page_title: List of automobiles known for negative reception
section_title: Pontiac Aztek (2001–05)
hierarchical_section_title: List of automobiles known for negative reception / 2000s / Pontiac Aztek (2001–05)
caption_attribution_description: 2001 Pontiac Aztek photographed in College Park, Maryland, USA.
context_page_description: This is a list of automobiles known for negative reception. They are judged by poor critical reception, poor customer reception, safety defects, and/or poor workmanship. For inclusion, these automobiles have either been referred to in popular publications as the worst of all time, or have received negative reviews across multiple publications. Some of these cars were popular on the marketplace or were critically praised at their launch, but have earned a strongly negative retroactive reception, while others are not considered to be intrinsically "bad", but have acquired infamy for safety or emissions defects that permanently damaged the car's reputation. Conversely, some vehicles which were poorly received at the time ended up being reevaluated by collectors and became cult classics.
context_section_description: From the time it was unveiled in 2000, the Pontiac Aztek earned a strongly negative reception, mainly for its controversial styling, which former General Motors executive Bob Lutz described as resembling an "angry kitchen appliance". Autoblog listed the Aztek #2 on its list of "The 20 Dumbest Cars of All Time", criticizing its styling and stating, "GM execs cheaped out here, and were leading a system which minimized the influence of competent designers, and maximized the influence of accountants to produce cars at the cheapest cost." In its entry on Time magazine's list of the 50 worst cars of all time, Dan Neil wrote, "I was in the audience at the Detroit auto show the day GM unveiled the Pontiac Aztek and I will never forget the gasp that audience made. Holy hell! This car could not have been more instantly hated if it had a Swastika tattoo on its forehead." In a later piece, Time also named the Aztek one of the 50 worst inventions of all time. The Los Angeles Times named the Aztek the "Worst Car Ever Sold in America". The book Sixty To Zero by Alex Taylor III, which details the fall of General Motors, prominently features an Aztek on the cover. CNBC listed the Aztek as one of the 10 ugliest cars of all time. Popular Mechanics listed the Aztek as one of the 10 cars that damaged GM's reputation, as the Aztek's styling hampered GM's attempt to get a jump on an emerging market. The last entry in Automotive Atrocities! The Cars We Love to Hate, Eric Peters says of it, "The only vehicle to look like it's been in a bad accident even before it left the factory, the Aztek will be remembered as evidence that advanced degrees in automotive design are not necessarily indicators of good taste – or spelling ability." Consumer Reports revealed in 2014 that they conducted most of their testing of the Aztek at night because staffers were embarrassed to drive it, and that the aforementioned Aztek was still in their possession because they were unable to sell it when liquidating that year's test fleet. Edmunds.com ranked the Aztek as the worst car of all time; "Drive one and you quickly realize that the Aztek's exterior design is its best feature. It's the very worst car of all time because it's the only car on the list to kill an 84-year-old car company. It's undeniable that the Aztek's utter hideousness drove the biggest and last nails into Pontiac's heavily side-clad, plastic coffin."
caption: Pontiac Aztek
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