Hemmings Daily: How the Pontiac Aztek became the Pontiac Aztek

This story won't mention Walter White. Nor will it give glory to the pile-on that has declared the Pontiac Aztek the ugliest vehicle ever built. And it certainly won't try to change anybody's love/hatred of the Aztek; taste is subjective, after all. It will, however, attempt to explain how the Aztek came to stand out in the automotive marketplace and in subsequent automotive culture, for better or worse. By the mid-1990s, GM had fallen into a torpor. The Roger Smith era, which ended with his retirement in 1990, l [View in Browser | Subscribe]( [Hemmings Daily] Friday, October 25, 2019 [How the Pontiac Aztek became the Pontiac Aztek]( [How the Pontiac Aztek became the Pontiac Aztek]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - This story won't mention Walter White. Nor will it give glory to the pile-on that has declared the Pontiac Aztek the ugliest vehicle ever built. And it certainly won't try to change anybody's love/hatred of the Aztek; taste is subjective, after all. It will, however, attempt to explain how the Aztek came to stand out in the automotive marketplace and in subsequent automotive culture, for better or worse. By the mid-1990s, GM had fallen into a torpor. The Roger Smith era, which ended with his retirement in 1990, l... [Read More]( [Sponsor]( [Hemmings Find of the Day: 1973 AMC Ambassador Brougham]( [Hemmings Find of the Day: 1973 AMC Ambassador Brougham]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Unrestored 1973 AMC Ambassador Brougham station wagon for sale on Hemmings.com. From the seller's description: Absolutely gorgeous time capsule with only one owner from new and only 48,xxx actual miles! Still on the original 1973 PA title! Purchased new at Hillview Motors in Greensburg PA. The dealership is still in business and the owners even remember selling this car new! Ordered very well equipped with the Brougham option which included remote mirror, rear spoiler, luggage rack, power steering, power disc...[Read More]( [VIDEO: Sifting for precious metals in them hills]( [VIDEO: Sifting for precious metals in them hills]( Posted by Dan Stoner - What's the one thing that unites all gearheads? The one pilgrimage that we all dream about? That one singular experience that separates us from mere mortals...or, at least, the smarter guy on the block? The fabled junkyard run, of course! And, let's face it: we're losing more great old junkyards than are being maintained or even started. Ask any independent yard owner, who's got anything vintage in the lot, and you'll hear all about it: the rest of the world wants to see less of these hot rod valhallas, not more....[Read More]( [Sponsor]( [When Heavy Metal Parking Lot was covered in 'glass]( [When Heavy Metal Parking Lot was covered in 'glass]( Posted by Dan Stoner - Man, oh man, oh man - do we love old photos of parking lot rebuilds! It's the ultimate test of gearheadedness: Can you pull a motor, do what you have to do, get it back in the car and get back to what you were doing right before it let go on you? Based on the forensics, we think we've got at least an educated guess on what happened here, but tell us what you're seeing and clue us in on your process of deduction. One thing we're pretty confident in stating is the fairly-irrefutable fact that the t-shirt this kid used...[Read More]( [Gatlinburg, Tennessee, 1982]( [Gatlinburg, Tennessee, 1982]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: April 1982 Location: Gatlinburg, Tennessee Source: via Knoxville News-Sentinel What do you see here?...[Read More]( [Sponsor]( [This Day in Automotive History] THIS DAY IN AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY 10/25/1864: John Dodge born, Niles, Michigan 10/25/1873: John Willys born, Canandaigua, New York 10/25/1931: George Washington Bridge opens to traffic 10/25/1954: George Romney named AMC's chairman and CEO 10/25/1957: Last Hudsons introduced UPCOMING EVENTS [25TH ANNIVERSARY AVANTI MEET]( November 1, 2019 - Winter Garden, FL [Phoenix Drag & Hot Rod Reunion]( November 1, 2019 - Chandler, AZ [Cruisin' Nocona]( November 1, 2019 - Nocona, TX [The Albany Auto Show]( November 1, 2019 - Albany, NY [Florence Pecan Festival]( November 2, 2019 - Florence, SC [Dave & Ed's Super Auto Events Pro-Formance Meet]( November 2, 2019 - Canton, OH [See All Events]( [Sponsor]( FEATURED AUCTIONS [2009 Pontiac Solstice]( [2009 Pontiac Solstice]( [1964 Dodge Polara]( [1964 Dodge Polara]( [2010 Chevrolet Camaro]( [2010 Chevrolet Camaro]( [1957 Ford Thunderbird]( [1957 Ford Thunderbird]( [1970 Chevrolet C10]( [1970 Chevrolet C10]( [1980 GMC 3500]( [1980 GMC 3500]( [1972 Chevrolet El Camino]( [1972 Chevrolet El Camino]( [1949 Chevrolet 3100]( [1949 Chevrolet 3100]( [1975 Chevrolet C20]( [1975 Chevrolet C20]( [1956 Lincoln Premiere]( [1956 Lincoln Premiere]( PROMOTED LISTING [1948 Anglia]( [1948 Anglia]( [$115,000]( PROMOTED LISTING [1967 Chevrolet Corvette]( [1967 Chevrolet Corvette]( [$39,900]( [Ferrari 275 Magnesium ]( [Ferrari 275 Magnesium "Starburst"wheels]( [$6,000]( [View All Classifieds]( FEATURED IN THE BLOG [Air-cooled desert luxury]( [Air-cooled desert luxury]( [A Mustang GT with a cargo bed - Ford's 1993-'95 F-150 Lightning]( [A Mustang GT with a cargo bed - Ford's 1993-'95 F-150 Lightning]( [See All Featured Blog Posts]( FOLLOW US: [Hemmings Instagram]( [Follow us on Twitter]( [Join us on Facebook]( [View our Flickr pool]( [View Newsletter Archives]( WEEK IN REVIEW Thursday, October 24, 2019 [What I learned from buying a portable low-rise vehicle lift]( [What I learned from buying a portable low-rise vehicle lift]( Posted by Mike Austin - Work on cars long enough, and eventually you'll want some kind of automatic lift that offers freedom from the floor jack and jack stand shuffle every time you want to wrench. The gold standard is the two-post lift that can raise a vehicle overhead in minutes, but my garage has a low roof -- anything that goes up more than a few feet won't work. The good news is there are plenty of low-rise and mid-rise lifts out there that work even in tight garage spaces. I finally took the plunge myself and bought a Quick Jack por...[Read More]( [Hemmings Find of the Day: 1985 BMW 323i Baur Targa Convertible]( [Hemmings Find of the Day: 1985 BMW 323i Baur Targa Convertible]( Posted by Mike Austin - It's not quite a hardtop, but not quite a convertible. It's a 1985 BMW 323i Baur Targa for sale on Hemmings.com From the seller's description: 1985 BMW 323i, (E320) rare Baur Targa Convertible for Sale This is a carefully maintained 1985 E30 Baur for sale, with 122k miles, in excellent condition. The car has numerous enhancements including ground-effects package, M-sport leather sport seats, M-sport leather steering wheel, BBS-style wheels, a reconfigured transmission with short-throw gearing (from a Z4), and up...[Read More]( [Henry J. Kaiser had a Manhattan converted to steam. It nearly led to crate steam-car engines]( [Henry J. Kaiser had a Manhattan converted to steam. It nearly led to crate steam-car engines]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - We live in a golden age of crate engine options. From a catalog, one can order Hemis, LSes, even electric motors. And who knows, maybe we could have also had crate steam engines had a steam-powered Manhattan that Henry J. Kaiser himself commissioned proved successful. By all accounts, Kaiser was pretty open-minded when it came to automobile design and technology. While the sedans that he built with Joe Frazer ended up having fairly typical for the time front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, steel-body-on-frame configura...[Read More]( [The same batteries that took men to the moon helped the Silver Eagle set the EV land-speed record]( [The same batteries that took men to the moon helped the Silver Eagle set the EV land-speed record]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - In early August 1971, the Apollo 15 astronauts deployed the first moon buggy -- technically the Lunar Roving Vehicle -- on the surface of ol' Luna, reaching blistering speeds of 6 to 8 mph. Just days later, and before the Apollo 15 astronauts even returned home, the same batteries that powered the LRV helped secure the world land-speed record for electric vehicles -- at much higher speeds -- for a spaceship-looking streamliner that will soon head to auction. Silver-zinc batteries, with their high energy densities...[Read More]( [Jones Beach, New York, 1981]( [Jones Beach, New York, 1981]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: July 1981 Location: Meadowbrook State Parkway headed to Jones Beach, Long Island, New York Source: Don Norkett, via Newsday What do you see here?...[Read More]( [Daily Briefing: 2020 Lemons schedule, Put-in-Bay Sports Car Races]( [Daily Briefing: 2020 Lemons schedule, Put-in-Bay Sports Car Races]( Posted by Mike Austin - 24 Hours of Lemons 2020 Race, Rally, and Concours schedule Looking for an excuse to buy a $500 car? Look no further than the 24 Hours of Lemons. The 2020 schedule is out for all endurance racing, road rally, and Concours d'Lemons activities. There are now 24 races on the calendar (that number is just a coincidence). Willow Springs is a new addition, and last year's inaugural races in Topeka, Kansas, Brainerd, Minnesota, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania continue for a second year. International Lemons racing also carr...[Read More]( Wednesday, October 23, 2019 [1972 Plymouth Road Runner and Road Runner GTX Buyer's Guide]( [1972 Plymouth Road Runner and Road Runner GTX Buyer's Guide]( Posted by Thomas A. DeMauro - In the declining years of the muscle-car era, the Road Runner had to adapt to a changing marketplace. The 426 Street Hemi option was gone, and though Mother Mopar had planned to retain the 440 Six Barrel engine for 1972, it was cancelled early in the model year after less than a handful (one Road Runner GTX and two Chargers with the Rallye package have been documented) were installed. This Road Runner GTX features the optional Air Grabber, strobe stripes, exhaust tips, 15-inch Rallye wheels with G6...[Read More]( [Hemmings Find of the Day: 1964 Ford Falcon Futura]( [Hemmings Find of the Day: 1964 Ford Falcon Futura]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Restomod 1964 Ford Falcon Futura for sale on Hemmings.com. From the seller's description: This is a really cool, really well done Falcon. It is super fun to drive, and gets a lot more looks and thumbs up than you would ever expect. Everything on it has been upgraded or improved, and it is still very period correct nothing gaudy or out of place. Everything works, and works better than new, and it is ready to drive every day commuting, or cross country. It has had a caring owner that has done most of the upgrade...[Read More]( [My Triumph Obsession, Part VII: Preserving metal with epoxy]( [My Triumph Obsession, Part VII: Preserving metal with epoxy]( Posted by Richard Lentinello - The Coventry saga continues with getting the body on my Triumph T3A prepped and covered with primer. With warm days becoming few and far between this time of year, I had to work fast because the epoxy primer needs an ambient temperature above 65 degrees for proper adhesion. Hours of grinding and dozens of sanding discs later, the TR3A's top side was ready to be primed. Using my pneumatic angle die grinder and 3-inch coarse discs, it was a laborious task to remove the surface rust as well as the old epoxy primer...[Read More]( [Collection of Colani prototypes, including some Automorrow racers, fails to sell at auction]( [Collection of Colani prototypes, including some Automorrow racers, fails to sell at auction]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Just a month after designer Luigi Colani died, a number of his full-size design studies and working one-off cars - including some of his Automorrow racers designed to break records at the Bonneville Salt Flats - appeared incomplete and damaged at auction and all failed to come anywhere close to their pre-auction estimates. Throughout his life, Colani might have applied his visions of a bio-mimicking techno-utopian future to all sorts of consumer products - from TVs to pens to clothes, even to coffins - but he con...[Read More]( [London, 1980]( [London, 1980]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: circa 1980 Location: Euston Road, London, England Source: Nick via Wikimedia Commons What do you see here?...[Read More]( Tuesday, October 22, 2019 [How to exceed the speed limit by 220 MPH and get away with it]( [How to exceed the speed limit by 220 MPH and get away with it]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Before embarking on his quest to break the world land-speed record, Rosco McGlashan was an exhibition drag racer who piloted jet dragsters, much like the Arfons brothers. McGlashan also decided - once - to take his act to a public street, as he told the tale on his Facebook page. I was on my way home from a drag racing meeting on Australia's east coast. What the director of this film company wanted was an impossibility. He wanted me to race my jet dragster down a public street on a Sunday morning at very high spe...[Read More]( [Hemmings Find of the Day: 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Pro Touring Coupe]( [Hemmings Find of the Day: 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Pro Touring Coupe]( Posted by Mike Austin - Frame-off restoration, Pro-Touring 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray for sale on Hemmings.com. From the seller's description: 1967 CORVETTE Pro-Touring coupe Complete 3 Year Frame Off Restoration with only 500 Miles Since Completion 427/435 H.P. L-89 with Aluminum Heads Non-Matching Numbers Original Big Block Corvette Original Side Exhaust Corvette Original Marina Blue Corvette Vintage Air Conditioning Power Steering Power Brakes Power Windows Telescoping Steering Column All New ...[Read More]( [A motherlode of classic cars is headed to a U.S. government seizure auction]( [A motherlode of classic cars is headed to a U.S. government seizure auction]( Posted by Mike Austin - You ever watch one of the big auctions on TV and just think of all the stuff you'd buy if you had the money? Well, that's apparently what Jeff and Paulette Carpoff did. Only it turns out that maybe it wasn't their money to spend. The Carpoffs are accused of running a Ponzi scheme with their company DC Solar, to the tune of over 800 million dollars. Their home and office were raided by the FBI last December, which lead to DC Solar filing for bankruptcy in February. The closure of Chip Ganassi Racing's Xfinity Series ...[Read More]( [Forebearer of the Henry J: Kaiser-Frazers compact car was based on this 1948 AMP prototype]( [Forebearer of the Henry J: Kaiser-Frazers compact car was based on this 1948 AMP prototype]( Posted by Richard Lentinello - The automotive industry is made up of hundreds of companies manufacturing all the various components and fasteners required to build an automobile. From small machine shops to large factories, they are the backbone of car companies everywhere. One such company was American Metal Products, who supplied many of Detroit's auto companies with automobile seat frames and springs. AMP was founded in Detroit in 1917 by Fred Mathie, who, like many visionaries, dreamed of one day producing his own automobile. Knowing that ...[Read More]( [Palm Springs, California, 1980s]( [Palm Springs, California, 1980s]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: circa 1980s Location: Palm Springs, California Source: via Palm Springs Desert Sun What do you see here?...[Read More]( Monday, October 21, 2019 [This is the only rotary-powered Mustang ever built.]( [This is the only rotary-powered Mustang ever built.]( Posted by Richard Lentinello - If there was any engineer who had an out-of-the-box mindset, Felix Wankel would be king of the pioneering thought process. His rotary engine concept, based on three-sided rotors spinning on a single shaft, was truly innovative, as it used 98 percent fewer moving components than conventional OHV or OHC combustion engines. Its simplicity of function is truly astounding. Wankel, an engineer in Germany, designed his rotary engine back in the 1920s, receiving a patent in 1929, but it wasn't until he was employed at ...[Read More]( [Hemmings Find of the Day: 1983 Porsche 911SC Cabriolet]( [Hemmings Find of the Day: 1983 Porsche 911SC Cabriolet]( Posted by Mike Austin - Rust-free 1983 Porsche 911SC Cabriolet for sale on Hemmings.com. From the seller's description: Selling our1983 Porsche 911 SC Cabriolet,121025 miles. The dealer of origin was in Denver Colorado. The first detailed information dates back to November 1992. According to CarFax the mileage of 44,596 is not the actual mileage when the title was issue in Colorado. It appears a branded title may have been issued. It may have been that the actual mileage of the vehicle was unknown. The odometer readings have been c...[Read More]( [The Ones to Watch: 1984 Renault Alliance and Encore brochures]( [The Ones to Watch: 1984 Renault Alliance and Encore brochures]( Posted by Mark J. McCourt - Images are from the brochure collection of Hemmings Motor News, courtesy of Bruce Zahor. The Renault Alliance is one of those cars that many recall but, it seems, few remember with much fondness. Funny that, considering how well it initially sold, and how important it was at the time for its struggling domestic parent company, AMC. While it seems forever linked to the mid-1980s, its roots stretch back to the late 1970s. According to Hemmings Classic Carcolumnist Pat Foster's excellent book, American Motors C...[Read More]( [Can you identify this mystery wood wheel?]( [Can you identify this mystery wood wheel?]( Posted by Jim O'Clair - We received an email from a subscriber last month, asking to help identify the wood wheel seen here, but came up short. Can you offer any information to determine the origin of the item above? The heavy 10 spokes and 22.5- or 20.5-inch rim diameter indicate that this wheel was on a truck or very heavy passenger car, but we do not recognize the center cap, which could be a W or an M. The use of four rim clamps might also be a clue. As an "M," we theorized it may be from a Mogul, Maccar, or McNeilus tru...[Read More]( [The British Sports Car Hall of Fame announces its 2019 Inductees]( [The British Sports Car Hall of Fame announces its 2019 Inductees]( Posted by Mark J. McCourt - Sir Alec Issigonis and his Mini at Longbridge, 1964; image courtesy of The British Sports Car Hall of Fame Established three years ago, the Petersburg, Virginia-basedThe British Sports Car Hall of Famerecently announced its honorees for the 2019 Induction Class. This unique organization, which maintains a museum and seeks topreserve and perpetuate the legacy and impact of these legendary vehicles and to honor the men and women responsible for their success, has chosen its inductees through a combinati...[Read More]( [Lewisburg, Tennessee, 1974]( [Lewisburg, Tennessee, 1974]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: 1974 Location: San Francisco, California East Commerce Street, Lewisburg, Tennessee Source: via vintagetravellove What do you see here? UPDATE (21.October): Thanks to preston murrey and Erik below for identifying the correct location....[Read More]( Sunday, October 20, 2019 [When the highway came to Hilldale: A look at how the interstate system was sold to America]( [When the highway came to Hilldale: A look at how the interstate system was sold to America]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - There's a lot to glean from this half-hour film that the American Roadbuilders Association produced in 1957 to help smooth the road, so to say, for the coming Interstate Highway System. While the traffic scenes early on would make for good carspotting images and the explanation of how the interstates would be laid out--particularly the use of computers to help plan it all--was interesting, it's what we now know about the highways that reveals the real obstacles the American Roadbuilders Association envisioned in the...[Read More]( [Hemmings Find of the Day: 1973 Alfa Romeo Berlina]( [Hemmings Find of the Day: 1973 Alfa Romeo Berlina]( Posted by Mike Austin - VintageAlfa Romeo Berlina for sale on Hemmings.com. From the seller's description: 1973 ALFA Romeo Berlina 2000: 06/26/19 Information about the car: 1) Never been raced. 2) 71 year old owner who has owned the car since 1996. 3) Car has been in Conway, AR or Little Rock, AR all its life, so it has never seen salt. 4) Car color is original Rossa Red, interior color is original black. 5) Car was originally sourced from ALFA Romeo at the Houston port by Charles Mauldenwho owned the ALFA dealership i...[Read More]( [Four-Links - Milwaukee Mile, Israeli diesel Checkers, Lupin III, Mustang III]( [Four-Links - Milwaukee Mile, Israeli diesel Checkers, Lupin III, Mustang III]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Bringing back the Milwaukee Mile As we wrote earlier this year, the push to bring professional racing back to the Milwaukee Mile has been building momentum, and Milwaukee Magazine recently checked in on that campaign and its vision for the future of the Mile, including comments from radio host Jim Tretow and ARCA Midwest Tour President Gregg McKarns: You cannot put a race on with your heart. It's going to fail miserably. The risk has to be worth the reward, Tretow says. Some even dare to dream that NASCAR or I...[Read More]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1954 Nash Ambassador Country Club]( [Hemmings Find of the Day - 1954 Nash Ambassador Country Club]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Unrestored 1954 Nash Ambassador Country Club for sale on Hemmings.com. From the seller's description: Extremely rare optioned car. Lemans I6 "Dual Jetfire" engine with dual carbs. Hydromatic Transmission. Power steering Power Brakes Power windows Radio/Dash Clock Airline style seat and twin with window screens Hood ornament/ Nash spotlight /side view mirror WW tires with factory continental kit. windshield visor windshield washer " Weather Eye" heat A/C. Seat belts Survivor quality Vehicle. PA estate c...[Read More]( LAST WEEK'S MOST READ [FYI, the slammed six-wheeled El Camino-ish Cadillac with stacks does exist]( [FYI, the slammed six-wheeled El Camino-ish Cadillac with stacks does exist]( Posted by Daniel Strohl - Many moons ago, while composing yet another photochops post, I hemmed and hawed about including the above photo. It would have fit perfectly, thought I, in with the six-wheelers and other general automotive off-the-wallness from some of our regular photochop contributors. However, as I look over the series, I see that I never posted it, likely because a) I wasn't entirely sure whether it was actually photochopped, and b) I couldn't track down who did the work. No longer! I mean, the photo may have been chopped (i...[Read More]( LAST WEEK'S BEST DISCUSSION [20 years ago the Escalade and Navigator predicted the shift to SUVs, we just didn't know it then]( [20 years ago the Escalade and Navigator predicted the shift to SUVs, we just didn't know it then]( Posted by Mike Austin - The tail end of 1998 was a turning point in the auto industry, but we probably didn't realize it at the time. For the first time, the flagship models from both Cadillac and Lincoln were not cars, but SUVs. While both were derided at the time by the press as gussied-up versions of their volume-brand siblings, buyers flocked to them, hip-hop artists started name-dropping them in their lyrics, and the American subconscious shifted further towards seeing the SUVs as the driveway symbol of success. There were several ...[Read More]( Hemmings Motor News will not sell or share your e-mail address with other companies. 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