The Pontiac Aztek is widely accepted to be one of the worst cars ever made. It has been held up to represent everything that was wrong with early 2000's GM and has very few redeeming qualities. Or at least, that is what most people believe. Right about when everyone was starting to forget the extremely ugly SUV, "Breaking Bad" forced it back into consciousness by featuring it as Walt's automotive companion. A perfect fit for the character, the Aztek represented how far the once promising chemist had fallen into suburban mediocrity that eventually, along with his cancer diagnosis, pushed him towards a life of crime.
The show's popularity led to a kind of resurgence for the hated Pontiac, as kids who were too young to know any better bought the car, hopefully ironically. But maybe the Aztek deserves a second look?
Ok, so there are some pretty cool features, especially for a car from this era. A heads up display is usually reserved for high end luxury cars. Stereo controls in the trunk are pretty convenient, as is the removable cooler in the center console. Dent resistant panels and a built in air compressor are also great touches. The best part, though, is obviously the tent. With all of these accessories designed to facilitate camping, it only makes sense to turn the Aztek itself into a mobile campsite, complete with trunk mounted tent.
They did have to push it to get to their total of ten cool features, counting pedestrian things like a two part glass hatch and a tailgate to sit on as "Cool" is a bit of a stretch, and comparing the look to the Jeep Cherokee and Nissan Juke aren't doing their argument any favors. But would all of these cool features be enough to overlook the image and awful reputation of this car? Probably not. Oh well, to each his own.
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