The vehicle above is a Ute. It was born in Australia. Our Aussie friends love them, but they never caught on as strongly here in the States. Yes, we have the El Camino and the Ranchero, but those are both long gone. Australian Ute production only ended two years ago. Holden closed up shop and Ford is shoving trucks and Mustangs down dealers throats. It’s a shame, because the Ute seems like a pretty sweet machine.
If they offered a Ute in the States, would you consider one?
The one above is a 2014 Holden VF SSV Redline. It’s based on the Commodore sedan. Under the hood sits a large V8 engine, and you can pair with with a six-speed manual gearbox. This version also gets Brembo brakes at all four corners. With nothing in the bed, you can see why burnouts and brake stands are the order of the day down under.
But all of that entertainment and utility potential wasn’t enough to save the Ute. Well, the car-based Ute. Pickup trucks are also called Utes there. But I only care about the type of modern Ute that we could never buy here. Maybe a trip to Left Hand Utes is in order someday soon?
