Most Americans know what a Chevrolet El Camino is. It’s the vehicle that seats two, meaning you can take your sister and cousin out for a ride at the same time, and other absolutely side-splitting jokes about inbreeding, ignorance and general hillbilly yee-haw kind of stuff. Florida Man has an El Camino. So do some wanna-be moonshine runners in Tennessee, those godless hooligans in Nebraska, and so on and so forth. America just couldn’t come to terms with the coupe utility. It wasn’t a pickup truck and it wasn’t a car, so it made many brains begin to ache and when something doesn’t conform to the norm, it must be excluded.
You all have seen my taste in cars over the years. I dig utes. I don’t need a truck for all but the most serious uses, like car hauling, or bringing home a bed full of concrete pavers, lumber and all of the ibuprofen that I’m gonna need after I scratch off “home renovation” from the honey-do list. 95% of the time, I just need the space and usefulness of a ute. But El Caminos are classics, Rancheros are nice if you dig Fords, and with notable exception to Mike Copeland’s own personal example, the Dodge Rampage/Plymouth Scamp just doesn’t cut it in my eyes. Then again, Copeland’s machine is only hauling ass, though he is hauling it by the ton…
So what to do? Import a ute from Australia fits the bill. Sure, everything you’re allowed to register in the States is 25 years old or older, but if you want a car with a bed and aren’t ready to hack a Charger apart with Smyth Performance on the line, then that’s your final answer. And this VR Holden Ute isn’t a bad call. Holden 5.0L V8, five-speed manual and looks meant to emulate the HSV Maloo that would’ve fit right in at Sport Truck Magazine at the time should equate for a fun experience, right up there with other modern-classic iron like IROC-Z Camaros and hot model G-bodies. And happy day, you won’t have to fight with importers, as this car is already sitting in California, awaiting adoption.
People will notice the Holden everywhere you go. And they’ll all have the same questions. Answer the ones about the car politely. Answer the others as you see fit.
