What If: The Pontiac Aztek was Redesigned

Personal File: I always enjoy the crazy and creative ideas that TheSketchMonkey produces on his YouTube channel and last week was no exception. For a second time in just over a year he took a stab at fixing the design-challenged Pontiac Aztek. I went back to his first attempt and was inspired to take my own spin on the redesign. The twist with my intepretation was to not only clean up the design but approach a "what if" redesign that focused on more successful design cues from other models in line up.

Execution Highlights

• Chevrolet Avalance wheel wells, rockers, and lower side trim replaces plastic cladding
• Pontiac G8 sedan fender vent, door handles, side rear-view mirrors and rims
• Pontiac Vibe headlights and kidney grilles
• Custom brushed D-pillar, rear side glass, gas door, rear bumper, upper door lines, new fascia cut lines, lower front bumper and top air intakes
• Moved Aztek badge to a more traditional location on the driver side front door
• Recolored the car into something more appealing than ripe banana yellow

Final Thoughts: I think I nailed the look I was going for in the redesign. It wasn't a complete redesign of the vehicle, but simply an update to a cleaner and more polished look Pontiac was finally attempting to create before it was shuttered. If the brand ever comes back, I hope they'll take a second look at the Aztek. While earning the reputation as an ugly duckling, for those who own them they are an extremely capable vehicle.

AR Rewind #1 - Pontiac G8 Coupe

Rewind: This is the first in a series of posts where I dive into detail on the work completed for Edmunds InsideLine engagements. Each post will highlight challenges, tricks, techniques and results of the creative brief requested. These often required a balancing act of quality, scale and scope to make the short turnaround times to go to press.

Creative Brief: I had been chopping cars for years in the Readers Talent section of GMInsideNews forum. I gained experience and learned quite a bit partipcating in their on and off again monthly car design contests. When the Commodore Coupe 60 concept came out in very early '08, a lot of the forum members, myself included, immediately went to town chopping the car into a Pontiac G8 coupe. The stars aligned as one of my earliest versions of the front-end chop garnered some serious attention from the then editor of InsideLine Scott Oldham.

He found my contact info and gave me a ring on the phone - this just 3 weeks after my first child was born. We talked for quite awhile about the car, how I came up with the concept and what Pontiac might actually try to do given how serious Bob Lutz was about aligning Holden to Pontiac here in America. From there, he asked me if I was interested in creating different angles of the car.

Execution Highlights - Front

• Donor Pontiac G8 GXP sedan parts used: front clip, rims, front fender turn marker, lower side sills, b-pillar, hood, headlights, and window wipers.
• Copper orange color selected to match the GXP - color matched the door handles and rear view side mirrors as well.
• Swapped right-hand to left-hand drive (steering wheel switches sides)

Execution Highlights - Rear

• Donor Pontiac G8 GXP sedan parts used: tail lights, badging, trunk spoiler, lower diffuser and exhaust, wheels, front fender turn marker, lower side sills, b-pillar
• Copper orange color selected to match the GXP - color matched the door handles and rear view side mirrors as well.
• Swapped right-hand to left-hand drive (steering wheel switches sides)
• Added slide glass along with the b-pillar as on the second picture as the concept windows were down

Final Thoughts: With family encouragement, the work just lept out of me over 3 or 4 nights as I completed it in-between rocking my newborn baby. I focused extensively on creating quality panel gaps, color matching, fitting elements into proper perspective, and many other techniques to produce renderings of which I am still extremely proud. Scott was happy with the work and from there we started a partnership for new article content over the next 2+ years.

Original Blog Link: Pontiac Ponders G8 GXP Coupe

Should the G8 become the Chevy Camaro SS Sedan?

From Edmunds StraightLine: Yeah, you read that right, Chevrolet Camaro SS Sedan. If there can be a BMW M3 sedan why not a four-door Camaro?

The Camaro and the G8 already share a platform and although their engines aren't exactly the same they're pretty close. Leave the Impala for family duty and keep the rebadged G8 what it should be -- a full fledged sport sedan.

Click here to view this article.

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UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. You can still view the original article via the Wayback Machine.

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Pontiac Ponders G8 GXP Coupe

From Edmunds InsideLine: DETROIT — If the car enthusiasts within General Motors prevail, Pontiac will further expand its lineup of rear-wheel-drive performance vehicles to include a 400-plus-horsepower V8-powered G8 coupe. Just don't call it a GTO.

The coupe, which would be based on the Holden Coupe 60 concept the Australian division unveiled recently at the Melbourne auto show, would arrive in showrooms within three years' time.

Click here to view this article.

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UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. You can still view the original article via the Wayback Machine.

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