Roadrunner Posted May 12, 2006 Share Posted May 12, 2006 I got the chance to see a Buick Rendezvous up close and personal - it's cavernous, but damn is it ugly. This thing needs body cladding of something to make it not look so awkward. They look okay from far away, but up close it looks like an oversized rock. And the rear and front fascia are definitely questionable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swenson88 Posted May 12, 2006 Share Posted May 12, 2006 I got the chance to see a Buick Rendezvous up close and personal - it's cavernous, but damn is it ugly. This thing needs body cladding of something to make it not look so awkward. They look okay from far away, but up close it looks like an oversized rock. And the rear and front fascia are definitely questionable. GM really dropped the ball with their first "crossovers" - Aztec and Rendezvous. The Aztec was just all the wrong angles, didn't look good no matter how tight you squinted your eyes. The Rendezvous, however, showed some promise but ended up looking like a bloated half minivan/half SUV. Terrible proportions. Too round and van-like, no sportiness whatsoever. Not that I think the Freestyle is a styling masterpiece (too wagon-like, not enough SUV in the design), but hopefully GM's next round of crossovers do a little better, and from the recent concepts I think they will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bec5150 Posted May 12, 2006 Share Posted May 12, 2006 They were products of the beancounters. The engineers were forced to make a FWD SUV out of an obsolete minivan. They did the best they could with what they had. I drove an Aztek and from the drivers seat, it was a minivan, pure and simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted May 12, 2006 Share Posted May 12, 2006 Well, thankfully both the Aztek and Rendezvous have been discontinued. These will go down in history as one of the worst styling excercises in the history of the automobile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92merc Posted May 12, 2006 Share Posted May 12, 2006 Hey, it could have been worse. They could have been Fords! :-0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted May 12, 2006 Share Posted May 12, 2006 Hey, it could have been worse. They could have been Fords! :-0 Nah....Ford would have even found a way to make the Aztek look bland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake Posted May 12, 2006 Share Posted May 12, 2006 I still don't know what they were thinking or smoking when they designed the Aztec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bec5150 Posted May 13, 2006 Share Posted May 13, 2006 The Aztek in and of itself wasn't a bad design and in market studies the "one off" prototypes looked great and got outstanding feedback. However, it required an extensively redesigned unibody structure and the beancounters said "no, just use the one for the minivans. So they tried their best to make the tires look a certain way, and the front end look like a conventional hood by using body side cladding and all kinds of different tricks. Obviously, it didn't work.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc-o Posted May 13, 2006 Share Posted May 13, 2006 Hmph. Yet another example of GM's rich history of garbage design exercises. It's hard to think of someone that has more vehicles that bring the taste of vomit to your mouth. Nope, that's not an exageration when considering the Aztek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro-man Posted May 13, 2006 Share Posted May 13, 2006 Find maddox's priceless take on the Aztek about halfway down this page: link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted May 16, 2006 Author Share Posted May 16, 2006 The local colleges have let out and you see a lot more Rendezvous around. (That and Pontiac Vibes... :-/ )Does anyone know what percentage of this car went straight to rental? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bec5150 Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 I dunno "a bunch" is a percentage or not, but I know that the used market is full of em. And I will admit, I drove a rental Aztek and from behind the wheel, it's not all bad. I mean, after it's all said and done, we are talking about a minivan with a different body and conventional doors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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