#El camino royal knight history series#

The 119 in 3.000 mm wheel-base was 1.5 inches 38 mm longer, and overall length for all 1959 Chevrolets was up to 210.9 in 5.360 mm. Its chassis featured Chevrolets 'Safety-Girder' X-frame design and a full-coil suspension, both introduced in the 1958 model year. It came in a single trim level, its exterior using the mid-level Bel-Airs trim, and the interior of the low-end Biscayne. Unlike the Brookwoods wagon and a sedan delivery variant, the El Camino was available with any full-sized Chevrolet drivetrain. Highly stylized, it initially sold 50% more briskly than the more conservative Ranchero, some 22.000 to 14.000. Like the Ranchero, it was based on an existing and modified platform, the new-for-1959 Brookwood two-door station wagon, itself based on the completely redesigned, longer, lower and wider full-sized Chevrolet. According to Chevrolet stylist Chuck Jordan, GM Harley Earl had suggested a coupe pickup in 1952. The El Camino was introduced for the 1959 model year two years after the Ford Ranchero. The original El Camino and Ranchero would compete directly only in the 1959 model year. In 1959, Chevrolet responded with the El Camino to compete with Fords full-sized Ranchero. market of an automobile platform based coupe utility. However, Ford also introduced the 1957 Ranchero, and established a new market segment in the U.S. Other pickup truck producers, including Dodge, Ford, Studebaker, and International, began to offer flush-side cargo boxes on some of their 1957 models, such as the Dodge C Series, and the Studebaker E-series Deluxe. In 1957 a special version was made for GMC to be shown at national car shows called the Palomino, which had a Pontiac 347 cu in 5.7 L V8 installed, borrowed from the 1957 Star Chief. As always, there was a GMC version offered during the same time, called the GMC Suburban with the same features offered on the Chevrolet. Although it was a model variant of Chevrolets Task Force light-duty pickup, the Cameo offered an array of car-like features that included passenger-car styling, fiberglass rear fenders, two-tone paint, a relatively luxurious interior, as well as an optional V8 engine, automatic transmission, and power assists. The mid-1955 introduction of Chevrolets Cameo Carrier pickup truck helped pave the way for the El Camino. The body style did not reappear on the American market until the release of the 1957 Ford Ranchero.Д«oth the coupe utility and the similar open-topped roadster utility continued in production, but the improving economy of the mid- to late-1930s and the desire for improved comfort saw coupe utility sales climb at the expense of the roadster utility until, by 1939, the latter was all but a fading memory. General MotorsвЂ™ Australian subsidiary Holden also produced a Chevrolet coupe utility in 1935, Studebaker produced the Coupe Express from 1937 to 1939.

#El camino royal knight history series#

Bandt went on to manage Fords Advanced Design Department, being responsible for the body engineering of the XP, XT, XW, and XA series Ford Falcon utilities. Ford designer Lew Bandt developed a suitable solution, and the first coupe utility model was released in 1934. Ford Australia was the first company to produce a coupe utility as a result of a 1932 letter from the wife of a farmer in Victoria, Australia, asking for 'a vehicle to go to church in on a Sunday and which can carry our pigs to market on Mondays'.