Doug,
My name for the Aztek is even worse than yours.
I use your first three letters and the last three are u, f, and k and NOT in that order.
Change the position of the u and the f and you got what I call the aztek.

The ONLY car uglier than an aztek is that ignorant POS honda element. The element that thing is made of is 'turdium'.

The Scion Xb, Nissan Cube, and Kia Soul are very close to the aztek but not quite as bad.
All are POS cheap-azzed boxes nonetheless.

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When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, and HAVOC !

The Element works. While I'm not wild about it, they're doing well with it, and now have, as you noted, several competing models. And Detroit has completely missed this niche. I'm surprised they have nothing to compare. I put these little boxes in a different class than the Aztek - they seem a size class smaller. (So I don't consider that a competitor.)

Anyway, I think the boxy look is a passing trend. Eventually, folks will grow tired of it and then they won't be able to give them away.

Doug

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YORF member #11

I use two Honda Elements as delivery vehicles for my nuclear pharmacy. They do work well, as both have now in excess of of 200k miles on them. Honda has quit making them, unfortunately. Looks like I'll have to buy a couple of slightly used ones next. There is no American equivalent that will last as long as these. Period. There is not a single oil leak in either car. I have to keep up with all scheduled maintenance; the dealer has been better than great!

Allen

I have the vehicle that offers as much utility as ANY of the ugly ignorant box 'cube' vehicles that has nice styling and will go in excess of 160mph top-end while getting 29mpg on the highway at an 80mph cruise.
The Chevy HHR SS Turbo.
Utility WITHOUT being low-performance and fugly.
It was a nice addition to my Cadillac STS and Chevy Z28 383 stroker LT1.

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When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, and HAVOC !

That's funny, because my mom and I consistently joke about how ugly all three of those cars are. When we were in Emette Idaho for a bowling tournament, there was a Le Car parked in a parking lot, painted in original colors, and even still said "Le Car" on the side.

http://image.carcraft.com/f/9351116...elstand.JPG.jpg



That's the coolest Gremlin I've ever seen!



Braden

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Active rockets:
Extreme Darkstar(HPR)
BSD 4" Little John(HPR)
Ultimate Darkstar (HPR)
5.5 polecat NIKE smoke (HPR)
Retired:
Estes Mosquito (Mini Brute)
under construction:
L1 5.5" Standard ARM
RIP Erik Gates. Your talents will never be forgotten.

The sad thing about these turds is that they offer less luggage space, passenger room, and overall utility, but still get the same MPG as my Elantra. What's so smart about that?

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Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Design Contest F-150 Hurricane Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle

In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc Cyber III

Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Groonie Der V 1/2

Buyers perceive them to be more efficient, more environmentally friendly. Perception is reality.

I recently heard somebody bragging their hybrid got ~40 mpg. I seem to recall Mazda GLC's (ie, Mazda 3's) getting that 30 years ago without benefit of hybrid cost or complexity. Heck, I can get 30+ mpg out of my Chevy Impala on the highway And carry a Smart Car in the trunk

Doug

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YORF member #11

That was frickin hilarious. That thing flipped just looking at it wrong.

How in the world did they get away with bringing that to market? It doesn't take Ralph Nader to declare the Robin "unsafe at any speed". And the thing is, there was little benefit in removing one wheel. What savings in purchase and operating costs did that provide? (And how did that savings stack up against the added risk of being 3-wheeled?)

Heck, surely the executives behind that thing were aware of its rollover tendencies. What kinda drugs were that taking when they green lighted production?

Doug

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YORF member #11

I agree, but you need to amend it to "assembled in America". Most of the critical parts of a HD are made in Japan. You could even say it's designed in America, but "made" is a pretty good exaggeration.

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I love sanding.

You're dead on. I've been saying that Korea is today's Japan for a few years now. Hyundai and Kia are today's Nissan and Toyota. They are dependable performers, with some decent common sense engineering. A couple of their vehicles look pretty nice, but they could use a few changes.

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I love sanding.