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 later interviews with GM designers —
who, for decency's sake, will remain unnamed — it emerged that the
Aztek design had been fiddled with, fussed over, cost-shaved and
otherwise compromised until the tough, cool-looking concept had been
reduced to a bulky, plastic-clad mess. A classic case of losing the
plot. The Aztek violates one of the principal rules of car design: We
like cars that look like us. With its multiple eyes and supernumerary
nostrils, the Aztek looks deformed and scary, something that dogs bark
at and cathedrals employ to ring bells (cf., Fiat Multipla). The shame
is, under all that ugliness, there was a useful, competent crossover.
