metamorphosis of the pickup truck

[SawyerTed]

They started with what they already had- sulkys, carriages and wagons. 

[Larry in OK]

My '68 M715.
Somewhere in it's past someone swapped out the engine and transmission for a Chevy 292 straight 6 and a SM420 4-speed granny low tranny.


 

[Walnut Beast]

Nice 👍

[dgdrls]

My '68 M715.
Somewhere in it's past someone swapped out the engine and transmission for a Chevy 292 straight 6 and a SM420 4-speed granny low tranny.

That 292 is a dandy motor

[Sedgehammer]

My '68 M715.
Somewhere in it's past someone swapped out the engine and transmission for a Chevy 292 straight 6 and a SM420 4-speed granny low tranny.

It needs an 8.1l. That'll help it along with all its low end torque ...... 😅

[Ianab]

Luxury trucks came about in the mid 1950s with the Chevrolet Cameo.  It wasn't well received with only a few thousands built.  Ford answered the Cameo with the Ranchero around 1957 which caused Chevy to introduce the El Camino.  All of those vehicles had an identity crisis.  

We never got those models, but the Aussie built Falcon and Holden "Utes" were built up until 2017 (for the GM Holdens at least). No identity crisis, they were "Utes". The original premise was "I need a car that I can drive the wife to church on Sunday, and feed out hay on Monday".  That sorta shifted over the years to "I want a sports car that I can put down as a work vehicle for tax reasons" :D

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_Ute

This is more probably the  ultimate "Ute", going to a 6.2 L supercharged Corvette engine. 4 of the final model were made, they are worth over a million each 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_Special_Vehicles_Maloo

Lil's just bought a 2017 VF Commodore (station wagon version). It's got all the modern gizmos and rides / handles great. The Ute version is just a 2 door sports car with a tray on the back.

Alas the 2017 was the last year for the real "Utes". 

[customsawyer]

My newest truck is a 2017. I haven't owned a half ton in well over 30 years. Always to much heavier towing to be done. One thing I don't like about the newer trucks is the height of them. They have them raised up so high that you can't hardly get anything out of the bed unless you get up in it. I also find this newer truck seems to want to roll more when towing a heavy load. Not sure if it is or if it's just a feeling I get when pulling with it. That and the fact that it has so many gadgets that I will never use.