it first happened not longer after we arrived in adelaide -- i saw an el camino in the street. while not an usual occurence at home, you do see one every now and then. however, 15 minutes later i spotted another one. then a third.
having now seen many el caminos during our drive from adelaide to darwin, and after a little internet sleuthing, it's clear that australia has a love affair with the el camino. besides the original chevrolet el camino and the ford ranchero (the art car from the photo in this blog entry is actually a ford ranchero), australia has a rich history with the el camino, starting with the first commerical introduction of the car-pickup hybrid in the 1950s. they still have their own models of el camino currently in production, such as the Holden Ute, and even a muscle-car el camino, the F6 Tornado.
and why not? they're functional, and probably quite handy in the outback. and as the owner of a odd-looking utilitarian vehicle myself, i'm all for that sort of thing.
the el camino's legacy in the US is not quite as strong, having ended all production of el caminos in 1987. recent introductions of similar vehicles such as the Subaru Baja have failed to gain much traction in the market (aside from that guy whose yellow Baja i always see parked at the 16th & guerrero gas station). however, the legacy of el caminos in pop culture lives on.
during my remaining two weeks in australia i'll continue to document el camino sightings and tag them as elcamino in my photos on flickr. enjoy the parade of australian el caminos!
having now seen many el caminos during our drive from adelaide to darwin, and after a little internet sleuthing, it's clear that australia has a love affair with the el camino. besides the original chevrolet el camino and the ford ranchero (the art car from the photo in this blog entry is actually a ford ranchero), australia has a rich history with the el camino, starting with the first commerical introduction of the car-pickup hybrid in the 1950s. they still have their own models of el camino currently in production, such as the Holden Ute, and even a muscle-car el camino, the F6 Tornado.
and why not? they're functional, and probably quite handy in the outback. and as the owner of a odd-looking utilitarian vehicle myself, i'm all for that sort of thing.
the el camino's legacy in the US is not quite as strong, having ended all production of el caminos in 1987. recent introductions of similar vehicles such as the Subaru Baja have failed to gain much traction in the market (aside from that guy whose yellow Baja i always see parked at the 16th & guerrero gas station). however, the legacy of el caminos in pop culture lives on.
during my remaining two weeks in australia i'll continue to document el camino sightings and tag them as elcamino in my photos on flickr. enjoy the parade of australian el caminos!
Comments (3)
I have to say prefer the Ford Rancheros myself. There's one that lives around my block. El Camino definitely does live on in the US in the largely Hispanic muscle car culture though....
Posted by Esther | April 15, 2006 4:18 AM
Posted on April 15, 2006 04:18
Don't forget the FPV BF Pursuit (whatever that means): http://www.fpv.com.au/index.asp?link_id=2.184
Posted by Alex Volk | April 16, 2006 12:21 PM
Posted on April 16, 2006 12:21
It is not a Ford Ranchero, but a Ford Falcon Ute of the Mid 1970's. The first Ute was built in Australia in 1934. You had your Coupe Utility copies in the Ranchero and Elcamino
Posted by Robert Ryan | May 30, 2007 2:45 PM
Posted on May 30, 2007 14:45