On October 16, 1958, Chevrolet began to sell a car-truck hybrid
that it called the El Camino. Inspired by the Ford Ranchero,
which had already been on the market for two years, the El
Camino was a combination sedan-pickup truck built on the
Impala body, with the same “cat’s eye” taillights and dramatic
rear fins.
It was, ads trilled, “the most beautiful thing that ever shouldered
a load!” “It rides and handles like a convertible,” Chevy said,
“yet hauls and hustles like the workingest thing on wheels.”
