Chevy El Camino, The Mullet On Wheels That Became A Cult Classic

By | May 24, 2021

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The 1971 El Camino. Source: oldcarbrochures.com

The Chevrolet El Camino combined a pickup truck with a sedan, a feat of automotive design that many in the car-buying population found baffling. Was this innovation, or just indecision? Like many things that were controversial in their day, the El Camino developed a core of loyal fans, and is now cherished by some as a classic.

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The first El Camino. (Autoinfluence)

Cilantro, Neil Diamond, Vegemite, and the El Camino rank as the most polarizing cases in human history. Long before the dawn of the internet, when more than the binary options of love or hate existed, the El Camino split car enthusiasts and the casual observer alike. The first version of the El Camino resembled a truck that mated with an Impala. Chevrolet didn’t invent the car truck mash-up, credit Ford and an Australian pig farmer’s wife for that. But the El Camino became the first ménage à truck to capture the attention of the nation, or at least its derision. This is the evolution of “the most beautiful thing that ever shouldered a load!” at least according to Chevy.