The American Ute: ’57 Ranchero and ’59 El Camino

‘Ute’ is foreign word to your average American, but in Australia its been the universal term for a ‘Coupe Utility’ since 1934 when Ford created the first car-truck segment to meet a “Church on Sundays and pigs to market on Mondays” demand from the single vehicle household. Flash forward to December 1956, when the 1957 Ford Ranchero debuted in the US, riding on the new-for-57 Ford platform shared with the short-wheelbase sedans and 2 door Ranch Wagon. The base model was aimed at farmers, but the deluxe Fairlane versions were marketed for adventure and the great outdoors. Ads claimed “More Than A Car! More Than A Truck!”, and it was, filling a new slot in the lineup offering light truck hauling along with passenger car convenience and luxury. Customizers, hot rodders and racing pit crews responded to the call immediately.

Two years later Chevrolet fired directly back with their 1959 El Camino, an evolution from the Cameo pick up a few years earlier. Like the Ranchero, the ElCo was based on an existing car platform, and in it’s first year it outsold the Ford version. 1960 was a different story for the El Camino, with less luxury options and less horsepower by way of no fuelie motor, sales dropped sharply.

So the question is, do you dig the Premiro ’57 Ranchero or the Elegante El Camino?