Home » It Turns Out Everyone Loves The Pontiac Aztek

It Turns Out Everyone Loves The Pontiac Aztek

Exotek Aztek 4
ADVERTISEMENT

The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is the fanciest car show on earth, replete with caviar bars, oyster bars, champagne bars, huge sun-hats, celebrity sightings, and cars worth more than most houses. It’s an over-the-top spectacle of opulence, and we had no choice but to try to crash it with our $3,600 Pontiac Aztek — arguably the ugliest car of all time. And crash it we did.

We weren’t sure how people would respond to the Aztek; would they be amused? Would they be appalled? One thing we knew they wouldn’t be was indifferent, and that was very, very true. You see, the Aztek isn’t exactly a car you can ignore; its ridiculous face, with its turn signals mounted at hood-level with its headlights down below, with its weirdly low rear bumper that accentuates an already awkwardly cut-off tail, with its strangely slab-like doors — it’s historically been a love-or-hate type of car, but as we learned at Pebble Beach, in 2024 the world has shifted far towards “love,” with only one tiny tiny quip of hate.

Vidframe Min Top
Vidframe Min Bottom

That little quip happened during the Exotics On Broadway parade. This is an awesome event involving 400 of the fanciest supercars you’ve ever seen — Koenigseggs, Paganis, Bugattis, along with the Porsches, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and McLarens you’d expect — all driving down Broadway in the city of Seaside, where 40,000 spectators look on. It’s a monster event — apparently the largest (by attendance) single-day event of Monterey car week.

We’re grateful to have been allowed in.

ADVERTISEMENT

Heading To Monterey With Our Fellow Supercar Owners

Our trip up to Monterey had begun a few days prior. We’d assembled with a bunch of supercars at Porsche Santa Clarita, the start of the “Fuel Run” road-rally that would conclude in what would be, at least for that week, The Holy Land of Cars: Monterey.

459182875 1074052614164991 5565501826052479892 N

Fuel Run is a well-planned road rally for folks who’d like to hang out with other supercar owners. Here’s a bit about it from the Fuel Run website:

Our teams will unite on Wednesday, August 14th, 2024 with Hyper, Exotic, and Supercars alike. Our welcome and starting point is at the state of the art, Porsche Santa Clarita. …We will have our event registration, you’ll collect your official FuelRun merch, enjoy Breakfast, have your Fuel Run graphics professionally installed, and finally head north toward Monterey with some of the most breathtaking views the West Coast has to offer.

After a scenic and exhilarating curated drive, we will arrive to the waterfront in Morro Bay, CA at the Great American Fish Company for lunch. Voted best seafood in San Luis Obispo for 12 years in a row, it has been a favorite among area residents as well as Fuel Run for 8 years. After departing from Morro Bay, we continue on our picturesque drive to our final destination, Monterey, CA. Plenty of more exciting details to come, so stay tuned!

Needless to say, a Pontiac Aztek doesn’t quite… fit into that picture. And yet, the Fuel Run folks let us join anyway, and they were great! There was a Lamborghini Countach:

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 10.33.56 Am

ADVERTISEMENT

There were multiple Aventadors and at least one Huracan:

458090515 1037251564394415 3019826699075535128 N

There was a Porsche 918:
Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 10.40.17 Am

You could argue that, aside from that solitary Countach and the 918, the Aztek was technically the most exotic car in the mix. I didn’t see any other one!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Autopian (@theautopian)

ADVERTISEMENT

Everyone had a great sense of humor about the Aztek surrounded by supercars, though after the driver’s meeting that we skipped in order to eat delicious breakfast from Porsche Santa Clarita’s restaurant, everyone just… left! They ditched us!

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 1.19.27 Pm

Our First Test Of The Aztek We Bought Sight Unseen: A 300-Mile Trip To Monterey

With there being absolutely no chance that we’d catch any of these cars, we took the shortest route up to Monterey instead of the scenic one. We gave up beautiful Pacific ocean waves for… oil rigs:

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 11.12.32 Am

This was our first chance to test the Pontiac Aztek that we’d bought sight-unseen from Arizona for just $3604. If that sounds like a smokin’ hot deal, it’s because it is. Just look at what other Azteks sold for on Cars & Bids:

ADVERTISEMENT

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 10.51.25 Am

Obviously, ours is a beige two-wheel drive base model, but it’s in amazing shape, as we found out on our trek to car-heaven.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Autopian (@theautopian)

There was a bit of overheating happening on inclines. Maybe not overheating overheating, but definitely the needle getting far too close to the red for our tastes. I think at one point we had to turn on the heater just in case. As it was 105 degrees outside, this was not optimal.

But after the steep grades in the hot desert, the Aztek cooled off, and got us 300 miles up to Monterey blowing ice-cubes from its air conditioning most of the way. We were all impressed.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Aztek Felt At Home

We arrived at the hotel, where the Aztek could begin a week long of hanging out with its fellow supercars:

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 11.37.27 Am3d9b95fe 4a52 4287 B341 6e7a54941efa 1 105 C

95fb275c 10e3 4d51 A4f5 60f43e724dfc 1 105 C

459360729 1862275554295669 8465891864801210940 N

For the next few days, we — Beau, Jason, Matt, and I drove from fancy event to fancy event in our exotic machine, parking next to supercars and hypercars, driving by crowds of adoring fans.

ADVERTISEMENT

And I’m not even saying that jokingly. People would stop and take photos of the Aztek even when there were hypercars just ahead of it. Perhaps it’s the power of Breaking Bad, or maybe there’s something disarming and lovable about a cheap, ugly car, but in any case: The Aztek is clearly one of the most beloved cars on American roadways. And we could feel that, whether talking with a Delahaye owner or someone working at the hotel. The car brings joy to all.

We went to a rather bizarre reveal for the new Karma supercar:

458250339 874930271252473 1537366585499920350 N

We attended The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering:

459388091 446057048468155 578396848109611734 N

ADVERTISEMENT

It was at The Quail that we ate at a caviar bar, sipping champagne. We also saw Lamborghini’s CEO reveal the company’s new vehicle:

458979680 890182035806123 1866201011299991327 N

Ruf showed of its new Rodeo off-road-ish 911-inspired sports car:

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 11.57.19 Am

Plus I saw The Actual Quail itself standing next to a new Cadillac concept car:

ADVERTISEMENT

459115215 1200224577722713 541920870417041898 N

We also attended a number of auctions, one of which involved Beau buying one of the coolest cars of the 1990s (more on that later):

459425209 4415609418665292 441736965963674720 N

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 12.26.10 Pm

We attended a showing of the incredible movie Edith: Volcano Ascent about Porsche’s record-breaking altitude record in a 911. The car was even out front:

ADVERTISEMENT

458802193 1301631671243175 2649920270136937961 N

We also went to the Maserati House so Matt could drive a fast car as Jason and I sat around in luxury:

453631250 1725283891608145 2666619161609555210 N (1)

459114640 1161481634923133 3796121375235704666 N

 

ADVERTISEMENT

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Autopian (@theautopian)

All the while, as we attended these events the Aztek sat in parking lots next to its fellow high-dollar machines:

F5a90657 0b6f 46fb 96a9 94a4082bcecf 1 105 C Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 12.16.45 Pm

Everyone Loved The Aztek

We even took the Aztek to Monterey Historics (an amazing event during Car Week that involves folks driving vintage cars around Laguna Seca), with the intent to try to get the vehicle in the paddocks with all the fancy race cars. This turned out to be no problem. We were waved right in… We were amazed.

ADVERTISEMENT

274e6613 7678 43cd Aeb1 4cfd3cd7ccfe 1 105 C

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 12.44.20 Pm

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 12.45.20 Pm

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 12.45.42 Pm

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 12.44.48 Pm

ADVERTISEMENT

In fact, we not only got into the paddocks, but we could have driven right onto the grid if we wanted to be banned for life.

459289791 548394357635006 1134678265788746349 N

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 12.44.34 Pm

Here we are, right next to the starting grid:

30f96e3d 9404 4452 8700 775c2bb50e4b 1 105 C

ADVERTISEMENT

2448a05c 55f8 4d33 B957 5ddc92364120 1 105 C

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 12.46.06 Pm

“I did not think we would get as far as we got,” Matt, who was the primary Aztek driver during car week, says in the video. “People. Love. The Aztek. It’s so lovable that no one stops it. It’s also invisible. People either see it and they go ‘holy crap it’s an Aztek,’ and then they just let you do what you want, or they don’t see it — beige car — and it disappears. It’s amazing.”

458535648 4598376873720817 2573880829961360487 N

We also attended the wonderful Concours d’Lemons event, which features a number of fantastic cars, even if they weren’t quite as exotic as the Aztek. You can see the Aztek’s factory tent in the background of the image above. Here’s us entering the event behind a Bricklin:

ADVERTISEMENT

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 1.04.19 Pm

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 1.03.26 Pm

Finally, After Over 2 Decades, The Aztek Receives Its Redemption In A Parade Among Its Peers

Right after Lemons was probably the pinnacle of the Aztek’s time at Car Week: Exotics on Broadway. Again, this is a humongous show involving extremely expensive supercars driving down Seaside, California’s Broadway Ave as tens of thousands of people line the streets to get a peek at the gorgeous metal (and carbon fiber).

Aztec Exotics Thumb 1

Not only did we crash this supercar parade, but we did so with the tent deployed. Yes, it did drag at one point:

ADVERTISEMENT

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 1.05.09 Pm

And the tailgate did slam shut:

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 1.05.22 Pm

But a set of vice grips held the gate up, and to keep the tent from sagging, I sat on the tailgate as the car drove. Jason joined me:

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 1.07.18 Pm

ADVERTISEMENT

459424735 1164027631366117 1762297773009649258 N

458980252 1400456340888534 6795459779136456175 N

As we entered Broadway, fans cheered the Aztek as Jason and I handed out free T-shirts and stickers.

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 1.05.50 Pm

Everyone kept asking Matt to rev the poor Aztek’s little 3.4-liter V6, and Matt, aiming to please, did just that. Here’s Jason and me complaining about the resulting exhaust fumes:

ADVERTISEMENT

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 1.07.57 Pm

The event was incredible, and believe it or not, as much of a misfit as the Aztek should have been, it just wasn’t. It was a certifiable hit. Even though the tent was only held on halfway at the top (I’m just realizing this now; d’oh!):

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 1.06.30 Pm

Just look at that incredible machine finally, after 20 years, getting its redemption after being the butt of jokes for over two decades.

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 1.06.58 Pm

ADVERTISEMENT

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 1.45.47 Pm

We did receive one sorta negative comment once we parked.

458971162 1982124225562873 478729606109685491 N

459289784 1378718806849275 3589427289320437541 N 458940364 445868604516089 4501715833408468953 N 459289787 925742066142887 4333272457122888840 N

458099081 1805530653588460 1081203993734371519 N

ADVERTISEMENT

“How did you get this great parking spot,” the man asked. “What are you implying?” I replied. This Aztek is an exotic; there are loads of Lamborghinis and Paganis and Koenigseggs, but only one Aztek!”

His reply: “Yes, there’s one Aztek. But there should be zero.” Then he walked away as I held Jason — who was calling the guy a beady-eyed something, rage turning his head bright red as steam billowed from his ears — with all my might so he wouldn’t pursue the Aztek-detractor. Jason eventually calmed down, and the rest of our trip went swimmingly.

Screen Shot 2024 09 19 At 1.15.47 Pm

We got to see Beau debut the new BB Porsche brand.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Autopian (@theautopian)

ADVERTISEMENT

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Autopian (@theautopian)

Plus we got to see some incredible cars on the lawn on Sunday during the Concours. What’s more, we even got the Aztek on the lawn with the $1 million+ Bugattis and Delhayes and Talbot Lagos! Look!:

On The Lawn

 

Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on whatsapp
WhatsApp
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
LinkedIn
Share on reddit
Reddit
Subscribe
Notify of
46 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Óscar Morales Vivó
Óscar Morales Vivó
13 days ago

I’m a bit late to this comment section but…

I actually dropped by the Concours d’Lemons as I figured our esteemed webmasters would have crashed it with the Aztek (correctly). It was good to see the folks in person, have a bit of an encouraging chat and verify that they ain’t AI generated slop.

The one thing that struck me was that there was another Aztek showing three cars to the right. Everyone tacitly agreed that if you show up to the Concours d’Lemons with an Aztek you got a place ????????‍♂️

Loren
Loren
15 days ago

I totally believe that polite smiles from people means they appreciate you and you belong there. (smiley)

Last edited 15 days ago by Loren
OptionXIII
OptionXIII
15 days ago

I don’t want to be a grumpy grouch, but here I go…

I feel like this only works not in spite of the context of Monterrey, but because of it. Most of these people wouldn’t look twice at a Pontiac Aztek if they passed it in the parking lot or on the road. It’s funny and joyful precisely because it stands out in a sea of high dollar extra low production cars that come with plaques telling you how rare each one is. Surrounded by all these serious “do not touch me, you peasant” cars, most anything packed with a bunch of laughing people would be well received!

With that huffing and puffing out of the way, I’m glad you crashed the party like this. It’s exactly the sort of content that brings me back.

46
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x