BTW: I entered “el camino” into an online translator, and it means, “the way.” The way to what? The way to driving us fucking insane trying to determine which type of vehicle it is? FTR, I HATE El Caminos…second only in ugliness to the horrendous 70’s “bubble-boy” Pacer.
[ul]
[li]Too low to the ground to be a truck[/li][li]The front half looks like a car, when viewed head-on.[/li][li]It has a bed.[/li][li]It’s uglier than Ron Jeremy’s bare ass-crack on an humid 90 degree day, while bent over plucking dandelions out of his lawn.[/li][/ul]
A recent Cadillac commercial deemed their own scion of ugliness an “SUT.” They’d probably say it stands for Sport Utility Truck, but I have my own versions. Sucking Up Tourists? Supremely Ugly Truck? The possibilities abound!
You had the comfort, handling, features, and fuel economy of a regular car, and most models could carry three passengers. And you still had the pickup bed, as long as the load wasn’t terribly heavy.
I would hazard a guess, though, that the El Camino was so popular mainly becuase the imported compact pickups of that era weren’t very good, and the Ford Ranger, Chevy S-10, and Jeep Commanche/Dodge Dakota hadn’t yet been introduced.
MSK, don’t be dissin’ on the Pacer! One of my all time favorite cars! If you want ugly, take a look at the Pontiac Aztek! That’s ugly!
Here’s the deal with the El Camino. Back in early Fifties, a farmer in Austraila wrote Ford and asked them, “Why don’t you make a car that you can haul the pigs around during the week and drive to church on Sunday?” So Ford took a particular car that was popular in Austraila (don’t remember the model) hacked it up so that it had a bed in the back, and promptly sold the piss out of them. Sensing that they had a good thing, they began selling them in the States in 1957, calling them Rancheroes. GM followed with the El Camino a year or so later (it being a chopped up Impala). Ford’s Ranchero stopped being all that popular some time after they switched to using a Falcon based chassis and they quit making them in the early 70s. GM made the El Caminos up until the 80s. Ford (and possibly GM) still makes Aussie versions of the cars, called “Utes” (Utility Vehicles), and GM is thinking about bringing the El Camino back.
Personally, I’ve always referred to them as “crucks.” (I used to own a 65 Ranchero BTW. One of the more enjoyable cars I’ve owned. She had a 302 stuffed under the hood and would flat-out fly!)
Actually, the el Camino, the Ranchero, and even the Omni-based Dodge Rampage were more “real trucks” than the Ford Lightning, which only has a net payload of 850 lbs, though it weighs over two tons empty. Their 6-foot cargo boxes and low liftover height made them more practical than the jacked-up 4 1/2- foot-boxed
crew cab gas guzzlers being pushed by dealers today, as well.
My old '82 Rampage had a GVW of 3450lbs and a curb weight of 2168 lbs, making it a genuine 1/2- ton pickup.
The conventional Detroit wisdom is that nobody in the US would buy a car-based pickup, but 'Caminos sell for much better prices than the Chevelle station wagons they shared most parts with. Ditto Dodge Rampage versus the 2-door Omni hatchback, 'late-'60s through 1979 Rancheros versus their Fairlane/Torino wagon counterparts and early-'60s Rancheros versus their Falcon counterparts.
About a year before GM pulled the plug on their big rear-drive wagons, they took a “Caminoed” version of the Impala out on the car show circuit. If the response natiowide was anything like
the response in Omaha, the decision not to build this vehicle was a serious blunder. Everyone loved it!!
Y’all need to read what Car & Driver thought of the Escalade EXT! I guess Caddilac is trying to compete with Lincoln but why? With the demise of the Blackwood coming in December, there’s not much competition.
Regarding the OP, I’ve heard that the reason behind the demise of the Ranchero and the El Camino/GMC Sprint (aka Caballero) was that nobody could agree whether the vehicles are cars or trucks. The insurance companies had decided that they’re trucks and the manufactuers and owners said they’re just cars with huge trunk space. With neither side willing to budge, the vehicles were discontinued.
BTW: did you know that Cadillac had their own version of the El Camino for a short time?
I remember asking my mom what it was when I was four and saw one in the parking lot of the flea market. She said it was for people who couldn’t make up their minds between a car and a truck. I think they’re cool.
Regarding the name, how many car names make sense literally? There are a lot stupider names out there.
