Breaking Bad made Azteks cool. And here’s a graphic example of that: roof rack with spare lashed down, big all-terrain tires, maybe a bit of a raised stance, graphics, and…a wood rear window. What?
Here it is, in closer detail. Has the run on Azteks made these rear lower windows hard to find, or is it part of the look?
You can be the judge of that.
I’m speechless, LOL! 🙂
This just proves how far ahead of its time the Aztek was. Acura ZDX? Honda CrossTour? BMW 3 & 5 series Gran Turismo? All aped the Aztek!
In that guise it looks FAR better than it ever did in any kind of stock form. None of those changes are even remotely difficult to do (well, never mind the wood rear window). I don’t hate it at all.
Now let’s see the same thing but based on the platform sister, the Buick Rendezvous!
The stickers suggest that the owner is a mechanic, so he could probably fix the hatch if he could source one. I’ve got to imagine that the crude wood is a temporary fix. He probably would have stickered it up like the rest of the rear, otherwise.
Yeah, these Azteks were always pretty obscure. We should ask our resident junkyard connoisseur-in-chief, Jim Klein, whether he’s seen an Aztek in the boneyard before.
There’s usually at least a couple. I’ve never actually ventured into one though….but for every Aztec there are two Rendezvous…
The location of your rear view mirror in the 3rd photo makes it look like the Aztek has white walls on the front. An interesting illusion. Not that the car needs them. Weird enough (in a good way) without them.
You can spend a lot more for a newer same thing now, these Aztec were the the bleeding edge of the trend, Who knew other than that guy?
Didn’t we determine that the Gambler $500 is sort of a semi-organized beater rally? This is a great choice.
That’s really the first beater Aztec I’ve seen, usually they appear to receive better than average care.
I have to agree. The Aztek’s on the road aren’t as numerous as they used to be, but they tend to be in decent shape when I see one. Which is kind of remarkable, as I would say that Pontiacs in general seemed to receive less than average care. I can only conclude that they have a small but loyal following.
Atomic Auto is in Portland I think…
Yea Atomic Auto is by 102nd and NE Glisan. I hear they are pretty good. Used to be a bunch of Saab mechanics.
I think we have a Curbside Classic First (going from memory). This Aztec appears to be a Rez Car. If it is, this make a great Powwow rig. With those meaty tires and auxiliary lights it could pretty much go anywhere. One clue are the native stickers all over it. Especially the sticker with what appears to be Calvin peeing on a Conquistador. Per Atomic Auto in Portland via text reply: They don’t have specifics on the car other than they sponsored it in the Gambler 500. Great find!
Thanks for the info!
I was in Oakridge, Oregon a few years ago, just before a Gambler event. First time I’d heard of it … some great sightings, no pictures 😟. And no Aztecs then.
Once the DMVs open back up this person should get the registration renewed since it’s about a year expired.
I’m sure glad that DoAndroidsDreamOfElectronicCars was able to give us background information on this neat looking vehicle. Those look like Trans Am wheels or am I mistaken?
“A run on Aztecs”? Really? “Breaking Bad” or not, these and the Rendezvous were hideous pieces of crap. We had one on our auction/wholesale lot for a couple of years until I demanded it be gone. It was a horrible condition trade-in whose parent deal unwinded. It sat and sat because it didn’t really belong to the dealership, but the owner apparently didn’t want it back. I needed the parking spot so finally we got it towed as an abandoned vehicle.