Short for "utility" vehicle
This article is about usage of the term "ute" and coupe utility models produced in Australia. For the coupe utility body style in general, see
coupe utility
. For the Native American tribe, see
Ute people
.
A
ute
(
YOOT
), originally an abbreviation for "utility" or "
coupe utility
", is a term used in
Australia
and
New Zealand
to describe vehicles with a
tonneau
behind the passenger compartment, that can be driven with a regular driver's licence.
Traditionally, the term referred to vehicles built on passenger car chassis and with the cargo tray integrated with the passenger body (
coupe utility
vehicles). However, present-day usage of the term "ute" in Australia and New Zealand has expanded to include any vehicle with an open cargo area at the rear,
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
which would be called a
pickup truck
in other countries.
Etymology
[
edit
]
Historically, the term "ute" (short for '
utility vehicle
') has been used to describe a 2-door vehicle based on a passenger car chassis, such as the Ford Ranchero,
Holden Commodore
, Australian
Ford Falcon
,
Chevrolet El Camino
and
Subaru BRAT
. Australian-produced utes were traditionally
rear-wheel drive
and with the cargo tray integrated with the passenger body (as opposed to a
pickup truck
, where the cargo tray is separated from the passenger body).
In the 21st century, the term has become more broadly used, for any vehicle with a cargo tray at the rear (which would be called a
pickup truck
in other countries).
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
History
[
edit
]
The first Australian ute: a 1934 Ford Australia Coupe Utility
Roadster Utility: a 1927 Chevrolet National
The concept of a two-door vehicle based on a passenger car chassis with a tray at the rear began in the United States in the 1920s with the
roadster utility
(also called "roadster pickup" or "light delivery") models.
[12]
These vehicles were soft-top convertibles, compared with the fixed steel roof used by most utes.
Ford Australia
was the first company to produce an Australian Coupe ute, which was released in 1934.
[13]
This was the result of a 1932 letter from the unnamed wife of a farmer in Australia asking for "a vehicle to go to church in on a Sunday and which can carry our pigs to market on Mondays".
[13]
In response, Ford designer
Lew Bandt
designed a two-door body with a tray at the rear for the American
Ford Model A
chassis, and the model was named "coupe utility".
[13]
When the Australian version was displayed in the US, Henry Ford nicknamed it the "Kangaroo Chaser". A convertible version, known as the
roadster utility
was produced in limited numbers by Ford in the 1930s.
[14]
[15]
In 1951,
Holden
released a "utility" model, which was based on the
48?215 sedan
. With both Ford and Holden now producing utes, this started the long-standing tradition of Australian-designed 2 door vehicles with a tray at the back, based on a passenger-car sedan chassis.
[16]
Cultural impact
[
edit
]
2010 HSV Maloo R8
Australia has developed a culture around utes, particularly in rural areas with events known as
ute musters
. It is common, particularly in rural areas, to customise utes in the "
B&S
style" with
bullbars
, spotlights, oversized
mudflaps
, exhaust pipe flaps and
UHF
aerials.
[17]
Since 1998, the "Deni Ute Muster" has been held in the town of
Deniliquin
, which has become a major attraction for the area.
[18]
[19]
High performance utes were also sold in Australia, including the
FPV F6
and the
HSV Maloo
.
[20]
The 2017 HSV GTSR Maloo is powered by a 6.2 L (378 cu in) supercharged V8 engine producing 435 kW (583 hp).
[21]
[22]
The Australian
V8 Utes
is a racing series based on lightly modified production Holden and Ford utes.
Australian models
[
edit
]
Ford
[
edit
]
The ute variant of the
Ford Falcon
was produced from 1961 to 2016.
[12]
For the first 38 years of production, the design used a coupe ute style, but with the introduction of the 1999
AU Falcon
, the Falcon ute switched to a cargo bed that is separate from the cabin, while still retaining the Falcon sedan front-end and cabin.
[23]
The cargo bed was separated so that both "utility" and "
cab chassis
" body styles could be produced together.
Utes produced by Ford in Australia:
In addition, the
Ford Ranger (T6)
was designed by Ford Australia, but built elsewhere. It was the second best selling new car in Australia in 2019
[25]
and 2020.
[26]
Holden
[
edit
]
From 1951 to 1968, the "utility" was sold as part of the
48?215 to HR
model ranges.
[27]
From 1968 to 1984 the "utility" was included in the
Holden Belmont/Kingswood
range. In 1984, Holden discontinued the ute variant and it was not part of the
VB
to
VL
Commodore ranges. The model returned in 1990 based on the
VN Commodore
chassis and remained part of the model range until Australian production ended in 2017. In 2000, the Holden Commodore was the first Australian ute to feature independent rear suspension,
[28]
the Ford Falcon ute retained a
live axle
rear suspension design until production ended in 2016.
[29]
In 2008, the
VE Commodore Ute
was proposed to be exported to North America as the
Pontiac G8 ST
. At least one prototype was built, but GM decided not to proceed with production due to the Global Financial Crisis.
[30]
[31]
Utes produced by Holden or its parent company
General Motors
in Australia:
Holden also sells rebadged utes produced elsewhere. They include:
Chrysler
[
edit
]
1970-1971 Chrysler Valiant VG Ute
Models:
British Leyland
[
edit
]
Models:
Hillman
[
edit
]
Models:
Asian models
[
edit
]
Isuzu
[
edit
]
2013 Isuzu D-Max crew cab chassis
Isuzu sells the
Isuzu D-Max
in Australia. Previously, this vehicle was sold rebadged as the Holden Rodeo.
Mazda
[
edit
]
2015 Mazda BT-50
Mazda has sold the
Mazda BT-50
in Australia since 2006.
Mitsubishi
[
edit
]
2017 Mitsubishi Triton cab chassis
Mitsubishi has sold the
Mitsubishi Triton
in Australia since 1978. In 2019, it was the fifth best selling new car in Australia.
[25]
Nissan
[
edit
]
Between 1971 and 2008 Nissan sold the
Nissan Sunny Truck
as a ute in Australia. Since 1985, Nissan has sold the
Nissan Navara
pickup style ute in Australia.
Proton
[
edit
]
Between 2002 and 2010, the
Proton Jumbuck
was sold in Australia as a ute.
Subaru
[
edit
]
1989 Subaru Brumby
Subaru
produced the Subaru
Brumby
, a small
AWD
model derived from the second generation
Leone
. It was sold between 1978 and 1993 and known as the BRAT, Shifter, MV, and Targa in countries other than Australia. It is relatively well known due to its long production life and use in popular culture. It was built in Japan, but never sold there.
Suzuki
[
edit
]
From 1983 to 1988,
Suzuki
built a ute version of their
Alto
kei car called the
Mighty Boy
. It was sold in Japan, Australia, and
Cyprus
.
Toyota
[
edit
]
1962-1967 Toyota Crown utility
1962 Toyota Corona pickup
Between 1960 and 1970,
Toyota
sold a ute variant of the second- and third-generation
Corona
with an integral bed. It was sold alongside its eventual replacement, the
Toyota Hilux
, for a couple of years before it was discontinued. Toyota also sold a locally produced
CKD
ute based on the second- and third-generation
Crown
(also known as S40 and S50), assembled by
Australian Motor Industries
.
Toyota currently sells a ute variant of the
Toyota Land Cruiser (J70)
. In 2011, the
Toyota Hilux
was Australia's highest selling ute.
[34]
European models
[
edit
]
2017-2020 Mercedes X-Class
Mercedes-Benz
[
edit
]
Between 2017 and 2020, the
Mercedes-Benz X-Class
was sold in Australia. It used the chassis of the Nissan Navara.
Volkswagen
[
edit
]
Volkswagen has sold the
Volkswagen Amarok
, a pickup style ute since 2010.
From 1979 to 2004, Volkswagen sold the
Caddy
, a pickup based upon the
Volkswagen Golf
platform.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Governments Should Purchase 4-Star Utes"
.
Australian Automobile Association
. 2008-03-27. Archived from
the original
on 2016-03-10
. Retrieved
2019-02-28
.
- ^
"Ute buyers guide"
.
New Zealand Automobile Association
. 2016-05-30. Archived from
the original
on 2018-11-14
. Retrieved
2019-02-28
.
- ^
"Why does ISIS have so many Toyota Hilux utes?"
.
1 News
. 2015-10-07. Archived from
the original
on 2018-11-13
. Retrieved
2019-02-28
.
- ^
Woods, Emily (2017-05-12).
"Bumbling thieves smash brick wall, steal safe"
.
The Sydney Morning Herald
. Retrieved
2019-02-28
.
- ^
Hendery, Simon (2017-03-31).
"Stolen WorkSafe ute causes mayhem across Hastings as it flees police"
.
Stuff.co.nz
. Retrieved
2019-02-28
.
- ^
"Utes and SUV's Australia's most popular cars"
.
Network Ten
. 2017-08-10. Archived from
the original
on 2017-08-10
. Retrieved
2019-02-28
.
- ^
O'Carroll, Damien (2015-12-22).
"Driven ranks the utes available in New Zealand"
.
Driven NZ
. Retrieved
2019-02-28
.
- ^
Stanford, James (2012-07-10).
"Dodge Ram: big US ute set for Australia"
.
CarAdvice
. Retrieved
2019-02-28
.
- ^
"Used Subaru Brumby review: 1984-1994"
.
CarsGuide
. 2009-01-29
. Retrieved
2019-02-28
.
- ^
Lewis, Ryan (2017-10-04).
"Top 5 best-selling utes of September 2017"
.
WhichCar
. Retrieved
2019-02-28
.
- ^
"Top 5 Utes 4wd"
.
CarAdvice
. Retrieved
2019-02-28
.
- ^
a
b
"Automotive History ? The Aussie Ute"
.
Curbside Classic
. 2016-07-31
. Retrieved
2018-11-05
.
- ^
a
b
c
Warner, Gary (1999-08-08).
"Who built the first utility ? where ? when..."
Fastlane.com.au
. Archived from
the original
on 2010-04-12
. Retrieved
2010-04-01
.
- ^
"History of the Roadster Ute"
.
Roadster Ute
. Archived from
the original
on 2012-10-09
. Retrieved
2012-10-20
.
- ^
"A History of the American Pickup Truck"
.
PickupTruck.com
. Archived from
the original
on 2008-11-20.
- ^
Short, Mark (2007-08-22).
"History of the Holden ute"
.
Drive.com.au
. Archived from
the original
on 2019-03-01
. Retrieved
2019-02-28
.
- ^
Courtney, Pip
(2001-10-13).
"Deniliquin taps into 'Ute fever'
"
.
Landline
.
ABC
. Archived from
the original
on 2002-06-18
. Retrieved
2019-02-28
.
- ^
"Deni Ute Muster"
.
Deniutemuster.com.au
. Retrieved
2018-11-06
.
- ^
Foster, Ally (2018-09-28).
"A look inside Australia's wildest festival in outback NSW"
.
news.com.au
. Retrieved
2018-11-06
.
- ^
"Holden HSV Maloo R8 is World Fastest Ute"
.
Worldcarfans
. 2007-07-21. Archived from
the original
on 2007-10-14
. Retrieved
2009-04-25
.
- ^
"2017 HSV GTSR MALOO (base) Pricing and Specs"
.
Carsguide.com.au
. Retrieved
2018-11-06
.
- ^
"HSV GTSR Maloo (2017)"
.
Netcarshow.com
. Retrieved
2018-11-06
.
- ^
Hawley, Jonathan (2010-05-28).
"The Creation of an Aussie Icon"
.
Drive.com.au
. Archived from
the original
on 2011-07-22
. Retrieved
2010-06-29
.
- ^
Traugott, Jay (2012-05-12).
"Unique of the Week: 1974 Ford Falcon XB Ute"
.
CarBuzz
. Retrieved
2019-02-28
.
- ^
a
b
"Top 100 new cars sold in Australia in 2019"
.
Carsguide
. Retrieved
5 September
2020
.
- ^
"VFACTS: Australia's new vehicle sales at their lowest since 2003"
.
CarExpert
. 2021-01-06
. Retrieved
2021-01-18
.
- ^
"Holden Ute Classics"
.
Classic Holden Cars
. Retrieved
2018-03-18
.
- ^
"Buying Used: Holden V6 Ute VU-VZ (2000-2006)"
.
CarSales
. 2012-03-20
. Retrieved
2018-03-18
.
- ^
Blackburn, Richard (2008-05-09).
"Ford says new FG Falcon ute has power, payload edge"
.
Drive.com.au
. Archived from
the original
on 2013-10-24.
- ^
Gall, Jared (2009-01-06).
"2010 Pontiac G8 ST Pickup Killed"
.
CarAndDriver.com
. Retrieved
2018-11-08
.
- ^
LaReau, Jamie (2009-01-05).
"Pontiac G8 ST sport truck killed by GM"
.
Autoweek
. Retrieved
2018-11-08
.
- ^
"Valiant VG Technical Specifications"
.
Uniquecarsandparts.com.au
. Retrieved
2018-11-08
.
- ^
"The new Hillman de luxe Utility".
Power Farming in Australia and New Zealand
: 100. August 1956.
- ^
Colquhoun, Steve (2011-10-14).
"Best Ute"
.
Drive.com.au
. Archived from
the original
on 2011-12-23.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Utes
.