![]() ![]() The El Camino model came back in 1964 when Chevrolet introduced a new model based off the stronger Chevelle. Something had to change and it did beginning with the 1964 model year. The Ranchero was still getting much better market share. The model was dropped simply because Chevrolet didn’t feel the sales were successful enough. The El Camino made its debut in 1959 but was dropped between 19. The Years that the El Camino was Dropped and Came Back Bigger These car / truck vehicles were very popular in Australia and all manufacturers there were producing their version of the vehicle. The name “ute” is short for “coupe utility”. That vehicle essentially had a passenger car styled front (the Terraplane automobile) with a pickup cargo box in the rear, This was somewhat similar to the Ranchero and El Camino without the extra passenger comfort seen in the late 1950’s car / truck crossovers.Īlso, down under in Australia, vehicles called “ utes” date back to the 1930’s and were used by farmers. Hudson in 1937 produced a pickup named the Hudson Terraplane Cab Pickup. Chevy used advertising slogans such as “It’s magnifico!” “It’s terrifico!” “Good looks never carried as much weight!”. The first El Camino (1959) was based on the Biscayne Station Wagon model. The Chevy El Camino was sold along with the Chevrolet truck line. The El Camino was considered a crossover utility vehicle offering passenger car comfort and styling along with the utility of a pickup truck. Introducing the El Camino in 1959 posed little risk for Chevrolet.Ĭhevrolet introduced the El Camino for the 1959 model year, some two years after the Ford Ranchero debuted. After the Chevelle was discontinued in 1977, the Malibu kept trucking on in the mid-sized market.Chevrolet had the luxury of knowing there was a good market for it’s El Camino having witnessed the success Ford had two years earlier with their Ranchero. So, if there was a modern El Camino in the works, what platform would it share? According to, the best bet would be the Malibu. Sure, the modern Camaro is its own animal, but it does have features that resemble that old-school muscle car, even if faintly. Modern cars evolved from classic kin usually have design cues that resemble the cars of the '60s and '70s, much like the Chevy Camaro. At the New York International Auto Show in 2008, Pontiac actually unveiled a utility-like car, but budget cuts made that idea disappear as well. The idea was brought back to life in 1995 with the El Camino possibly sharing the Chevrolet Caprice station wagon platform, but the B-body platform was discontinued in 1996 so that idea was scratched. Back in 1992, an El Camino concept car was unveiled based on the Lumina Z34, but it never made it further than that. The 1987 model year was the last of the El Camino in regards to production, but General Motors has made a few attempts to bring it back. While there hasn't been any plans to bring back the mullet car, a renderings have surfaced of what a modern El Camino might look like. Today, these vintage utility cars can fetch a pretty penny at auction, especially one in well-kept shape. It was hard to wrap your head around a car with a pick-up bed molded into the body, but as mentioned above, the vehicle developed a cult following. The Chevy El Camino was one of those cars that was either loathed or loved. A larger success rate than its kin, the El Camino stuck around until 1987. Chevy's take on the mash-up was eventually discontinued due to declining sales, but it reappeared again in 1964, but this time it was built on the Chevelle platform. General Motors debuted the El Camino for the 1959 model year and built it on a station wagon platform with an obvious inspiration from the Ford Ranchero. You know, just in case you need to haul some furniture for your mother-in-law. A vehicle for the indecisive as it looks like a car but has a bed as a part of the body. The El Camino may fall into the latter for most, although the car does have its very own cult following. Chevrolet has been around for 108 years, and during that time the American automaker has hit some home runs in regards to vehicle design, while others tend to lean more on the interesting side. ![]()
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