I’ve seen this orange Pontiac Aztek here for some years, but now it’s joined by an orange Chevy HHR. Hmm; a bit of a GM odd-ball lover?
Neither of these ever lit my candle, but if I had to choose, it would be the Aztek. I found the HHR too cloying.
Hmm; it’s got some pretty substantial body damage on its rear flanks, although it’s hard to see in this shot since it’s in the shadows.
The Aztek’s butt was something of a preview of the more recent Prius, although not quite as flamboyant.
That was a nice color that GM had but it was available on other models……
My Saturn Vue is this color. Love the color and the car
It’s funny to look at the Aztek now and think that it fits in quite well with today’s style and landscapes (the many SUV/CUV’s trying to be anything but an SUV/CUV). At the time, I thought the Aztek was ugly and out of place. Now it seems to fit in perfectly and is kind of (stressing the word KIND) descent looking.
HHR? I’ve never liked them even when new. If I had to choose one of those two today, the Aztek would win hands down.
I actually like orange cars, but more the bright orange that used to be found on 70’s BMWs, Volvos, and more recently the Crosstrek (although that bright orange has now been discontinued by Subaru). The orange on this HHR and Aztek look kind of butterscotch and kind of meh to me.
That Aztek needs a tent.
These metallic oranges seem to show up every 10 or 15 years. I remember seeing a lot of them in the mid 1970s, a smattering in the 90s, then quite a few in the mid-late 00’s. I kind of like them.
I have also become a late-blooming fan (or maybe semi-fan) of the Aztec. I thought these were ugly cartoons when they came out, but they have grown on me, and they look really good in this metallic orange. The HHR never grabbed me, for some reason.
Plenty of road salt used in Southeastern Ontario, nevertheless I saw three Pontiacs today. On the road, and in great-looking condition. Three Pontiac Vibes, I spotted. In addition, two first gen examples of the Toyota Matrix, as well. Haven’t seen an Aztek, in a number of years. GM-based Pontiac products, virtually gone from the roads here.
The HHR was pretty much a direct crib of the Chrysler PT Cruiser. If I recall correctly, Chevy even hired the PT’s designer away from Chrysler.
I thought they were okay, until they decided to revive the Panel (or Sedan) Delivery style. Then I *loved* it. I wanted one, but then I thought about how it was mostly a Cobalt underneath, and I thought those were mechanically awful cars.
I really wish that some manufacturer for whom I have respect would offer a Sedan Delivery based on a CUV. I’m sure they exist overseas, but I don’t imagine we’ll ever get one here.
That’s one of the later Azteks without that god-awful, grey, lower plastic body cladding that someone at Pontiac thought was a good idea to slap on every car they were selling.
In fact, the Aztek might have had a better chance if it had started out that way. But, sadly, it was one of the things Pontiac decided to carry over from the Aztek concept vehicle which, on the whole, wasn’t nearly as bad as the production version.
In fact, one of the weird oddities of the time was how much the Dodge Caliber seemed to have identical styling cues of the Aztek, but because it was much closer to the Aztek concept’s size (and was much cheaper), it managed to hang on for much longer.
IOW, where GM screwed up was putting the Aztek’s design execution onto the minivan platform. It looked way too ungainly (could they have used a more goofy front end?) but, worse, was the sloping rear window negated the possiblity of a third row, one of the key features of the minivan class.
A pity because, with the proper execution, the Aztek could have been one of the first successful crossovers. Instead, it ended up being known by many as the vehicle that killed Pontiac.
Oddly, its platform-mate, the Buick Rendezvous, looked worse (top heavy) with the body-colored lower cladding it eventually got.
I think your 4th paragraph sums up the problems with the Aztek’s styling — ungainly proportions and those split-level lights up front. The vehicle was derided as resembling a rolling dumpster.
I remember being so surprised at how small the “HHR’s” were inside. We have a black one here in the neighborhood. Been around since it was new I believe.
Yes, back in the day the Aztek wasn’t that well received.
Very polarizing styling. I tested one for a week for a radio feature and came away very impressed at how practical it was as a family vehicle. Absolutely useful for camping if you had a tent and stuff to haul and a good road trip vehicle. A little ahead of its time in some respects.
I would love to have an orange car but neither of these.
One has to wonder if their home interior has the same vibe?
I drove a rental HHR in Florida during a heat wave. Ice cold A/C…worth more than some fancy car with a so-so system in humid Florida.
Relatively small glass area decreased heat gain.
I liked the Aztek in one form. The early ones with these alloy wheels in particular. I thought the geometric shapes in the wheels went along with the geometric shapes in the styling. It looked similar to some of the more radical 80s cars that had an excess of geometric shapes. Any others, especially the ones with wheel covers, looked bad to me.
https://www.newcartestdrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2000/09/01pontiacaztek.jpg
The Aztek, being like a Swiss Army knife type of vehicle at the time, reminded me a bit of the prototype Pontiac Stinger.
As far as the burnt orange or red color, I can’t stand it. Makes me think both cars needed a repaint, and the owner got a 2 for 1 special with the cheapest color there.
My wife just had to have a Fusion Orange 2004 Rally Aztek, so I got her one. The styling had improved somewhat since our 2001 Aztek, but it took me a long time to warm up to that color. Pontiac was painting a lot of 2004 and 2005 models in that color.
I was a fan of the original PT Cruiser, thought it was retro and innovative at the same time. It was a return to the original size minivan, as minivans had started their gigantism by then. Before Daimler screwed Chrysler’s pooch, they released many neat, fun variants of the PT that kept it interesting. I thought the HHR was a horribly named, blatant copy of the PT.
Not that the HHR didn’t have it’s charms, but it really didn’t strike my fancy until the HHR SS came about, then it got interesting. The super- and turbo-charged Cobalt SS were a legit sport coupe contenders and the HHR SS were built on those platforms.
Nice to see that someone else appreciates all of the pre-bankruptcy GM oddities, too.
Just walked by these an hour ago coming back from Safeway. They have a kitty I like to pet so I walk by that place often. The HHR goes back aways; I don’t remember seeing the Aztec before. They had a Lexus suv of some kind for quite a while but it seems to be gone. What a replacement!