Car or truck?

[Rallywagon]

So VW just unveiled what its calling its first truck, a chopped version of the Atlas SUV. Which of course sent twitter and facebook alight with calls of wrongness. The reason being the 60s VW microbus with the truckbed and the 80s sportruck.
I dont think that right though. The US doesnt have a "ute" as some other countries do, but we did got the sportruck, the brat and the venerable ranchero and el camino. But, as far as i know and have ever heard, these were refered to as cars, not trucks. As well versed in automobilia as i am, in this case, i am using my "phone a friend." Am I wrong in this, are these trucks and not cars? In all cases they are built on car (or microbus) frames, using all the same parts as their car counter parts except what was needed to install the bed. Is that not enough though? Is simply adding a bed to a car enough to call it a truck?

 

[Joey D]

For me, a truck needs to be a body on frame. Everything else is a utility vehicle or I guess a "ute". Although I will concede, I'll probably need to rethink this since I'm guessing more and more trucks will eventually end up unibody.

 

[Rallywagon]

I'm pretty sure that the ranchero and el camino were frame off bodies. But most cars were back then. Conversely, you are right about the unibody. I don't know that it will go as far as to see a unibodied f150, but most new SUVs, which were once on the same frames as their truck counterparts, are now going to unibody. My 14 explorer as an example is unibody.

 

[TheCracker]

If we live in a time where a two tonne, 5-door SUV is called a coupe, then a vehicle that looks and acts like a truck, but is built on a unibody platform can certainly get away with being called a truck/pick-up.

Writing this last line has made me realise that over this side of the Atlantic, a f250 dually and a Bedford Rascal pick-up just get classed as the same thing. Pick-ups. The stigma of a non-body on frame truck not being a real truck is purely a NA construct.

 

[TexRex]

I'm pretty sure that the ranchero and el camino were frame off bodies. But most cars were back then.

That depends on what you mean by "back then." Only the first generation of both (1957-9 Ford and 1959-60 Chevrolet) were body-on-frame, with subsequent generations utilizing the same unibody/subframe construction as the passenger cars from which they were derived, be they the Falcon/Fairlane/Torino-based Rancheros or the Malibu-based El Caminos.

"Pickup" is my preferred designation for those as well as, say, a Silverado, as trucks are big, honking things with more than two axles and are used for transporting large containers attached behind the cab in lieu of a bed.

 

[Rallywagon]

If we live in a time where a two tonne, 5-door SUV is called a coupe, then a vehicle that looks and acts like a truck, but is built on a unibody platform can certainly get away with being called a truck/pick-up.

Writing this last line has made me realise that over this side of the Atlantic, a f250 dually and a Bedford Rascal pick-up just get classed as the same thing. Pick-ups. The stigma of a non-body on frame truck not being a real truck is purely a NA construct.

But, what if every part is from a car, chassis and all, expect for the addition of the bed? No difference in gearing, or suspension or engine. The Australian classification of ute. I might be pressed into calling it a pick up, definitely not going to call it a truck though.

That depends on what you mean by "back then." Only the first generation of both (1957-9 Ford and 1959-60 Chevrolet) were body-on-frame, with subsequent generations utilizing the same unibody/subframe construction as the passenger cars from which they were derived, be they the Falcon/Fairlane/Torino-based Rancheros or the Malibu-based El Caminos.

"Pickup" is my preferred designation for those as well as, say, a Silverado, as trucks are big, honking things with more than two axles and are used for transporting large containers attached behind the cab in lieu of a bed.

Huh. I thought they remained body on frame for longer than that.

 

[Dennisch]

the Malibu-based El Caminos.

Those had a separate chassis up till the 80's.

And the final, 1979, Ranchero was also still body on frame.

Things like the Camaro and Firebird had subframes.

 

[TexRex]

 

[05XR8]

To me a passenger vehicle that resembles a pick up truck, could be called a truck. The little Datsun 630 is a truck.

Is a Suzuki Mighty Boy a truck? I'd say so. Why not this VW?

 

[HuskyGT]

VW has made trucks before. Two based on a unibody build, and one body over frame.

VW Caddy based on the Golf I/Rabbit:

VW Saveiro, based on the VW Gol/Pointer. This one is still made and has had various generations:

And the VW Amarok, which is a true Body-Over-Frame truck:

Nowadays, we rely on what the manufacturer tells us their vehicles really are. I mean, just look at today's SUV's. They are all unibody. Pretty much jacked up cars with big tires. But they call them "off roaders."

 

[ScottPuss20]

In my book, it's a truck.