Though I can appreciate a cool truck and would certainly enjoy having one as a second vehicle, I’m not really much of a truck guy. Even the toughest “truck stuff” I need to do in my life (hauling mulch, mostly) is more than capably dispatched by my RAV4, and if I ever do need substantial heft/bulk handling ability, I just rent one of Home Depot’s F250 flatbeds for about the same cost as a couple of pizzas.
If I had to do real (but not gnarly) truck stuff on the regular and daily a bed-equipped vehicle, I would be drawn much more to the Ford Maverick and Honda Ridgeline (and Hyundai Santa Cruz, I guess) than “real” trucks. The more car-like, the better. Better still if the vehicle is more car than truck, small and lightweight, in the mode of the Volkswagen pickup. Yep, just put a bed on a Rabbit and call it good. Feel free to click the graphic if you’d like to visit the story:
I’ve always enjoyed El Caminoizations of cars (or Rancheroizing, if you prefer) and The Autopian has frequently explored the concept both as historical artifact and speculative what-if, and I find them all fascinating. Again, you can click on any of the images to view the stories.
For today’s Autopian Asks query, I’d like to know what cars you’d like to see get the bed-graft treatment – or a ute conversion, we mustn’t forget how the Aussies do it. I think electric vehicles in particular are ripe for the for El Caminio-ing, thanks to the much greater flexibility of component packaging. Hence the Model Y in the topshot. A Tesla with a truck bed? Model Y-not?
But who cares about what’s easy or difficult or even feasible; if your dream car-truck would be based on the C8 Corvette, so be it! Honestly, having the C8’s LT2 sitting in the open bed would look incredible, even if it would make it impossible to fit a sheet of plywood in there.
Your turn:
What Cars Would You Most Like To See Get The El Camino Treatment?
Top graphic images: Tesla; Honda
De Tomaso Pantera
Geo Storm
Merkur xr4ti
Honda Cappuccino
Yugo GVX
Plymouth Prowler
Smart Fortwo
The Merkur XR4ti was based on the European Ford Sierra, and there was a pickup version of that called the P100
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_P100
1966 AMC Rambler wagon. The roof lines are PERFECT for a 4-door trucklet. It would look 100% like factory work.
As an example of what could be, I commented this yesterday:
Here’s a Honda Accord Ute up for auction in Portland: https://www.proxibid.com/2004-HONDA-ACCORD-CUSTOM-TRUCK-CONVERSION/lotInformation/98691581
Would like to see a Kia EV ute though.
Nice conversion, except for CHEVROLET across the tailgate… and 315,000 miles. Thank you for posting the link!
New Outback is the most obvious answer. Looks horrible as a wagon, made to look all beefy…but make it the trucklet it is destined to be, with the turbo and expected hybrid powertrain options, will be excellent competition against the Maverick. Entirely coincidentally we currently own an older Outback and are most likely looking at replacing it with a Maverick (no real alternative exists).
Not until the Telo gets here anyway…
The Telo truck is vaporware to me until they can prove they can pass crash safety with that stubby front end. They’re also claiming 350 miles of range with only a 106kWh battery, which sounds generous even if it was on China’s CLTC cycle.
So a new Baja? I love it.
Exactly. Would be a great return for the nameplate too. Go crazy with a 2 door version with rear facing seats in the back for a Brat as well!
haha that would be hilarious but I don’t think those would be legal anymore. Though I have no idea how they were legal even in the 80s.
They had seat belts, and offered about as much crash protection for passengers as most any deathtrap of that era.
(I see from Wiki–I sure didn’t remember–that they discontinued the “back seats” in 1984.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_BRAT
More importantly, I think they’d frown on that even more now for Chicken Tax reasons since the Outback isn’t made in the US anymore.
Honestly that’s a great idea.
There are literally dozens of long past and recent vehicles I’d like to imbed, but when it comes to current vehicles, I’d love to see a Meyers Manx 2.0 with a with a pickup patoot.
A Sand Flea?
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2398349297044343/?_rdr
Simone Giertz made a Tesla Camino-and drove it to the Cybertruck launch 🙂
The lack of a Truckla shout-out in this article is criminal. Thank you for spreading the good news…
Came here to say this.
Simone deserves all the acknowledgement for that achievement. Honestly for all of her achievements.
She is the Queen (not just of shitty robots)!
I think my favorite invention is her grocery bag hat but my fav videos are definitely the shitty robots.
I kinda like the trajectory she’s taken, and like the newer stuff better, but I do still like the older videos.
El Comino these:
Chevy Express (again)
Toyota Prius
VW golf (again)
Chevy Blazer
Mazda CX90
I was thinking Blazer too. It could even enhance a street truck feel, since GM already killed the classic vibe by putting the name on a crossover and all.
I was going to say get an Express in a chassis-cab and do what you want out back, but apparently they only make them as a cutaway now.
You can get a Transit chassis cab, though. El Transito. With Ecoboost and AWD!
Chevy Bolt EUV please
When the NMCC’s top fails (and it will fail), Murano-ute is the only possible next step. Give Mercedes a Swazall and get out of the way.
I’ve got a few:
Subaru is an obvious one. Mustang Ranchero, too. I especially like the idea of a mildly stretched GR86 ute, or a Miata. Anything small and all-or-rear wheel drive.
A shame we missed having a G8 or SS ute. Or Charger/Magnum/300
Smyth Performance makes a ute kit for Chargers if you want to build your own Rampage.
They’ve got the Beetle and WRX covered too.
Here’s the STI.
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/3566bwRE/2006-subaru-impreza-wrx-sti
I was thinking both GR86 and Miata. Did a search in the comments first before posting, and found it.
I’ve seen images of BRZ utes online, they just look so right.
Ford Falcon… oops, been there, done that.
Ford Fiesta RS.
People turning to check out the “braaap braaap” noises would definitely smile.
https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/31/23664748/truckla-tesla-model-3-pickup-truck-update-simone-giertz-video
My favorite make the tree huggers heads explode idea is a Prius cut down to haul dirt bikes. I suppose the more modern option is an EV cut down to haul dirt bikes since either way you combine something they love and hate.
For more serious use, years ago I saw an ad for an Alfa Giulia sedan converted to a pickup. I’d paint it Bianchi Celeste with Campagnolo logos. I’ve also seen a BMW 2002 pickup that worked really well
Hey, that Blazer EV El Camino actually looks pretty good.
CTS-V Wagon.
Yeah the fact Subaru hasn’t revived some version of a modern brat/baja is an obvious gap in the lineup.
Especially now that they’ve got big enough vehicles that they could offer one that has a “reasonable” (still small, but better than the Baja) sized bed while still being a crew cab, and now have to mess with the wheel base.
you are correct. I think they are still smarting from the Baja mess.
They’re also super small, so any additional model is a pretty big lift. I think the Brat/Baja crowd is a very vocal minority in the Subie community, but there aren’t enough buyers to justify the engineering expense.
If it had a true folding mid-gate like the STX concept (before the Avalanche!), I think it could do better than the watered down Baja did.
Toyota Camry – the El Camrino
I think there was one of these (an 85?) that was a story back on the German lighting site
Subaru Outback, but make it 2-door with 4 seats instead of 4-door, and make the bed 6′ or so.
4 seats? Are two of them in the back like the Brat?
No, make it a 2+2 like a Porsche!
Oh, gotcha. So, basically a 2 door Baja. It was a 4 seater as well, probably because of the pass through.
Honestly I feel like the optimal seating configuration for a modern extended cab pickup is deleting the center console and having one rear seat in the middle so the space between the front seats is all leg room.
If you’ll allow that the Ford Transit Connect was (loosely) based on the contemporary Focus, I would have liked a Transit Connechero.
Honda Element? Or is that practically a truck already?
I’m thinking about convertible-ization more at the moment, and would love to see what GM’s cheapest, smallest vehicle, the Chevy Trax, would look like with a soft top. It could, in line with its wonderfully inexpensive nature, be manual.
They could call it the Geo Traxer!
As someone who double dated in HS with my brother in a Ranchero, I appreciate and prefer “Rancheroizing.” Four in the cab was nicely snug.
The 1979 Ford Fairmont Futura in my driveway, because it IS going to get the El Camino treatment. I also have a Ford Durango in rough shape and my plan is to cut the back off the Fairmont and swap the Durango bed insert and tailgate into it.
LX Thunderbird. The hood being longer than the bed would make me laugh every time.
That gives,70s Ranchero vibes the hood and bed were the same length so it looked like center cab locomotive.
I had a similar thought about a Jaguar E-type
Miata is always the answer