"472CID" (472CID)
10/20/2015 at 13:00 • Filed to: USELESSLISTS
6
41|
"472CID" (472CID)
10/20/2015 at 13:00 • Filed to: USELESSLISTS | 6
| 41 |
Car-based trucks! we love ‘em around here. Sure you know about Australian Utes, the El Camino, maybe the Ranchero or Brat, but did you know there’s several of these odd creatures? Lets go through some of the greatest hits and misses.
1925-31 Ford Model T and A (heh)
We’ll get this one out of the way right away, prior to WW2 the distiction between car and truck was very blurry. The Ford Model T was a perfect example of a “car” that had a pick up bed (it was a roadster too no less), many other car makers offered something similar.
1934 Ford Coupe Utility
In Australia Ford ran with this idea and created a coupe pick up resulting in the first Australian Ute.
1951-84 Holden Ute
In the modern world of cars (post WW2) Australia is the promise land of cars with pick up beds. Holden jumped in 1951, and they’ve been making them ever since with the exception of skipping a couple generations in the 1980s.
1951-57 Vauxhall Velox
Interestingly enough Vauxhall also had a very early ute, though utes didn’t seem to catch on in the UK.
1957-59, 67-79 Ford Ranchero
Unlike the Mustang or the Bronco the Ranchero is a rare example of Ford beating Chevy to market segment and not being the dominate player.
1959- Chevrolet El Camino
In the United States El Camino is the
!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
for a car based pick up. The car would go on to have a relatively long life.
1960-66 Ford Falcon Ranchero
In the mid 1960s Ford experimented with their new Falcon by transferring the Ranchero name/body style from their fullsize to the Falcon. It only lasted a few years before they moved it back to the intermediate body.
1960-70 Toyota Corona Pick up
Toyota looking to increase their market share in Australia created a pick up version of their Corona sedan. It served as Toyotas pick up before a proper truck was introduced.
1961- Ford Falcon Ute
Back in Australia Ford came much later to the Ute party with their Falcon, but never the less created a great rivalry with the Holden Ute.
1965-79 Chrysler Valiant Ute (Australia)
Crysler of Australia also got into the ute game with their Valiant.
1971-08 Nissan Sunny Ute
Nissan followed Toyotas lead and made a pick up version of their Sunny sedan. Unlike Toyota this vehicle lasted for 30 years in South Africa where utes are known as Bakkies.
1973-91 Ford Ranchero (Argentina)
Ford offered a completely separate ute for the South American market. Probably the only car maker to have 3 unique utes existing in different markets.
1978-94 Subaru Brat/Bumby
Perhaps the most quirky car on the list. Doug’s
!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
will tell you all you need to know.
-1979 Ford Ranchero
This was the last year for the Ford Ranchero. It’s particularly interesting to me for the obscene front and rear overhangs.
1979-82 VW Rabbit Sportruck
For a few short years VW chopped the back off their Golf-based Caddy van and sold it as the VW Sportruck.
1982-84 Dodge Rampage
Dodge joined VW in the short lived compact ute game with their Daytona-based Rampage. The name was a cute play on the Ram pick up line.
1983-88 Suzuki Mighty Boy
The Mighty boy is the smallest entry on this list. It’s comically appearance is nicely complemented by it’s comical name.
-1987 Chevrolet El Camino
1987 was the last ute sold in the US, until the Subaru Baja.
1990- Holden Ute
The Holden Ute returned with the VG series. However like it’s Ford rivial the Ute’s future looks bleak after the current generations run their course.
1996- Fiata Strada
In South America Fiat sells a pick up version of their compact cars. Dodge will start selling these in some markets as the Ram 700. A new Strada Adventure sub model pictured here.
1998-03 Ford Courier (Brazil)
South America, Brazil in perticular, is the new hot bed for cars with beds. Ford sold a Fiesta based truck there reviving they Courier name.
2002-10 Proton Jumbuck
Even Malaysian car maker Proton has a ute.
? Peugeot 207
South America prompts yet another ute from an unlikely source.
1999- VW Saviero
Probably the cleanest lines on a compact ute come from VW and their Gol-based Saviero.
2003- Chevrolet Montana
Chevy is one of the latest car brands to jump into the compact ute market in South America. The Montana replaces older Corsa based utes.
2003-06 Subaru Baja
Subaru tested the waters to see if a ute could be popular in the mid-00s. Apparently the answer was no, but the tiny bed and excessive body cladding might have been a factor.
While South America (Brazil) teems with mini utes, the rest of the world’s outlook isn’t great. For the next couple of years Holden and Ford will carry the torch, but when the flame goes out it’ll be the end of these majestic creatures.
georgechristensen
> 472CID
10/20/2015 at 13:09 |
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Holden weren’t the ones with the first Aussie ute. That was Ford in 1934 with the Coupe Utility
RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> 472CID
10/20/2015 at 13:11 |
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Nope. Not Holden in ‘51, Ford in ‘34.
Lew Bandt developed this for Ford Australia, and was involved in Ford ute building efforts all the way up to Australizing the Falcon into a ute for the Oz market.
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> 472CID
10/20/2015 at 13:15 |
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This one’s also not quite correct. The Caddy actually launched first as the Rabbit Pickup, in the US.
OPPOsaurus WRX
> 472CID
10/20/2015 at 13:18 |
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does this share anything with any American models? It looks like it could be mustang or fusion based
ZoopZoopLoops
> 472CID
10/20/2015 at 13:21 |
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So which one is available in the US with the easiest aftermarket support for a 2JZ swap and modern suspension upgrade? Pre-1974 would be preferred for CA smog.
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472CID
> georgechristensen
10/20/2015 at 13:22 |
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Fixed
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472CID
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/20/2015 at 13:22 |
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Fixed, It’s suprisingly hard to find info on 1934-60 Australian Fords, but then in my experience it’s hard to find info on any Australian cars online.
EL_ULY
> 472CID
10/20/2015 at 13:23 |
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We call these Chevy Tornados in Mexico.
Patrick Nichols
> 472CID
10/20/2015 at 13:27 |
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Why no SSR?
What do you think about the unibody trucks and concepts? The ridgeline is a bit of a stretch, but what about the Hyundai Santa Cruz that is rumored to be going to production, does that count?
No honorable mention to the Red Bull Minis and Suzukis since they had such a large fleet?
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472CID
> OPPOsaurus WRX
10/20/2015 at 13:28 |
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They share nothing, except styling and they have Coyote V8s now.
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> 472CID
10/20/2015 at 13:29 |
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There are some other ones you’ve missed (not really a surprise, as they’re pretty obscure):
Hillman had a long series of utes, starting with ones like the below:
...and winding up with the Husky, a partnership with Dodge for South Africa, and a Hillman Hunter based design produced by Paykan in Iran.
Armstrong Siddeley also got in on the ute game...
And Willys, as far back as ‘37:
Then, of course, there’s the Austin A40 one:
There were also a bunch of Morrises, and further Austins, like this 1800:
I believe there was even a P6 ute, but GIS seems to have become very stupid since the last time I searched.
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> 472CID
10/20/2015 at 13:33 |
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Here’s one from that interim period, sold as a Zephyr:
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472CID
> Patrick Nichols
10/20/2015 at 13:34 |
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The SSR would be a nice honorable mention, technically it rides on a truck platform GMT360 (Trailblazer). The Ridgeline is on a minivan chassis, which I don’t believe has any cars based on it, even so it’s high and shaped like a traditional truck. Red Bull Minis are kind of more awkward coupes, and those Suzukis are full on trucks.
KnowsAboutCars
> 472CID
10/20/2015 at 13:36 |
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You mentioned Corona pickup but left out Crown. Interesting thing about Japanese car based pickups is that many of them were available in double cab form.
Earlier generation Corona pickup.
Birddog
> 472CID
10/20/2015 at 13:39 |
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The Rampage/Scamp aren’t Daytona based. These are L body (Omni/Horizon) based.
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472CID
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/20/2015 at 13:48 |
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Good stuff, I had no idea the UK had such a ute population. I think nearly everyone had a car with a pick up bed prior to 1945 so I skirted around that era.
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> 472CID
10/20/2015 at 13:50 |
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The tricky thing here is that the SA market one is a modified and continued version of the original ‘60-’63 “roundbody” Falcon. So, by ‘66 the Oz, SA market, and US Ford utes were all different, but they started in the same place. (The Oz one was a bit *more* different - it was based more on the standard length four-door instead of common parts with a longer tail two-door wagon.)
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472CID
> KnowsAboutCars
10/20/2015 at 13:51 |
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interesting how that style didn’t catch on back then.
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> 472CID
10/20/2015 at 13:56 |
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Most of what you’re taking for UK market vehicles are actually Oz ones based on UK models. The Willys, of course, is a US one. This may shock you, but that A40 is a ‘47 or later, the 1800 is 60s, and the Armstrong Siddeley is post-45. UK design language lagged a LOT.
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Patrick Nichols
> 472CID
10/20/2015 at 13:59 |
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I would put the SSR in the same category as the early Fords.
I’ll agree on the ridgeline.
Former Red Bull Minis are not coupes any more than the mighty boy and Suzuki x90s never were a truck no matter how much they wanted to be...
MultiplaOrgasms
> 472CID
10/20/2015 at 14:07 |
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Where do these fit in?
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KnowsAboutCars
> 472CID
10/20/2015 at 14:19 |
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It actually did kind of catch on in Japan (albeit fairly briefly). Toyota and Datsun kept making these until the 70’s when I guess people started favoring more truck like pickups. Here are few from Datsun.
JR1
> 472CID
10/20/2015 at 14:19 |
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I would be the perfect example of someone in the US who would use a ute. I love t have a truck bed (for furniture, hunting, etc.) but I adore the handling of a car. The fact that the Aussies get Utes and we do not makes me very angry.
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472CID
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/20/2015 at 15:13 |
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Yeah the only car you listed that post-war rule would apply to is the Willys. British designs were laughably behind in the 1950s, the MG T series comes to mind.
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472CID
> MultiplaOrgasms
10/20/2015 at 15:20 |
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On the list of European utes I didn’t know existed. The new Dacia is the least suprising of the group. I would have guess the Mini-based one was a custom but it looks like they’re factory.
Steve in Manhattan
> 472CID
10/20/2015 at 15:36 |
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I’ve seen a couple Bajas in the city - all with the name of a business on the side. They seem well-suited for stocking a small store or bodega.
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> 472CID
10/20/2015 at 16:06 |
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You may have noticed that I like utes, a lot, and have a strong background in British car makes. There’s a reason for that: I’m insane.
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> JR1
10/20/2015 at 16:18 |
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If you ever try to shop for one, some of the best ones size-wise, overall, and price-wise are probably the late unibody Rancheros: late 60s-72. The Falcon ones like I’ve got aren’t insanely priced most of the time, but are very small and slightly more rust magnetey. The 50s ones are pricier and hard to find (
though they can still be had
), and the ‘73 on ones have a full-size frame under them and are really heavy. The other option would be an 80s Elky, since there are lots of them out there. Or to embrace decadence and get a very fat Thunderbird-based uglchero from ‘78-’79. Comfortable, but very fat.
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JR1
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/20/2015 at 16:56 |
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If I ever got an early Falcon bodied car it would be the wagon. I love the look and would paint it white and drop a hi-po 289 in. As for the Ranchero thanks to Roadkill I lust after the 1968 model.
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> JR1
10/20/2015 at 17:05 |
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The weird thing about the ‘68 is that it’s nearly identical to a ‘65 Elky. Seriously.
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JR1
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/20/2015 at 17:07 |
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This might be a bit of a generalization but by the late 60’s I think a lot of designs were becoming more uniform. It got particularly difficult to distinguish certain car models by the 1970’s.
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> JR1
10/20/2015 at 17:22 |
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I think it’s less that any two cars ever the same year looked like one another, and more that design cues were passed around like hookers. This badge used this one that year, this badge used it the next, and so on.
It’s hard to believe, but these two were designed in relative vacuum one from the other. The AMC Tarpon show car of ‘64 and the Charger II concept of ‘65 looked pretty different, but by the time it came to actually make the ‘65-’67 Marlin and ‘66-’67 Charger they’d developed toward one another.
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JR1
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/20/2015 at 17:37 |
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That is a perfect example. I bet poaching designers form one company to the nest didn’t help either.
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> JR1
10/20/2015 at 20:14 |
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Unrelated to anything, but I just went looking at color codes, and it looks like your Lincoln’s main color is Palm Green (?). Seems to have been a one year only color, but it’s got a PPG color code and you can order spray cans of it for $26, so that could have the hood sorted out in no time.
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JR1
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/20/2015 at 22:07 |
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I always thought it was Peacock green
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1959-LINCO…
But I could be wrong on that. I would need to see it again. I originally thought it was Jade but then realized Jade was more of a brilliant bluish green.
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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> JR1
10/20/2015 at 22:17 |
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Yep, probably peacock green. It wasn’t on the list I looked at, so that made a difference. The key is that it’s close to palm green, but slightly more silver and it’s a metallic.
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JR1
> RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/20/2015 at 22:23 |
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Yeah green must have been a popular color during the era. There are at least three shades for the Lincoln if not four.
Autohaus Derp
> 472CID
10/26/2015 at 15:12 |
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NEED
Spridget
> 472CID
11/01/2015 at 11:11 |
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Missed a couple:
Ed, for the old good times
> 472CID
11/03/2015 at 09:42 |
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Peugeot has a long tradition making car-based pick-ups.
RT
> 472CID
01/09/2017 at 12:33 |
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There’s a few more:
Ford P100, Sierra based (aka Merkur whatever in the states).
The amazing Škoda Felica Fun, obvs based on Felica.
And the M3 Pickups, not in mass production, but two were officially made by BMW for carting stuff around in the M division.