How were the Honda Element and Scions successful while the Pontiac Aztex was not?

I had an Aztek, and it was a very useful car, but it was built on an antique platform and was not a great car to drive.  The various minivans on the same platform were not much either, and GM canceled them because they couldn’t compete with the Dodge Caravan.  I do have a recent Caravan, and it is a much more pleasant vehicle to drive than the Aztek.

The Honda Element is successful because Hondas are awesome… they are solid, they rarely break down and they have a high resale value. That particular model is great because you can just hose down the interior by flipping the seats back. It’s perfect for pet owners, parents, gardeners or or other people who have to tote messy stuff frequently.

The Pontiac Aztac, aside from looking even worse than the Element and the Scion, was a Pontiac. (Actually- I think Elements are cute!) The resale value for the Aztec was low, they weren’t remarkable in terms of quality or resale value. They were essentially dork-mobiles.

I don’t get the Scion XB’s popularity, but I’m not familiar with the quality of the manufacturing.

I think the fact that the Aztec was marketed to families and the Element and Scion are marketed to young active people might be part of it.

I cannot imagine. They are so butt-ugly that I would never consider owning one. I have not seen the Pontiac.

The reason the Aztec was a failure is threefold:
1. It was (slightly) before its time from a design standpoint and was perceived as ugly by the consumers of vehicles in its price range. People who thought it was cool couldn’t afford it.
2. It was underpowered and got unremarkable MPG compared to other more traditional SUV’s in the same price range.
3. It was plagued with a few nagging mechanical and electrical problems. (Gotta love that quality UAW craftsmanship.)

Are you kidding me please come on you have got to be pulling my leg the pilot copied some its styling from the escape witch most small suvs are targeted towards small families with the mom that still wants to be sporty and not handy capped by a van, as far as the aztec all i have to say that is ITS A PONTIAC i havent seen anything impresive body styling wise from pontiac there all ugly in their own way even the GTO i mean come on look at fords retro of the mustang or chevys retro of the camaro or look at dodges retro of the charger heck look at the 300m all it is a copy of rolls royce phantom, point being Honda has allways been on point on design execept for that UGLY HONDA FIT ewwww but look at the whole honda acura line come on now the nsx, the accords the civics, the integras, the rsx’s, granted the element aint on that level but its basic and not eye grabbing but its also gas economical and roomy and compact….. as far as scion (not talking toyota) scions are customisable treasures there concept weather you know it or not where inspired by tuner owners like my self well actually a young man witch i cant recall his name right now, who is a world renound car modifier was hired by toyota to bring tuners back to their market you cant call the entire line of scions ugly because what they offer is 50 or more different factory custom parts to personalize it to your liking every thing from carbon fiber interiors custom jdm body kits ,cold air intakes, clear tail light, bigger rims (on flats), cat back exhaust systems, with out having to go to joe down the street to put it on for you and risk loosing your warranty or the value in your car all for on the most part under 20k… so do me a favor dont ever put scion in the same category as a pontiac if you hate your car fine but dont hate on the tuner comunity…. and just in case any one is wondering what i drive i have a neon blue 94 honda accord coupe 2.2L with a cold air intake angel head lights and clear tails with custom lexus is300 trunk tail lights custom molded in just to represent the originator of clear tail lights and sport compacts oh did i mention it was a lexus oh wait who makes that TOYOTA