Okay, there was a Versatek AWD option available, but the front-wheel drive option was ridiculous. When both were tested going from mph, the 2WD hit it in 8. Once a GM vehicle leaves the factory, there is almost an immediate recall issued. With the Azteks, owners were having issues within the fuel delivery system, prompting large recalls. The danger involved the leaking fuel catching the vehicle on fire.
Airbags and other safety features were later recalled. The fact alone that it was made in Mexico would not be so bad, but the overall quality is too poor to ignore. So bad was the response to the Aztek hitting the market that it never hit even half of its annual sales forecasts. Please confirm you agree to the use of tracking cookies as outlined in the Cookies Policy.
Sign in or register. Kelsey Sakamoto 6 years ago. Remind me later. Share Tweet Email Whatsapp. No Stick, No Fun. What Do You Expect? GM eventually did decide to dedicate real resources to creating an actual proper crossover and they introduced the Saturn VUE in Eventually, a few years and one bailout later, GM learned to get it right. Today it offers tons of crossovers in all shapes and sizes—a crossover for every purse and purpose, you might say.
Pontiac's not around anymore but the playbook certainly is for turning car platforms into bigger people-hauling vehicles with plenty of space, decent gas mileage, and the up-high seating position that more and more buyers love.
The problem was that each designer had a say and the resulting cacophony never quite found its harmony. Consequently, the Aztek became the poster-child of design by committee , lacking focus and any semblance of a unified vision.
Part of the idea behind Aztek was to bridge the gap between the edgy car that younger buyers wanted and the practical minivan that slightly older buyers needed. Instead, it became an ugly duckling minivan for somethings that absolutely nobody wanted until Walter White somehow managed to make one look cool building a meth empire in boring New Mexico. And although minivans are rarely considered cool, bear in mind that this was a time when crossovers were on the precipice of a boom that radically altered the American vehicular landscape.
A true crossover , it was built on the all-but-forgotten Pontiac Montana minivan and, from an engineering standpoint, the Aztek was actually advanced for its day. Optional all-wheel-drive meant it could get you to a much better campsite, and it had tighter steering and less body roll than true SUVs because its crossover construction meant it shared more with a car than with a truck.
When it finally went to market, the Aztek sold like vitamin supplements at a Big Pharma convention. In the darkest corners of the automotive world, water cooler talk amongst people close to the Aztek project produced utterings of how good of a concept the Aztek really was. Crazy, right?
Not really, actually. From a bureaucrat's standpoint, it was on time, on budget, and did everything it was supposed to, all while breaking new ground that no other carmaker was ballsy enough to do at the time.
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