The coupé utility automobile body style Cars can come in a large variety of different body styles. Some are still in production, while others are of historical interest only. These styles are largely independent of a car's classification in terms of price, size and intended broad market; the same car model might be available in multiple body styles (or model ranges). For some of the, also known colloquially as the ute in Australia and New Zealand, combines a two-door "coupé A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style, the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time. Coupés are often hardtopped sports cars or sporty variants of sedan (saloon) body styles, with doors commonly reduced from 4 to 2, and a close-coupled interior (i.e., the rear seat placed further forward than in a" cabin with an integral cargo bed behind the cabin—using a light-duty passenger vehicle-derived platform An automobile platform is a shared set of common design, engineering, and production efforts, as well as major components over a number of outwardly distinct models and even types of automobiles, often from different, but related marques.

A coupé utility has a body style with coupé lines, but like a truck, it has an integral open cargo area at the rear. While most modern day coupé utilities are built using a monocoque Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's exterior, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork. The word monocoque comes from the Greek for single and French for shell (coque). The technique may also be called structural skin, stressed constitution, historical models typically used a light-duty body-on-frame Body-on-frame is an automobile construction technology. Mounting a separate body to a rigid frame which supports the drivetrain was the original method of building automobiles, and its use continues to this day. The original frames were made of wood , but steel ladder frames became common in the 1930s construction, like the heavy-duty body-on-frame construction used by pickup trucks A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area (bed) which is almost always separated from the cab to allow for chassis flex when carrying or pulling heavy loads.[citation needed]. As light-duty body-on-frame coupé utilities are automobile-based, they can thus be differentiated from their heavy-duty (pickup truck) counterparts.

Origin

Ford Australia Ford Australia is the Australian subsidiary of Ford Motor Company and was founded in Geelong, Victoria in 1925 as an outpost of Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. At that time, Ford Canada was a separate company from Ford USA. Henry Ford had granted the manufacturing rights to Ford in British Empire countries (excepting the UK) to Canadian was the first to integrate a cargo area with the bodywork of a closed passenger car.^[1] This was the result of a request from a farmer in Victoria in 1935. Ford Australia combined the cab of its newly released Ford coupé body with a well-type load area fully integrated into the coupé body, producing the first "coupé utilities".^[2] The letter from the farmer, who asked for a car that he could use for work during the week and take his wife to church on a Sunday, was delivered to Lew Bandt, who was the Ford body manager at the time. Bandt designed the first utility and went on to manage the Advanced Design Department, being responsible for the body engineering of the XP, XT, XW, XA Falcon utilities. Holden built a Chevrolet ute in 1935, but utes were not sold in America until the 1957 Ford Ranchero The Ford Ranchero was a sedan-based pickup truck produced between 1957 and 1979. Unlike a pickup truck, the Ranchero was adapted from a station wagon platform that integrated the cab and cargo bed into the body. A total of 508,355 units were produced during the model's production run. It was adapted from full-size, compact and intermediate. Both types of vehicles were called "utilities" or "utes" for short.

Both the coupé 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.

By the 1980s in North America, the coupé utility began to fall out of favor again with the demise of the Ranchero after 1979, the Volkswagen Caddy Released in 1980, the first Volkswagen Caddy is a light pickup truck, and van based on the Volkswagen Group A1 platform, shared with the small family car Volkswagen Golf Mk1, Dodge Rampage The Dodge Rampage was a subcompact pickup truck based on Chrysler's L platform. First released as a 1982 model, it was later joined by the similar Plymouth Scamp. It was produced from 1982 to 1984/Plymouth Scamp Categories: Plymouth vehicles | Front wheel drive vehicles | Rear wheel drive vehicles | Pickup trucks | Compact cars | Coupes | 1970s automobiles | 1980s automobiles | and of the Chevrolet El Camino by 1987.

Subaru Subaru (English pronunciation: /ˈsuːbəruː/ SOO-bə-roo) is the automobile manufacturing division and brand name of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI) offered the Brat The Subaru BRAT was a pickup version of the Subaru Leone from the 1970s. The BRAT was developed directly from the company's four-wheel drive station wagon model and was first introduced as a 1978 model — following the concept of the Chevrolet El Camino and the Ford Ranchero, in the early 1980s, and the Baja The Subaru Baja was a light-utility, all-wheel-drive, four passenger, four-door vehicle manufactured from 2003-2006 by Subaru. The Baja combined the handling and passenger carrying characteristics of a car with the open-bed versatility, and to a lesser degree, load capacity of a pickup truck from 2003-2006. General Motors considered bringing a rebadged Holden Ute to the United States in the form of the Pontiac G8 ST The Pontiac G8 is a rear-wheel drive sedan that was produced by Holden, the Australian General Motors subsidiary. The G8 was released in 2008 in the United States, and in 2008 for the 2009 model year in Canada. Production stopped in mid-2009, following the GM decision to suspend the Pontiac brand. While available, the G8 took the place in the in 2009, but the global recession (and GM's ultimate bankruptcy) caused them to cancel it.

The pickup truck, on the other hand, started its life a little earlier and is defined by its separate, removable, well-type 'pickup bed'. This pickup bed does not contact the cabin part of the vehicle, while the ute bed is an integral part of the whole body. Both the coupé utility and closed cab pickup designs migrated to light truck chassis & these are correctly known respectively as Utility trucks & Pickup trucks. Eventually the pickup design found a natural home on the smaller truck chassis while the ute became entrenched as a passenger car derivative, although exceptions do apply.

See also: Cultural significance of the Australian ute A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area (bed) which is almost always separated from the cab to allow for chassis flex when carrying or pulling heavy loads.[citation needed]

Australia

Australians define a "ute" as any commercial vehicle that has an open cargo carrying space, but requires only a passenger car license to drive. This includes coupé utilities, pickup trucks A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area (bed) which is almost always separated from the cab to allow for chassis flex when carrying or pulling heavy loads.[citation needed] and traybacks (flatbed pickup trucks). An example of the broadness of this definition is that anything from a Ford F250 XL The F-Series is a series of full-size pickup trucks from Ford Motor Company sold for over five decades. The most popular variant of the F-Series is the F-150. It was the best-selling vehicle in the United States for 23 years and has been the best-selling truck for 33 years, though this does not include combined sales of GM pickup trucks. Analysts to a Proton Jumbuck The Proton Arena is a small front wheel drive coupé utility manufactured by Malaysian automaker Proton. Introduced in 2002, the Arena is the only form of pickup truck by Proton, and is the only Proton model to enjoy significantly more popularity in its export market than domestically can be called a ute.

North America

The Ford Ranchero The Ford Ranchero was a sedan-based pickup truck produced between 1957 and 1979. Unlike a pickup truck, the Ranchero was adapted from a station wagon platform that integrated the cab and cargo bed into the body. A total of 508,355 units were produced during the model's production run. It was adapted from full-size, compact and intermediate was produced between 1957 and 1979 based on full-size, compact and intermediate automobiles by the Ford Motor Company The Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury brands, Ford also owns Volvo Cars in Sweden, and a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK. Ford' for the North American market. Variations based on the original 1960 US Falcon The Ford Falcon was an automobile produced by Ford Motor Company from 1960 to 1970. It was a huge sales success for Ford initially, handily outselling rival compacts from Chrysler and General Motors introduced at the same time. During its lifespan, the Falcon was offered in a wide range of body styles: two-door and four-door sedans, two and four for home markets in Argentina The Argentine claims in Antarctica along with the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and the South Sandwich Islands (administered by the United Kingdom) shown in light green and South Africa Coordinates: 29°02′46″S 25°03′47″E / 29.046°S 25.063°E The Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a 2,798 kilometres coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland; while Lesotho is an independent were produced through the late 1980s. Though Ford car/truck combinations had been around since 1934 when Ford Australia Ford Australia is the Australian subsidiary of Ford Motor Company and was founded in Geelong, Victoria in 1925 as an outpost of Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. At that time, Ford Canada was a separate company from Ford USA. Henry Ford had granted the manufacturing rights to Ford in British Empire countries (excepting the UK) to Canadian's lone designer Lew Bandt penned the world's first coupe utility, thereby spawning the popularity of the so-called "ute UTE is Uruguay's government-owned power company. It was founded in 1912" in that country, the Ranchero was the first postwar American vehicle of its type from the factory.

The Chevrolet El Camino was produced by the Chevrolet Chevrolet , also known as Chevy (pronounced /ˈʃɛvi/), is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company (GM). Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 8, 1911, Chevrolet was acquired by General Motors in 1917. Chevrolet was positioned by Alfred Sloan to sell a lineup of mainstream vehicles to division of General Motors General Motors Company, also known as GM, is a United States-based automaker with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. GM manufactures cars and trucks in 34 countries, recently employed 244,500 people around the world, and sells and services vehicles in some 140 countries. By sales, GM ranked as the largest US automaker and the world's second from 1959 through 1960, with production resuming in 1964 and continuing through 1987. El Camino was produced in response to the success of its rival Ford Ranchero. El Camino was based on corresponding Chevrolet car lines, though in North America, the vehicle is classified as a truck and titled as such. It had a variant called the GMC Sprint and later named the GMC Caballero The GMC Caballero is a version of the Chevrolet El Camino coupe utility, built and sold by GMC Truck dealers mainly in the United States and Canada during the 1978-1987 model years from 1978-1987. In Mexico In Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica many cultures matured into advanced civilizations such as the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, the Maya and the Aztec before the first contact with Europeans. In 1521, Spain conquered and colonized the territory, which was administered as the viceroyalty of New Spain which would eventually become Mexico, it was also sold as the Chevrolet Conquistador.

Dodge Dodge is a United States-based brand of cars, minivans, sport utility vehicles, and pickup trucks, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide. Founded as the Dodge Brothers Company in 1900 to supply parts and assemblies for Detroit's growing auto industry, Dodge began making its produced the Rampage The Dodge Rampage was a subcompact pickup truck based on Chrysler's L platform. First released as a 1982 model, it was later joined by the similar Plymouth Scamp. It was produced from 1982 to 1984 from 1982 to 1984, based on the front wheel drive Front-wheel drive is a form of engine/transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles L-body Dodge Charger. Plymouth Plymouth ( /ˈplɪməθ/ ) is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about 190 miles (310 km) south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound. Since 1967 the City of Plymouth has included the suburbs of Plympton and Plymstock, which also had a variation called the Scamp Categories: Plymouth vehicles | Front wheel drive vehicles | Rear wheel drive vehicles | Pickup trucks | Compact cars | Coupes | 1970s automobiles | 1980s automobiles | .

Variations

Since readers in many parts of the world may be unfamiliar with the formal term "Coupé Utility", here follows some examples of vehicles using this body style.

Famous coupé utilities of the past

• 1952–58 Ford Australia Ford Australia is the Australian subsidiary of Ford Motor Company and was founded in Geelong, Victoria in 1925 as an outpost of Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. At that time, Ford Canada was a separate company from Ford USA. Henry Ford had granted the manufacturing rights to Ford in British Empire countries (excepting the UK) to Canadian V8 Mainline ute The Ford Mainline was a car available from 1952 to 1956. It was the base model below the Customline and the Fairlane. There were two major versions of the Mainline: the 1952–1954 version and the 1955–1956 version
• 1957–1979 Ford Ranchero The Ford Ranchero was a sedan-based pickup truck produced between 1957 and 1979. Unlike a pickup truck, the Ranchero was adapted from a station wagon platform that integrated the cab and cargo bed into the body. A total of 508,355 units were produced during the model's production run. It was adapted from full-size, compact and intermediate
• 1959–1987 Chevrolet El Camino
• 1968-1984 Holden Kingswood The Holden Kingswood was a range of full-size cars manufactured by General Motors-Holden's, the Australian subsidiary of General Motors . Replacing the Holden Special in 1968, the Kingswood came in utility, panel van (for 1976-1980 HX and HZ Holden only), sedan and station wagon body styles. Model-wise the range comprised of the entry-level
• 1969 Ford Australia Ford Australia is the Australian subsidiary of Ford Motor Company and was founded in Geelong, Victoria in 1925 as an outpost of Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. At that time, Ford Canada was a separate company from Ford USA. Henry Ford had granted the manufacturing rights to Ford in British Empire countries (excepting the UK) to Canadian Falcon 4WD ute
• 1971–1987 GMC Sprint/Caballero The GMC Caballero is a version of the Chevrolet El Camino coupe utility, built and sold by GMC Truck dealers mainly in the United States and Canada during the 1978-1987 model years
• 1978 Ford Australia Ford Australia is the Australian subsidiary of Ford Motor Company and was founded in Geelong, Victoria in 1925 as an outpost of Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. At that time, Ford Canada was a separate company from Ford USA. Henry Ford had granted the manufacturing rights to Ford in British Empire countries (excepting the UK) to Canadian Falcon Cobra ute (only 4 produced)
• Chevrolet SSR (the body was like a coupe utility, and it had the performance option of the Corvette's LS2 The LS series is a new design intended as the only V-8 engine utilized in General Motors' line of RWD cars and trucks. The LS series was a clean sheet design with little in common with the classic Chevrolet small block V8. The LS is all-aluminum and has 6-bolt main bearing caps engine, but it was based on the Trailblazer truck chassis, which means it is more of a sport pickup, like the Ford Lightning The Ford SVT Lightning is a sports/performance version of the F-150 Pickup truck designed by Ford's truck-division and eventually released and marketed by the then-new SVT division. The F-150 Lightning was conceived as a product focus for the personal-use possibilities of the Ford F-Series pick-up truck, combining outstanding handling, comfortable, Dodge Ram SRT-10 The Dodge Ram SRT-10 is a sport pickup truck produced by American automaker Dodge. It was introduced at the January 2002 North American International Auto Show, but was not put into production until 2004. Unlike the previous Ram Trucks, the SRT-10 was built solely for the purpose of speed, or the Chevy Xtreme The Chevrolet S-10 was a compact pickup truck from the Chevrolet marque of General Motors. When it was first introduced in 1982, the GMC version was known as the S-15 and later renamed the GMC Sonoma. A high-performance version was released in 1991 and given the name of GMC Syclone. The truck was also sold by Isuzu as the Hombre from 1996 through 2).

Compact

• Dodge Rampage The Dodge Rampage was a subcompact pickup truck based on Chrysler's L platform. First released as a 1982 model, it was later joined by the similar Plymouth Scamp. It was produced from 1982 to 1984/Plymouth Scamp, part of the Dodge Omni family.
• Volkswagen Caddy , derived from the Volkswagen Golf car.
• Subaru Brat, based on the second-generation Subaru 1600.
• Dodge Ram 50/Plymouth Arrow Truck. (It is debatable whether this vehicle was a true coupe utility, an early example of a compact pickup, or both. Albeit that it was a rear-wheel drive vehicle like typical pickup trucks, and its body design was more like a compact pickup.)
• AMC Cowboy (prototyped, not manufactured; derived from AMC Hornet; prototypes exist in private ownership)
• Volkswagen Pointer Pick Up, derived from the Pointer/Gol, built in Brazil (it is called Volkswagen Saveiro there) and sold also in Mexico
• Chevrolet Montana, derived from the Opel/Chevrolet Corsa, built in Brazil
• Ford Courier, derived from the Ford Fiesta, built in Brazil
• Fiat Strada, derived from the Fiat Palio, built in Brazil

Modern coupé utilities

Modern vehicles of the Coupe utility style include, among others:

• 2003–2006 Subaru Baja, the spiritual successor to the BRAT.
• 2008 Ford Bantam (the body style is more along the lines of a small pickup, but it is built on a car chassis)
• 2008 Nissan 1400 LDV (similar to the Bantam, pickup-style body, car chassis)
• 2008 Proton Arena (aka Jumbuck)
• 2008 Holden Ute (Also sold as Chevrolet Lumina Ute in the Middle East and South Africa)

See also

• Roadster utility

References

Citations

1. ^ media.ford.com - id=9721
2. ^ media.ford.com - id=6669

Bibliography

• According to a Holden press release in 2001.^[1], the coupe utility "is based on a sedan equivalent and has a load bed integral with the cabin"
• Car Exchange magazine article "Ford V8 Mainline Star", June 1981, pp 76–77.
• ABC interview with automotive historian Adrian Ryan^[2]
• The Good Ole Aussie Ute, Larry O'Toole, ISBN 0-949398-26-8

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