Try this:
- Go to a Pontiac dealership.
- Find a dealer-man.
- Say, with a furrowed brow, “I’m looking for a car. It needs to be able to climb a mountain. I’m looking for something with a tent and a fridge. Got anything like that?”
- Enjoy elated dealer-man as he realizes he may be able to actually sell an Aztek!
- Take it for a test drive.
- Return it, stating that it won’t suffice as you need something with a parachute and toaster oven.
- Giggle and run away.
Hey, this thing doesn’t even come with the Mr. Fusion engine option. How am I supposed to get One point twenty-one jigawatts! Great Scott!
When I first heard about the Aztek I was quite impressed. There were some really good ideas put together in that car. I liked the whole tent thing. It came with an air mattress that fit in the back and an air pump to inflate it was built into the rear of the vehicle. You also had full cd player controls in the back so that when you were in the “tent” you could still turn on the stereo and flip through the tracks.
It seems to me that any design engineer that looks at a car and says, “It’s going to have a tailgate?…We should build seats into the tailgate and put drink holders between them!” is a good engineer.
Unfortunetly Pontiac decided that people would accept it for it’s usefulness and not it’s looks, like a lot of men. A lot of single men. There are more cars of this nature coming along though and I think the creativity it’s good for the industry.
Oh, and there are some other vehicles of, uh, questionable looks, check out the Isuzu Vehicross: http://www.isuzu.com/vehicross.htm
You know, the concept of a Fridge and Tent aren’t so novel you silly children of the seventies.
Back when I was a twentysomething, we had something called a ‘Westfalia‘. That monster had a pop-top tent, fridge, AND, a stove, and a sink! There’s a pretty green one in good shape at the VW dealership now. If you are serious about having a cool vehicle, go buy it. I almost did, then realized, ‘I can’t waste my money like that!’. So I went home and bought a fly Spacehog shirt on eBay.
It’s funny — when I first saw this truck/car, I thought it was Really Ugly, but I saw one today, and it didn’t bother me too much. Give it another couple of weeks and I may actually like the thing.
My current Big Problem with the auto industry is that they no longer make small vans like the Eagle Summit / Dodge Colt Wagon. If you’ve got a small family like us, and don’t want a Really Big Mini Van, it’s hard to find a truck/van-like vehicle other than the really expensive Subaru Outback.
Ah Peter, the market is starting to recognize the small family again, and they are doing it with some style. The sport wagon might just be the answer to your needs, and you have a nice selection to choose from as well!
You have the Volvo V40/V70 and Volkswagen Passat Wagon or for more money you have nice offerings from Audi and Saab. To really save money you could take the Ford Focus Wagon for at least 10 grand less than any of the others. The Ford Focus was even one of Car and Drivers 10 Best for this year. Sport wagons are going to be big for the next while because (a) they aren’t vans and (b) they don’t drive like vans. Happy Shopping!
The Eagle Summit was a kick-ass mobile. My family looked at it years ago (I think the bile-green model we test drove still lives on North River Road to this day). It was HUGE inside. The trouble we had was that it was relatively expensive for being (other than it’s form factor) a shitty car.
I do agree, Peter, that the form factor is a good one. Short and tall. Lot’s of room. Sit up while you drive. The Audi A2 and PT Cruiser have this going for them as well.