guionM

It's not because any utility is lost.

It's because many people here have an extremely narrow interpretation.

Very few here seem to be able to grasp the concept of something with a bed in back not actually being a traditional "truck" (at least outside of the EPA... which classified Magnums & PT Crusers as trucks), but actually car based.

Anthony clearly sees the hypocracy here.

There's plenty of talk about how a vehicle with a bed "must" have 4 doors to be practical. Yet, here we are on a site that sets one of the least practical vehicles in the world. The idea of a 2 door vehicle with a bed is shot down by some here as useless, yet the idea of a more practical 4 door Camaro would most people here slitting their wrists. Anthony is 100% correct in seeing this.

We look at anything with a bed on it and associate it with a big, unruly truck with an oversided interior so we can stuff our oversided families and friends in. To us a bed in the back represents towing a small oceanliner, and climbing boulders the size of small houses.

Oddly, even when GM created the Silverado SS, complete with extended cab and AWD, we whined here that it should have been a regular cab and 2wd.

No wonder he's confused.

The Ute/El Camino is a car. It has a bed. It actually drives like a car, not gives an illusion that it drives like a car (the laws of physics still applies to vehicles with high centres of gravity and weigh nearly 3 tons).

It's easy to park in regular sized parking spaces without stationing a lookout at the rear. You don't need electronic nannies to keep you from flipping over when you get into trouble, and infact, you can challenge other vehicles when the roads turn twisty.

Yet, at the same time... if you need to pick up supplies for the shop or garden supply store, move large furniture from one apartment or another for self, family or friends (especially without the need to hop up in the bed to tie it down), and still want to dress up and use the Valet Parking at Ruth Chris or high end club without looking like a complete bumpkin...especially if you either live alone or with a significant other... the Ute/El Camino suddenly makes more sense than getting a huges truck that won't fit in your garage (unless you have a small barn).

If practicality is one's bag, then by logic one shouldn't be driving Camaros, you should be driving G8 sedans, Charger sedans, or even find a good used GXP Grand Prix or Impala SS.

Fact is, if you're an apartment dweller, have a weekly fuel budget that's smaller than your rent or morgage, and commute to work, even a V8 El Camino makes far more sense than a V6 Silverado 1500... fuel economy, size, drivability, actually having useful capacity over excess capacity you simply aren't going to use.

But again, there's that narrow interpretation......

Perhaps some here see a Ute as a threat to the notion of a "traditional" pickup truck. How else do you explain overflowing enthusiasm for supercharged Vettes and Camaros that aren't going to sell more than a few thousand per year, yet dissmissive and convulsed arguments against a vehicle that is fantastic in every way, but simply has a useful bed in the back?

I guarantee you, if this were a shortened Holden Commodore with no back seat whatsoever (ie: the original AMC AMX) and a GTO-like small trunk, you wouldn't hear a peep about practicality.

Z28Wilson

Ok Guy, so bottom line - would YOU buy a U.S. Ute that sat two people? I mean what is the market for people looking to put down $30k+ for a two seat car with a bed? Kind of limited I would imagine?

Getting the smallest, lightest and sportiest Ute here as the El Camino is awesome for the handful of us here. But I think we also recognize that such a vehicle is destined to fail. I don't care if it's 2-door only, but as others have said, 4 seats are important if you want the car to be around more than 3 years. That's just the reality of it. But perhaps it's supposed to be a 2 or 3 year niche car over here?

Interesting point about the Silverado SS, but at the time, what a lot of guys here really wanted was a direct Ford Lightning competitor. What we got was an extended cab truck but more to the point it had a run-of-the-mill 6.0 truck motor and weaksauce performance compared to the Ford. With that combination Silverado SS was a failure just as everyone predicted. But now, there's no competition in the market right now for Ute. Ute/El Camino can set the bar wherever it wants at this point, and with an LS motor it will already have performance in spades. In order to maximize its appeal, 4 seats are a must.

Just how I see it anyway.

Caps94ZODG

I think peopel are getting worried...because this is one area that GM woudl not be playing catchup on..there is no EL Camino to better..like the PT cruiser, like the Mustang like everything else..there is nothing to compare to the competition.

The Elky will be the only car like it out there for now new..THAT might bring the people in on sheer cool factor..and it could fit.

Bring the 2 door version JUST LIKE THE SVT Raptor..thats selling like hotcakes..bring the El Camino here first as a 2 door let it sell on novelty..then intro a 4 door to keep the momentum going..

Mikes25thAnnTA

This.

You have to have some massive blinders on if you think the El Camino can come even remotely close to 5,000 units/month with only two seats. No one is saying the extra seats are mandatory for everyone buying it, just that the option should exist for the majority of people who need/want them.

You use a strong argument that it's a car. Well, you're right, it is. Remind me again how strong the market is for cars without a back seat. Oh, it has a bed? Most two seaters have a trunk big enough to fit your groceries or other every day needs, so why aren't more apartment dwellers riding around in them?

People are making reasonable observations and instead of hearing our side you're just saying we're hypocrites using dismissive and convoluted arguments while YOU are the one guilty of doing that exact thing. You're dismissing every point we're making because you have a differing opinion. No argument, just that you're right and for some reason you're on a site where nearly everyone else is wrong. Must be our extremely narrow interpretation.

In the real world the vast majority of people see the El Camino as a truck. I know it's a car, but ask the average person (NOT a car enthusiast) what it is and you'll get an overwhelming response that it's a truck. A two seat truck.

I'd LOVE to see the El Camino come back. I think the current Ute looks fantastic and would be thrilled to see it sitting in Chevy dealerships. Without a back seat however I would not be interested at all. I have a family and no use for a new vehicle that can only be used when my family is not with me.

I'd get great use out of a four door Ute though. I work from home and have need for a truck, but need room for my kids to sit. Not for towing, not for heavy loads, but for large loads the typical car trunk can't accommodate. I'd be thrilled (THRILLED) to have a four door car with a bed, decent gas mileage, good looks, and an LSx. No doubt about it, my perfect vehicle.

Caps94ZODG

that argument is the exact opposite of why I would want a 2 door. 2 seater. I have a family and I have a 4 door GXP. If I got a work type of truck it woudl have to be a 2 seater. but that my personal choice..

jg95z28

FWIW, if GM would simply take a 1LT Camaro, stretch the wheelbase (slightly) and replace the trunk with a small bed and rebadge it "El Camino", I'd consider buying.

zq8colorado04

You mean like this

jg95z28

No, that's just a Camaro nose grafted to a Ute. I still want the Camaro's rear seats.

zq8colorado04

It looks good as a 2 seater, just doesn't look right as a 4 seater unless it gets a little lift.

HAZ-Matt

Maybe they should build the Denali XT instead...

I don't know how small or large the El Camino market would be. I imagine it would be a small fraction of coupe or small truck buyers. Neither of those markets are tremendously large. But it it doesn't cost GM too much money to put it in the showroom then why not?

I think an extended cab version might be pretty neat... split the difference with some rear seats and the suicide doors.

King Moose SS

That is exactly what it is suppose to be. Every Holden that has made it shore to the U.S has been a 2 or 3 year niche vehicle. This generation of Holdens are due for update soon enough and will probably be revised in 3 years.

GM should not bring the 4-door model, it will be a fluke and failure. Many of you talk that you would buy a 4-door UTE, but the fact of the matter is you wouldn't. Because if you needed a 4-door truck, you most likely need a truck, even if its a mid-size. And if you need 4-door car, you most likely aren't looking at a car with a bed. Again look at the Subaru Baja, a sales disaster for Subaru.

The argument for a coupe with 4 seats isn't even logical. Just look on this forums, everyone complains about the backseat space in the Camaro, the UTE would be no different. If you need to haul people you will be looking at a different car.



That is me, thus why I will purchase this vehicle under 2 conditions, it needs a V8 (almost guaranteed), and it needs to be a manual transmission (I'm worried about this part )

Mikes25thAnnTA

The issue for me is that a truck isn't needed most days. I need it once or twice a week for those things, which is why I'd prefer something I could use as a kid hauler most days, but can accommodate me on the days I need it to be something more. Also, with me working from home I often have the kids when I need to load/unload things and it would be difficult to be forced to work around my wife's work schedule to be able to do that. Having a third vehicle isn't an option for me (garage is my work space and driveway only fits two cars), so I'm forced to drive a gas guzzling truck as a family vehicle.

The Ute would give me the gas mileage I'd want in a family car with the hauling space I sometimes need in a truck. Win/win for me.

Z28Wilson

I don't see that much, everyone knows what they're getting with a Camaro. The back seat in the Camaro is even more claustrophobic now because of the way the car is styled. Heck, the front seats in the Camaro induce claustrophobia.

So by all means, import your 2-door, 2-seat El Camino for a couple years. If you thought the SSR was a success, it'll probably go along those lines. Probably slightly better because of its price.

formula79

How many standard cab trucks sell nowadays?

King Moose SS

It's one thing to have back seat. It's another thing to have a family be put into that back seat. No one in there right mind will purchase a Camaro or a 2+2 UTE to carry around people, so why try force a car into a market it's not intended to compete in. This car is going to be a niche vehicle, and it's only going to sell to that niche, if you try to expand it, it's not going to work.

And please don't bring up the SSR argument, you know exactly why that car was a sales disaster and it's not even comparable to a El Camino other than they both have 2 doors.