They had a 1957 Plymouth, 1967 Mustang and 1969 Chevelle SS. He comes from a car family, growing up on his dad’s car stories. And for what it’s worth, Patrick expresses his rebellion by keeping these two old-timers still going strong – a 1970 Chevrolet El Camino and a 1971 Ford F-100. Old cars you could repair almost indefinitely. Even sadder is the fact that cars and trucks are designed with planned obsolescence – usually around the 5-to-7 year mark for most models.
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Patrick’s 1971 Ford F-100Ĭurrent car culture treats automobiles no different than a toaster – if it breaks and it’s not under warranty, it goes in the bin. Thankfully, there are people like Patrick Modugno, who still keep these alive and on the road. Patrick has a weird obsession with antiques that still work as designed, half a century later. Patrick’s 1970 Chevrolet El Camino in Madonna Innįor a small cult following however, the El Camino was a do-everything vehicle – a daily driver, a work truck and a Sunday drag car. The lack of rear seats and smaller bed didn’t resonate with enough buyers to keep it alive and ultimately, the El Camino was discontinued in 1987. It was good at a time when small pickups didn’t exist, but after Chevrolet introduced the S-10 compact truck, it lost favor with consumers. Over two decades the El Camino had its ups and downs. In 1964, Chevrolet reintroduced the El Camino based on the chassis of the Chevelle and the first SS performance version arrived in 1968 powered by the 396 Chevy Big-Block V8. Sadly, the market was not right and it only lived a couple of years. It was the most flamboyant truck on the market, taking design cues from the Bel Air. 1959 Chevrolet El Camino – Source: Wikipedia The Ranchero was received well and GM decided they wanted their own car-truck too. In 1957, Ford launched the Ranchero and started a new market in the US. It turns out, people in Australia and New Zealand had a great need for a vehicle that can do both, even if not the best in either comfort or utility. The story is a farmer’s wife wrote to Ford Australia and asked for a vehicle that could drive her to church and her husband’s pigs to the market. The first utes appeared around the 1930s in Australia, where many strange things live. Some of these had leather interiors, though no rear seats. At the same time, a ute retains all comfort and luxury features of your favorite daily driver. The cabin and bed form a single structure, able to withstand reasonable loads while weighing a third less than a real truck. It’s built over a sedan or station wagon chassis. The difference is a ute is primarily a passenger car that also has a cargo bed. It’s a coupe-utility vehicle, or a “ute” if you ask anybody in Australia and New Zealand. The El Camino is not really a pickup truck.
![el camino car 2020 el camino car 2020](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ad/03/6c/ad036c41599546f05ce945aa1d090d82.jpg)
Patrick Modugno follows a very pure philosophy about cars that I very much appreciate.īut before we continue, it’s fitting to say a few words about the El Camino and what makes it a significant vehicle. The owner of this particular one is a prime example of how trucks are meant to be used. But if I ever need one, the El Camino would be a strong contender. It’s quirky and in my book, that means cool.
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It doesn’t look like a pickup truck, yet there it is – a bed. Well, there’s an exception for everything, right? In my case, that’s the Chevrolet El Camino. So why would I then write an article about not one, but two pickup trucks? Patrick’s1970 Chevrolet El Camino in Monterey It’s just not pickup trucks I like to burn mine for.
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But that’s just me.ĭon’t get me wrong, you’re free to burn your money whichever way you like. And I think they’re kind of ugly, especially newer ones.