Utes: The li’lest pickups in the world.
I need my SUV for hauling, says Joe Q. McMansion — Yeah, right. Try a tiny pickup instead!
The Australians call a car with a flatbed a “ute”, short for coupe utility. My favorite, by far, is the Mini Pickup, seen here next to a Hummer stretch:
That pretty much sums up Smallist, there. Anyway, 58,000 Mini Pickups were produced from 1961 to 1982.They’re still around if you know where to look, and with a little talent and elbow grease you can customize them. This guy dropped a Honda vtec into one that previously looked like a planter.
Other utes of note include the Suzuki Mighty Boy, too ugly to picture here. And the Holden Ute, also too ugly to picture here. And of course, the El Camino, definitely too ugly to picture here.
Volkswagen also made some pickups worth noting. Jalopnik reports that they still make one in South Africa, where small pickups are called “bakkies”. Not the prettiest things in the world, though. The older Volkswagen pickups — like the depicted 1963 Transporter — are much more attractive, and air-cooled to boot.
But the smallest pickup has to be the three wheeled Bajaj. Based on the scooter, this thing will haul 1,052 lbs. And it meets California emissions. And, in rickshaw form, it was in Octopussy. I sense a running gag.
And by the way, if you want to see some strange cars, check out haxadecimal.com. They scour ebay motors for the strangest contraptions, and boy do they find them.
March 27th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
el camino, ugly? Are you kidding?
those things are sweet machines.
they’re not particularly small, by any means, however. i’d imagine on average they’re about the size of your compact pickup.
March 27th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
I suppose they’re sweet, but they’re definitely ugly. And they’re sure not small. My brother had one when we were teenagers, painted battleship gray. Thing was huge.