![]() The original El Camino and Ranchero would compete directly only in the 1959 model year. In 1959, Chevrolet responded with the El Camino to compete with Ford's full-sized Ranchero. of an automobile platform based coupé utility. ![]() In 1957, Ford introduced the Ranchero, and established a new market segment in the U.S. The body style did not reappear on the American market until the release of the 1957 Ford Ranchero.īoth the coupé utility and the similar open-topped roadster utility continued in production, but the improving economy of the mid- to late-1930s and the desire for improved comfort saw coupé utility sales climb at the expense of the roadster utility until, by 1939, the latter was all but a fading memory. General Motors’ Australian subsidiary Holden also produced a Chevrolet coupé utility in 1935, and Studebaker produced the Coupé Express from 1937 to 1939. Bandt went on to manage Ford's Advanced Design Department, being responsible for the body engineering of the XP, XT, XW, and XA series Ford Falcon utilities. Ford designer Lew Bandt developed a suitable solution, and the first coupé utility model was released in 1934. įord Australia was the first company to produce a coupé utility as a result of a 1932 letter from the wife of a farmer in Victoria, Australia, asking for "a vehicle to go to church in on a Sunday and which can carry our pigs to market on Mondays". The concept of a two-door vehicle based on a passenger car chassis with a tray at the rear began in the United States in the 1920s with the roadster utility (also called "roadster pickup" or "light delivery") models. Renamed Caballero in 1978, it was also produced through the 1987 model year. GMC's badge engineered El Camino variant, the Sprint, was introduced for the 1971 model year. Production resumed for the 1964–1977 model years based on the Chevelle platform, and continued for the 1978–1987 model years based on the GM G-body platform.Īlthough based on corresponding General Motors car lines, the vehicle is classified in the United States as a pickup. Introduced in the 1959 model year in response to the success of the Ford Ranchero coupé utility, its first run, based on the Biscayne's B-body, lasted only two years. Unlike a standard pickup truck, the El Camino was adapted from the standard two-door Chevrolet station wagon platform and integrated the cab and cargo bed into the body. The all-wheel drive Santa Cruz is clearly the Millennial version of El Caminos past.The Chevrolet El Camino is a coupé utility vehicle that was produced by Chevrolet between 1959––1987. The little car truck wowed the crowd with its distinctive hexagonal grille, oversized wheels, and Brembo brakes. In January 2015, Hyundai unveiled its Santa Cruz car with a truck bed concept at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Thankfully some ideas are too good to fade away. This could have been the end of the story. GM cut the Mexican-built car truck from the lineup after 1987, following the launch of Chevrolet’s compact S-10 pickup. Those not equipped with Oldsmobile’s disreputable diesel engines came with detuned Chevrolet small blocks rated at a paltry 180-horsepower. The car truck’s mishmash of parts largely sourced from the Chevrolet Chevelle and Monte Carlo did not gain favor with fans. The Camaro and Mustang held out, but the proper muscle car with a truck bed was no more.Ī downsized version of the El Camino for the 1978 model year was disappointing. In that era, oil embargoes and federally-mandated emissions controls wielded the death blow to big American muscle cars. What could be better than a car that could go to church, haul hay, and burn rubber? Why Did Cars with Truck Beds Go Away?īlame it on the 1970s. An available 450-horsepower LS6 engine was available for the 1970 model year. It was no surprise that the El Camino followed in the Chevelle’s muscle-car footsteps. In 1964, Chevrolet reintroduced its car-based truck-building it off the then-new Chevelle platform. GM discontinued the El Camino after the 1960 model year. As a result, the first-generation car truck didn’t sell particularly well. ![]() General Motors showed up late to the dance. The ’68 El Camino SS hauls hay and burns rubber.Įl Camino is Spanish for “the way.” Chevrolet’s 1959 model introduced in response to the Ford Ranchero was based on the Brookwood two-door station wagon.
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