated specifically, it appears to be a turnkey proposition.
The Aztek represented an almost unique moment in automotive history. Pontiac enjoyed a reputation for designing some automotive icons, but stylists were let off the leash to produce a bold, daring SUV that commanded attention. They succeeded, but not in the way that General Motors hoped. Sales fell far below expectations, which is a shame, because the Aztek wasn’t a bad vehicle. It could easily have slipped into obscurity, but its starring role in the TV series “Breaking Bad” suddenly made the Aztek cool with a certain group of people. The seller’s price is extremely competitive considering the odometer reading, but do you think that people will be able to look beyond the quirky styling to appreciate this competent SUV?
Walter White special. Newly replaced windshield :^)
Yep…..those Studebakers were ugly…..glad they stop making those Pontiac Studebakers…..haha
Being forced to use the minivan’s tall cowl instead of the specific one the concept had ruined it.
I’ve long wondered if it would’ve looked and sold better if they went with the W-body sedan cowl height, or would that be seen as a “station wagon” by the target market, poison at the turn of the millennium.
Every time I see one of these — which is not very often — I remember the day I stopped at a gas station to fill up an example Pontiac loaned me. A woman standing nearby asked her companion, “What’s that?” He replied, “That’s the new Pontiac Anthrax!”
I thought it was pretty weird before that, and even weirder afterward.
Bring the noise!
If the front end of a car is it’s face this looks like someone grafted the top of one to the forehead of another. I bet these get more popular as the millennials age. They don’t care about cars anyway.
Pontiac was giving us a window into the future- it doesn’t look strange today. If it had been an import, it probably would have had rave reviews and sold well, in my opinion.
It quickly became very easy to hate on these. But today, not so much.
It didn’t help that just as quickly it became the middle child in Pontiac-Buick showrooms between the closely related Rendezvous that offered a 3rd row of seats and the similarly styled (the Aztek looked like a rough draft of it) Vibe which was much cheaper and drove better with almost as much space. Even today 2-row crossovers in the biggest size are handily outsold by smaller ones and bigger 3-rows.
The Pontiac Vibe is a re-badged Toyota Matrix.
The styling is not awful to me. They were “different” but very functional, and to me, got a bad rap. If this was new today, people would say it looks “different” than all the SUV’s designed around a potato shape. It probably would sell better than in 2001.
Just what I was going to post. When it came out most everyone thought it was ghastly. Now look at almost any small SUV and you see the Aztek…..
As a former real 4wd owner all I need now is awd because I stick to main lines off road, but don’t want to get stuck if I run into some mud or snow. So this rig, outfitted w good tires would be perfect.
Looking at that front end, I wonder what could be an inexpensive improvement for the purchaser.
Would a bug deflector work? Does installing a vinyl front-end bra improve the look? The only conclusion that can be made is to simply use a stick of dynamite.
Only a freight train can improve that front end.
Just go full “Bandit Edition” on it:
https://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/sorry-but-we-can-t-hate-this-pontiac-aztek-trans-am/
Wow, two Azteks in a week!
https://barnfinds.com/versatrak-survivor-2004-pontiac-aztek-awd/
They’re coming out of the woodwork now for some reason.
Somehow they always looked like they were wearing the wrong size shoes. It seems to be teetering around on undersized wheel/tire combination. Didn’t help the Designed By Committee overall appearance
I have a house in san miguel de allende and there has to be dozens of those dinosaurs here. the biggest blunder other than the cimarron that GM did. pitiful car.
This is probably the car that sealed the PMD’s fate!
Still wanna know what the stylists and product planners were smokin’ when they penned that front end…
I well remember just before these things first came on the market some Pontiac dude shouted out, “Watch out PT Cruiser, here comes the Aztek.”
Then when we actually saw one it gave us a big laugh.
These were decent cars but nothing to match the sales of the PT Cruiser.
Is this the final thing that killed off Pontiac?
Colby Donaldson won one of these on Survivor–had a camping tent attachment on the rear
It was intended to compete with the Nissan Xterra. Anyone remember those?
Why would anyone even want one of these? I remember it from Breaking Bad as Walter White’s, but ugly car.
No tent?
I remember when the Pontiac Aztek was first intro’d to the public. Although not my vehicle of choice, I didn’t find it offensive, not at all.
Your title line says AWD. The Craigslist ad says FWD. I reckon it doesn’t really matter. I hope it finds a good home.