And what of the Competition?
The 1964-1967 Chevrolet El Camino came from Chevy's part-car, part-truck El Camino first produced in 1959-60. Chevy's entry into the intermediate field would provide the ideal setting for the revival. When Chevrolet dropped its original El Camino car-based pickup in 1960, few could have guessed the nameplate was actually only going on hiatus. The El Camino would return for 1964 as a smaller entry, based on a type of Chevrolet passenger car that was unknown in 1960. Its combination of moderate size, proven powertrains, and plentiful performance options would make the second-generation El Camino a winner. The 1965 El Camino combined the moderate size of a car with the performance of a truck. See more pictures of Chevrolet cars. Ford, of course, had fired the first round in the sedan-pickup battle with its Ranchero, built from 1957 to 1959 on the full-size Ford platform. Chevrolet responded with its like-sized El Camino in '59, but would build it that way for only two model years.
Meanwhile, Ford was busy transforming the Ranchero into a much smaller offering based on its new-for-1960 Falcon compact. The Falcon Ranchero consistently rang up around 20,000 sales per model year from 1960 to 1963. However, when Chevrolet unveiled a new El Camino in 1964, Ford was immediately put on the defensive. The exact chronology of events and who did what to bring the El Camino revival to market have become murky with the passage of time. However, your author did locate a member of the original concept team who well remembers the story of how the intermediate El Camino came to be.
The 1964-1967 Chevrolet El Camino came from Chevy's part-car, part-truck El Camino first produced in 1959-60. Chevy's entry into the intermediate field would provide the ideal setting for the revival. When Chevrolet dropped its original El Camino car-based pickup in 1960, few could have guessed the nameplate was actually only going on hiatus. The El Camino would return for 1964 as a smaller entry, based on a type of Chevrolet passenger car that was unknown in 1960. Its combination of moderate size, proven powertrains, and plentiful performance options would make the second-generation El Camino a winner. The 1965 El Camino combined the moderate size of a car with the performance of a truck. See more pictures of Chevrolet cars. Ford, of course, had fired the first round in the sedan-pickup battle with its Ranchero, built from 1957 to 1959 on the full-size Ford platform. Chevrolet responded with its like-sized El Camino in '59, but would build it that way for only two model years.
Meanwhile, Ford was busy transforming the Ranchero into a much smaller offering based on its new-for-1960 Falcon compact. The Falcon Ranchero consistently rang up around 20,000 sales per model year from 1960 to 1963. However, when Chevrolet unveiled a new El Camino in 1964, Ford was immediately put on the defensive. The exact chronology of events and who did what to bring the El Camino revival to market have become murky with the passage of time. However, your author did locate a member of the original concept team who well remembers the story of how the intermediate El Camino came to be.