Will the "mullet" return in 2011? Yea, the El Camino

[bull]

I didn't see this posted so forgive me if I missed it. I was at the eye doctor today browsing through a recent Road&Track magazine in the waiting room when I saw a picture and article discussing the possibility of a 2011 Chevy El Camino being produced. One possible design would be a copy of GM's Australian Ute.

There are probably some El Camino fans here but I'm not one of them. I like to refer to them as the gender-confused automobile, the automotive equivalent to the mullet, the answer to a question nobody asked, etc...(I feel the same way about any pickup/car hybrid). Still, the one question raised in my mind by this idea is why produce a El Camino but not a Chevelle? One possible answer I think is that they can pretty much create any design they want as long as it has a pickup bed on it and no one will complain. If they did the same design with a regular car and called a Chevelle they'd be hearing the same kind of howling they heard during the GTO debacle.

Anyway, here it is for your viewing pleasure:
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/06/chevy-el-camino-could-return-for-2011
http://www.cheersandgears.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=16611
http://www.sportscarforums.com/f8/2009-el-camino-22773.html#post645417

[Forza]

  God I hope they don't

[TruckDriver]

 

[rav440]

good god man ,,, that looks stupid 

[BrianShaughnessy]

   Chevy timing is impeccable.   Just like they brought out the HHR like 7 years after the PT Cruiser... now they can re introduce the pickupcar they introduced 50 years earlier to compete against the ph8cking ridgeline. 

   I had an 80 EC SS awhile back.  What a rusty heap-O-poo.    It wasn't good at being a car or being a truck.

[bordin34]

Looks like a Holden Ute.

[Chargen69]

I had a 1964 el camino, I wouldnt mind having it back, but it did have more character than the later years.

[Charger-Bodie]

in todays market where the auto makers are struggling to make as it is i don't think a model that will only suit a few will ever hit the streets, altleast not from a sensible business point of view.

[TK73]

Still don't "get" El Caminos     ...  asides that Trevor said that there is no market for two-door cars.

[71charger_fan]

If you think the mullet went away, you haven't experienced the Baltimore suburbs or central Florida.

[Ghoste]

I had a Ranchero many many many years ago and I have to admit I still have a soft spot for "the question nobody asked". 

[Brock Samson]

  I respectfully disagree here Bull, some el Camino's are pretty sweet lookin rides... not what i need, I'd prefer a back seat and lockable trunk, but some El Caminos and Rancharos are decent muscle cars and workaday haulers,.. the el Camino's make a great basis for customs and I've noticed change hands allot on auto trader...
i prefer the older ones pre '71 myself with the '59s being my Favorites.

  As regards the new GM speculation, the Holden sport utes are very popular down under and have been for some time, same in south America,.. I bet Natcho has seen a ton of them down there too...

The "hybrid" pickup i never understood was the aftermarket early '70s Cadillac Pickups and of course the Lincoln Blackwood that came out a couple years ago died the death... poor Lincoln, what's gonna become of them?..






the first el camino was a caddy BTW:



more of this wild custom..
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.jims59.com/other59s/theultimus/images/msRadicalCustom%26Ed.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.jims59.com/other59s/theultimus/&h=1145&w=1581&sz=355&hl=en&start=9&tbnid=0DEOhIjfoir1QM:&tbnh=109&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3D1959%2Bel%2Bcamino%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG

i may be somewhat prejudiced though, because Sammy, across the street owned one exactly like this marina Blue SS only with the stock rally rims,
for several years and it was allways parked in their driveway staring me in the face, intill he traded in in on a K-car station wagon, I gotta remember that when the next gas price hike makes me concider gas milage as a priority..

from this...


                                                            to this..   

[C_stripes]

Looks like a Holden Ute.

It is a Ute. They just change a bit of the sheet metal(plastic) and make it a left hand drive. Now it is a EL Camino. You know that that is what the new GTO is don't you?  Its just the Holden Commodore. Just re badged and such.  Aussie cars are cool.  I like the new TRD auron. It is basically a toyota Camry but looks much cooler and has the V6 with a Eaton supercharger from the factory.  I wish they would make cool cars like that here in the US of A.

Jeremy

[Ghoste]

  I respectfully disagree here Bull, some el Camino's are pretty sweet lookin rides... not what i need, I'd prefer a back seat and lockable trunk, but some El Caminos and Rancharos are decent muscle cars and workaday haulers,..

I'll agree and underline the statement about decent by adding that decent doesn't mean great.  The holdup to real musclecar performance with those things was traction and handling.  My Ranchero had a 351 Boss in it and could smoke the tires as long as you held your foot in it but I really preferred to run people from a rolling start.  It didn't handle worth a pile of squirrel snot either and would swap ends as easily as smoking tires.  A buddy of mine had a 70 El Camino SS years ago too and I could give that thing a real hard run for the money with my Omnicharger 2.2.  I couldn't beat it but I damned sure made him earn it.

[69bronzeT5]

   

[Silver R/T]

Subaru beat them to it Although I think 1st pic looks pretty good imo

[Brock Samson]

I didn't see this posted so forgive me if I missed it. I was at the eye doctor today browsing through a recent Road&Track magazine in the waiting room when I saw a picture and article discussing the possibility of a 2011 Chevy El Camino being produced. One possible design would be a copy of GM's Australian Ute.

There are probably some El Camino fans here but I'm not one of them. I like to refer to them as the gender-confused automobile, the automotive equivalent to the mullet, the answer to a question nobody asked, etc...(I feel the same way about any pickup/car hybrid). Still, the one question raised in my mind by this idea is why produce a El Camino but not a Chevelle? One possible answer I think is that they can pretty much create any design they want as long as it has a pickup bed on it and no one will complain. If they did the same design with a regular car and called a Chevelle they'd be hearing the same kind of howling they heard during the GTO debacle.
Anyway, here it is for your viewing pleasure:
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/06/chevy-el-camino-could-return-for-2011
http://www.cheersandgears.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=16611
http://www.sportscarforums.com/f8/2009-el-camino-22773.html#post645417

True that they don't make a Chevellebut they do make the Malibu which the newest iriteration of is reciving rave reviews thanks to Chrylser's ex-product man "Maximum" Bob Lutz, worst thing that happened to Mopars in the last few years was losing him to G.M.,I.M.O.
and while were on the subject, Dodge dosent' make a Coronet either, ..  or does it?.   

further reading..

    http://autoextremist.com/index.shtml

just you wait till the newest dodge rampage car truck hibred comes out of China, complete with the bulls eye grill...

[1FastCharger]

just you wait till the newest dodge rampage car truck hibred comes out of China, complete with the bulls eye grill...

Ha ha ha...actually that pic is in Vietman. I saw a bunch of stuff like that there. 6 people on a small cycle, transporting a HUGE piece of furniture on scooters etc.... They are very adept at getting the job done with what they have available.

[bull]

Looks like they could use some wipers.

[squeakfinder]

WOW!  One horsepower.

Oh wait, that looks like a donkey. So they must have to pull on the steering wheel to apply the brakes?

That the thing looks more creative than what chevy is doing. Maybee GM should go to Vietnam and hire some engineer's.

[66mopar]

The market can be a strange place. GM sold more El Caminos than Pentastar ever sold Cuda's and Challenger's. 

[bull]

WOW!  One horsepower.

Oh wait, that looks like a donkey. So they must have to pull on the steering wheel to apply the brakes?

That the thing looks more creative than what chevy is doing. Maybee GM should go to Vietnam and hire some engineer's.

No. That there is a member of the bovine family of critters.

[Brock Samson]

BTW:

This new GM platform that is the basis for their new CTS Caddy, Pontiac Gran Prix and Chevy Maiibu - is sourced from a car from what country?...

no not Viet Nam or Germany,.

[squeakfinder]

OK taking a closer look I see that it some form of ugly cow..

[mikepmcs]