Happy Birthday (actually it was the 16th) to another auto icon, the Chevrolet El Camino. Introduced on October 16,1958, this model marked the first time that Chev had entered into this crowded field of one. One? Yep, there was only one other car being sold in North America that was half car/half pick-up. A car based pick-up, get it? Ford beat Chevy to the punch two years earlier with their Ranchero.........
..........but who remembers the Ranchero these days. Heck, who remembers the El Camino? Ford stopped making their full sized car/pick-up after 1959, reintroducing it on the much smaller Falcon body for 1960. Eventually it was put on the mid-sized Torino platform and was produced until 1979 and 1/2 (no kidding, check out your Ford fun facts). Chevy ran one more year before discontinuing their version, but brought it back again in 1964 as a mid-sized Chevelle. The El Camino then ran non stop until the late '80's........
So why is the El Camino remembered, revered? Good question and I don't know the answer. Could it be because old Chevies in general are much more sought after by collectors than Fords? Not sure, but you'll see many more modified El Camino's than you ever will Ranchero's. An example is this black beauty........
So Happy Birthday to an idea whose time has come and gone at least in North America (topic for another blog). But do you know how close we came to having an El Camino revival? Awfully close and this would have been that model.......
The El Camino reincarnated as a Pontiac, the G8 ST, based on an Australian Holden ute and packing big V8 power. The timing was terrible, GM went into bankruptcy, the Pontiac brand was dropped and this model went down the toilet. Would it have sold? My guess is no. It would have become a novelty item for a couple of years, then cooler heads would have pulled the plug again, afterall they only seat two and are not much good for hauling anything except a few garden supplies.
Until next time......
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