Hey Jalops

User Crazygutgut here.
I was driving down 19th Ave (in San Francisco) on Saturday July 5th when I spotted the "Escachero." I wonder if the guy is a fan, cause he spraypainted Escachero on the doors.

Most of the car is a 90ish Ford escort. the back of the cab seems to be made from a 60's Chevy or Ford pickup. the fins I'm not sure what those came off of, they looked pretty rough, but he did have "Coupe de Ville" scripts on the fins.

I still gotta get picks of the 1977 Honda Civic-amino that is driving around my hood, too....

After you see an ad like this, how can you resist the Goggomobil? Goggo! Goggo! Every day, you look at your Goggo-free garage and sigh wistfully (but secretly feel relieved that it's impossible to find a Goggomobil project). But wait! What have we here? Yes, it's a genuine 1966 Goggomobil TS 250, available for under four grand! Now you can have your own tiny German two-stroker, and all you need to do is finish the "necessary COMPLETE RESTAURATION" the seller had planned to do when he or she bought it. Don't worry about hard-to-find parts, because the seller says "As far as I can tell it's COMPLETE - ALL the parts for completion seem to be there including a complete owners/shop manual in German." See, everything you need, though the disclaimers "as far as I can tell" and "seems to be there" might cause a tiny bit of trepidation in the hearts of our more suspicious readers. There's rust. The engine "turns freely" (possibly because all the rods are lying in a heap in the oil pan). How hard could it be? Thanks to UDMAN and Mad_Science for the tip!

Come on, a 250cc engine? That's hella small! You need more than 15 ponies moving your ride these days, and you also need a truck bed! Obviously, the El Camino is the cartruck for a discerning sophisticate such as yourself, but where's the hell? El Caminos are easy projects! But hold on there- what if you were to drop the drivetrain of a Buick Grand National into a G-body El Camino? No, wait- what if you were to graft the front bodywork and interior from a Grand National onto that El Camino, then add boost until the transmission begs for mercy? Why, then you'd have something much like this 1979 El Camino with 87 Turbo Buick Everything, that's what! In one of our all-time favorite pieces of car-ad description, the seller estimates that this project is 87% COMPLETE. Not 84%, mind you, or even 88%. The engine came out of an alleged 10-second Grand National, runs on race gas only, and has already fried the unnamed automatic transmission (which "NEEDS WORK"). Also unnamed is the "bulletproof" posi rearend, which we sure hope is at least a GM 12-bolt. The line "FUEL LINE busted and i took front bumper off to try to fit a front mount intercooler (was not sucsesfull)." is somewhat disconcerting, but no doubt you'll unravel that mystery and oh-so-many others with this project. Then you'll be King of the Hoons!

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In addition to the news on the name, we're hearing from our friends at G8 Nation that Pontiac is now considering an additional power plant offering aside from the 361 HP 6.0-liter V8 power plant that is found in the Pontiac G8 GT. It's no surprise then that this new engine would be the same 3.6-liter 256 HP V6 found in the G8 V6 sedan, giving it the same 17/25 mpg fuel economy as the V6 sedan.

Yes, yes, we know the arguments for why the V6 engine makes sense. It has something to do with commercial viability. Whatever. We want a sports ute, and we want it now.

So while it really doesn't make us all that happy to hear V6's may make it back under the hood, we'll be more than willing to ignore that if the name is what we always thought it should be — Pontiac G8 El Camino.

Last week while driving through my old neighborhood in Anaheim, CA, I saw this parked over in an industrial parking lot. Yes I know it's cheating but given the expiration date of the plate this car has not moved in a while (Expired in 94). It looks factory but I have been having a hard time finding an example online to verify. Anyways, onto what it is... THis appears to be an 84ish Holden Stateman Caprice. Basically a Aussieamino on US soil. This one appears to be pretty well optioned for a "truck" of its vintage but that just makes it a little bit cooler.

Here's my junkyard find from Big M auto recycling in Williams, CA. This past weekend I drove up to Thunderhill raceway for a CSRG vintage racing event. I've lived in the Bay Area my entire life, and my mother's family is from Redding, so I know Interstate 5 pretty well. Anyway, the halfway mark between my house and my grandfather's house is near the town of Williams, which means that I've been stopping at Granzella's Deli and Sports Bar for sandwiches and bathroom breaks since I was a baby. Driving up I-5 on my own this past weekend, I got lunch at Granzella's and took the opportunity to look around Williams a little bit. Now, if you had looked off to your left whileapproaching Williams from the south, you might have noticed a junkyard filled with old American iron. Well, I assume YOU would, as would any true Jalop, and I sure as hell did. So this weekend, after getting a sandwich at Granzella's, I headed a mile down old Highway 99W to get a closer look at the junkyard I had previously seen only from the Interstate. I won't catalog the awesomeness that fills this lot, but suffice it to say that if Detroit made it between the war and the Malaise era, you can find it here. Need a flathead Packard straight-eight? They have several. Looking for a motor for your hot rod? They can hook you up with an 8BA Flathead, or a Y-block, or a Nailhead, or an early Hemi, or a small-block Chevy (of course) and they can find you as many Stromberg 97s as you'll need to feed the beast. Looking for parts for your Edsel? They have several from all three years, from Pacer sedans to Citation convertibles to Ranger wagons, in all states of decay and disassembly. I found fifteen Edsels before I stopped counting. They even have an early '30s Franklin. A FRANKLIN, for Pete's sake, the air-cooled sedan that Charles Lindbergh drove.

But one car at Big M truly stopped me in my tracks. The bulbous fenders and P-38-style tailfins told me it was an early '50s Cadillac, but this one was different. It wasn't an everyday sedan or a nice fastback or even a hearse. It was, in fact, a Caddymino. > At first I thought it was a funeral home's old "flower car," the kind that travels behind the hearse with a bed full of flowers. Some of them even had movable bed floors so the funeral home could make it look like the bed was completely full of flowers even when few people had bothered to honor the deceased. But no, the welds were obviously not done by a professional. Moreover, what was left of the floor was from a regular passenger car, spare tire well and all. This was clearly a homemade Caddymino, made by some sort of Proto-Jalop from the mid-to-late twentieth century. As a wannabe motoring journalist, I considered it my duty to share this amazing archaeological find with the world, and here it is.

Picture 1: I don't know the year, and I couldn't get the hood open to see whether the V8 was of the flathead or overhead-valve variety. But even if it doesn't have a motor, the yard has plenty of 331- to 390-inch Caddy motors that should fit right in.

Picture 2: The welds along the top of the fenders were never ground down, but it still looks like someone put a lot of thought and time into this conversion.

Picture 3: The interior is shot, but a bench seat from an old pickup will do wonders for it. The Keystone Light can is a nice touch.

Picture 6: Not the Caddymino— this Ford F1 truck apparently belonged to an animal feed dealer in Berkeley. It comes complete with a "Swingin' A's" sticker from way back when.

Picture 7: Again, not related to the Caddymino— just a sample of the awesomeness that you'll find in this lot. Enjoy! -Armand4

TOP GEAR AUSTRALIA — HOSTS REVEALED After an Australia-wide call out, 4,000 DVD applications and months of interviews and screen tests, SBS and Freehand are pleased to announce the hosts for Top Gear Australia - Charlie Cox, Warren Brown, Steve Pizzati and of course, The Stig.

Charlie Cox was a broadcast journalist with a number of Sydney radio stations before moving to England to continue his career in radio and to race cars. After winning a number of British titles and surviving a spectacular crash, Charlie turned his talents to presenting and commentating motorsport on the BBC.

Charlie is known for his colourful commentary and currently commentates and presents the Moto GP for the BBC. He is also director of six media companies in the UK and Australia including DMG Radio.

Warren Brown is an award winning cartoonist and regular motoring columnist with The Daily Telegraph. The outgoing adventurer has a passion for history and motoring and combining his two passions he came up with the idea to retrace the 1907 raid from Peking to Paris in 100 year-old cars. Warren has his own small collection of historic cars which include two 1920s fire engines, a WWII jeep, a 1925 Bean motor car and an armoured vehicle. He plays the five string banjo and ukulele and dreams of being James Bond.

Steve Pizzati is the youngest member of the cast and calls himself a 'gun for hire'. Steve is an advanced driving instructor and race driver for Porsche Australia and is part of the International Audi driver training team in Melbourne. He freelances as a motoring journalist and photography stunt driver, is a self confessed science geek and was on track to become a jet pilot but was knocked back in the final round due to poor eyesight. His love of fast machines continues.

And The Stig. About him, we'll say no more.

SBS Director of Content, Matt Campbell said, "Nailing down a cast of 3 from 4000 applicants was no mean feat but we are very happy with the outcome. We have chosen three totally different and entertaining personalities who have a natural chemistry that works! We thank all the applicants from around Australia for baring their souls in the audition process and we're confident our audience will like the end result."

Top Gear Australia is the first of a global roll out of the BBC Worldwide franchise and Adam Waddell, Managing Director of Top Gear for BBC Worldwide says:

"A show like Top Gear doesn't resonate with a huge global audience just because people love cars. The world's most entertaining car show's popularity owes much to the relationship between its three presenters. In Charlie, Warren and Steve, Top Gear Australia now has its own team - three guys who possess the spirit of Top Gear whilst having their own distinct personalities. We wish them every success with the new show - they are going to have a great time making it."

The three motoring larrikins and The Stig's Aussie cousin will present Top Gear Australia on SBS in late 2008. [Source: BBC] (Thanks Tim)

Item Description 1981 FORD PICKUP, 1981 Ford Durango Pickup; Factory authorized truck by National Coach Works in CA. for FoMoCo. Doc papers and door decal, inc. reman 5.0 roller w/ auto od, pearl blue pnt, cream interior. PS, PB, 134a AC, duals, rebuilt suspension. Email for details. $24,500 OBO. Please call home number 904-269-0771 call cell 904-616-6065

As the web's finest accountants of all things-amino, we'd have to say this is the first XC70 truck that we've seen but we like it. Given its AWD setup and ultrawide B-pillar, we're seeing a lot of Subaru BRAT in this design. And that's a very good thing.

[Bilfeber via Carscoop]

Come we to speak in El Camino's funeral. It was our friend, faithful and entertaining to us. But Bob Lutz, he was ambitious. He hath brought many vehicles home to Detroit. Whose ransoms did the General's coffers fill. Did this in El Camino seem unlikely? When that the poor hoons have cried, El Camino hath wept: instant name recognition should be made of sterner stuff. Yet Bob Lutz says it had instant name recognition. You all did see that on the New York Auto Show we thrice presented him a Vote El Camino button, which he did thrice refuse: was this because of instant name recognition? I speak not to disapprove what Bob Lutz decided, but here I am to speak what I do know. You all did love El Camino once, not without cause: What cause withholds you then, to mourn for it? O judgment! Though art fled to brutish beasts, and GM has lost their reason. Bear with us, our heart is in the reject bin here with El Camino. and we must pause till it come back to us. [Kicking Tires]

That's right, an It-amino! Well, they call it the Utility, but who do they think they're kidding? We haven't seen this kind of eco-mullet awesomeness since we saw Daryl Hannah's Biodiesel El Camino. The only downside is that the ute costs $25,000... which is a lot to pay for an oversized plastic golf cart.
[itselectric.com]

What is it about us and El Caminos? Since the early days when Davey G. gave us his musings on the car which held such a strong place in his heart, through the last few months, which have seen the scion of the El Camino debut, and countless chopped up and rebuilt cars in between, we are El aficionados. And despite the awesome spectacle that is the Porsche 928-amino and acres of El Caminos at the Woodward Dream Cruise, there is only one El Camino we can hold up as the king of the ring, a true fantasy with no peers and of course the most powerful production truck/car ever built for US shores.

The 1970 Chevrolet El Camino 454 SS is the pinnacle of Chevrolet's car based truck dynasty — but it took a long time to get there. The El Camino was initially introduced as a response to the strong selling Ford Ranchero and came out for a couple of years starting in 1959. The light pickup was initially based on the wild styling of the Chevrolet Impala, which, despite the unique and desirable nature of these early cars today, was not well received at the time. When the car was reintroduced in 1964, everything had changed. Now based on the Chevelle platform, the car was much more ready for work. Instead of flashy appendages flying everywhere, it was slab sided and lighter than the original. As styling progressed on the Chevelle through the years, so too was it mirrored in the El Camino.

Whereas styling was always up to date with the El Camino, it was left behind on power. All through its life, it saw every engine of its automotive brethren except the highest performance mill of the time. This changed in 1970. After two years of having the 396 V8 putting out a very respectable 375 HP sitting as the top of the options list, the mighty LS6 454 V8 was added. With a stated power rating of 450 HP and 500 lb/ft of torque, this legendary motor propelled the El Camino from a stop to 60 in only 6.6 seconds, it would make a quarter mile run in 13.4 seconds - remember, on 7" wide tires with a four speed manual.

Perhaps more important than the figures and the ridiculousness of this car is what it means. The 454 SS isn't a car you give to mom to drive to the grocery store. It is the simplest way to turn rubber into smoke. Hoonage personified. This is a car you get into trouble with. It's a leather-jacketed, chain-smoking, knife-wielding, hard-livin', "Screw you" to proper society. No other car makes less sense, but is so perfect at doing it.
It is the antithesis of business models based on a public bored to mediocrity by way of market research and ad campaigns touting air bags and child safety seats. Once upon a time you could go to the dealer, plunk down your hard earned scratch, fire up that 454 and hit the road, light up an unfiltered cigarette and crank out Led Zeppelin's Ramble On over the pushbutton AM/FM radio. We want the El Camino in the garage not just because it's a badass ride, but because it's a sucker punch to the flabby gut of political correctness.

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The Jalopnik Fantasy Garage:
1978 Aston Martin V8 Vantage | Honda 1300 Coupe 9 | 1931 Daimler Double Six 50 Corsica Drophead Coupe | Ferrari 288 GTO | Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 | 1970 Buick GSX 455 | First Generation BMW M Coupe | Bugatti Veyron 16.4 | Ford GT | Citroen SM | Porsche 928 | Jensen FF | DeTomaso Vallelunga | Audi Quattro S1 | Buick GNX | Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R | Honorary Fantasy Garager: The LS1 Powered Rotus | Lamborghini LM002 | Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe | Ferrari 250 GTO | Bentley Speed Six | Talbot-Lago T150C SS Figoni et Falaschi Raindrop/Teardrop Coupe | Porsche 917 | Audi RS4 Avant | Lamborghini Miura | Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 | BMW E39 M5 | Jaguar E-type | Mercedes-Benz 300 SL | Dodge Charger/Challenger R/T | Toyota 2000GT | Facel Vega HK500 | Voisin C28 Aerosport | Bugatti Type 41 Royale | McLaren F1 | Maserati Bora | Continental MK II | Tucker 48 | Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato | BMW 507 | Porsche 959 | 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom 1 Jonckheere Coupe | Land Rover Defender | Lotus Eleven | Cadillac Eldorado Brougham | 1963 Mini Cooper S | 1934 Duesenberg Model SJ | Caparo T1 | Morgan Aero 9 | Auto Union Type C

photo and info sources: Muscle Car Club, Cardomain, Englewolf, cardomain

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Why the heck didn't Jaguar put truck beds on their cars straight from the factory? Take the XJ-S, for instance: V12 torque, comfy leather interior, beautiful lines- in short, everything you want in a cartruck! Obviously, it falls to the Jaguar owner to deal with this shortcoming. Those of you who have been planning to build your own XJ-Schero can save many months of hard work by starting with this Rancheroized 1990 Jaguar XJ-S as the basis of your project. For some inexplicable reason, this car failed to sell for the chump-change price of two grand, and that means the seller is likely ready to deal! The seller, clearly unaware of the naming convention for cartrucks, has named this '90 XJ-S a "Jagmino," but the inclusion of a free '85 parts car makes up for the incorrect name. Yes, you get two Jags for the price of one here! There's no fuel tank, no back window, and no bed floor, and of course you get some funky E-Type carburetors to make things more interesting. Those minor headaches will be nothing compared to the pride you'll feel cruising your V12 Jagchero around town, however- a few repairs, some fabrication... how hard can it be? Thanks to BZR (who already has a PCH Tipster T-shirt) for the tip!

We like a V12 cartruck, that's for sure! But what if the future really will be about the electric car? You won't want to be caught driving weenie plastic bubblecars, and of course nobody is going to be able to afford the Tesla. No, if the electric-car future really happens, the Jalopnik-Approved™ approach will be something more along the lines of what Plasma Boy has done with his electric Datsun 1200. That's right, a drag racer that burns electrons! Of course, a rear-engined/rear-drive machine gives you better traction off the line, but that doesn't mean your high-voltage machine needs to be a VW or even a Porsche. Leave those machines to the conformists, because you'll be blasting out of the lights in this electric 1968 Renault 10 (go here if the ad disappears), which is available for just $1,500. What we have here is a 40-year-old French car with a 28-year-old electric conversion that's been sitting for decades, so you have to figure on at least a few hours of tinkering before it's ready to be used as an environmentally friendly daily driver. The daily-driver stage will be a temporary way station on your way to taking on Plasma Boy at the strip, however, and that means you'll need to get busy beefing up the chassis to handle the mighty torque of a monster electric motor and the weight of batteries. Hey, maybe rust isn't even a major factor here! Thanks, plus a half-credit towards a PCH Tipster T-shirt, to LTDScott.

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I'll get to the car: hold your horses. This pertains.

I bought my motorcycle new in 2003: a Honda 919, aka Hornet in other markets. Most of a CBR900RR performance and mechanical foundation, but with EFI and as is common with "naked bikes" a fatter midrange and slightly emasculated top end. 105 hp at the rear wheel, 65-ish ft. lbs of torque.

Within 3 months of purchase I had my most expensive speeding ticket ever ($455) and was leaving every stop light on one wheel. Often riding in jeans, a tank top, and shades. Stupid at any age, stupider at 39. It wasn't my first bike, but it was the most liberating to my inner hooligan of any bikes I've owned.

My dad died that autumn and left me a little inheritance. Although I had never seen photos and he never owned a bike after he "settled down" I just know that he passed on his love of bikes to me. He had owned a 1928 and a 1935 Harley when he was in his twenties. They would have been WELL used ratbikes by the time he got them. I think he paid $5 for the '28.

I decided that I was going to go drag racing, partly in homage to my dad. After all, I could never have afforded to do it properly without his parting gift to me. I first commissioned an extended swingarm: if I'm going drag racing, I'm NOT going to be "the guy who looped the bike off the line that time." Because Honda never sold a large number of 919's in America and the 919 is not a design that lends itself to modifications, increasing the engine output in any significant way is difficult. VERY restrictive porting, very limited availability of big bore kits, high lift cams, NO turbo kits whatsoever on the market...I was running out of options for achieving my goal of a nine second quarter mile on this bike. If I knew I was going racing when I bought a bike, I certainly wouldn't have started with this one. A CBR1000 STARTS with 50 more h.p. , and has many options for pursuing greater performance.
After engineering and installing what I believe is the world's only wet nitrous system in this application, as well as a few other little mods, I was ready to take it to the track and see what The Tinman could do. I'd rarely ever finished off a can of whipped cream, never mind tuned a nitrous system in my life. And after getting caught in the rain and nearly ruining the most expensive suit I'd ever own (Alpinestars) I HAD to come up with an alternative way of getting to the track.

In my driveway sat an unused 1999 Honda Civic HX; the VERY tall-geared, 43 mpg rated, lesser-engined version of their coupe that I had bought new. It had served me well, ferrying me across Alaska for my inspection business to the tune of 147,000 miles in the first two years of ownership. I got mine back from the insurance company virtually for free after totaling it in 2002, and band-aided it back together with a plywood front bumper and some judicious tugs on the "frame" from a come-along anchored to a concrete parking garage support. I drove it for a few years before I found a clean old BMW 320i and parked the Civic. Because it had 210,000 miles nobody would be too interested in salvage parts, and because it had been totaled and was still not titled, it was unsellable as a car.

I began thinking of cutting the car up and making it into a trailer before I got the brilliant (ahem) idea of making it into a self-propelled trailer, or "truck" as they are sometimes called. I took a few measurements, checked my stock of Sawzall blades (if only I'd had my air compressor and die grinder/cutter then!), bopped down to the liquor store for a rack of Alaskan Amber, and got to drinking...I mean, re-manufacturing.

I started by removing the trunk lid and gutting the interior of carpeting and basically everything but the driver's seat. I removed the back glass, cut out the package shelf, and sawed out the center of the rear bumper and everything between the taillights. The floor was poorly shaped for truck duty, and a hump for the fuel tank was going to cause my bike "deck" to sit much higher than I wanted. I hacked out the floor above the center of the gas tank, and quite proudly only sawed through one vapor return hose/valve assembly in the process! I got skills! Somehow, the fuel tank still held fuel and I was still not engulfed in flames at this point. But I was pretty s-faced now, so really, I was amazed that I hadn't wound up in the E.R. yet nor spilled any...okay, MUCH blood. There is a high-strength steel crossmember in the area under the former back seat, so this served as the main anchor of the ramp/deck for the bike and provides a surprising amount (ANY is surprising, right?) of structural integrity.

Because The Tinman is stretched and slammed he cannot negotiate much of a ramp without high-centering, so the deck is mounted nose-high and El Civico is MUCH more accommodating than would be a pickup truck or trailer. This car, albeit somewhat odd, is the best way I could hope to transport the bike without spending an arm and a leg. Or really, more than $50, as is the case.

As you can imagine I get some looks on the highway on the way to the track. I'm simply amazed that with the dozens of cameras that I've seen hanging out of passenger windows, I've never come across a picture of my rig on the internet.

After a passing rain shower last year, track management allowed spectators to take their cars down the track to assist drying. Slapped on my helmet, fired up El Civico (sans Tinman in back) and high-tailed it to the staging lanes. With 216,000 miles on the original clutch (and everything else but the front brakes and timing belt) I bounced it off the rev limiter in the burnout box for 15 seconds, released the ebrake, and sidled up to the tree. My reaction time wasn't great; this WAS the first time I'd ever drag raced a car, but I left the line around 6,000 rpms with a taste of equal parts clutch slip and tire spin: exactly what this tall-geared car wanted. Second gear is good for 72 mph, a quick slam into 3rd and we crossed the finish line with a 16.84: one hundredth quicker than I'd just seen for a new Mini !

El Civico has no problem keeping up with highway traffic, or any other kind really. I had it up to 95 on the Old Glenn Highway, a lovely meandering old two-lane, following a WRX on the way home from the track and all hopped up on adrenaline and Diet Rockstar. Thankfully the peace officers up here don't seem too concerned about the car and technically, they don't need to be. It has all its safety equipment besides a license plate light, but thanks to the late sunsets of summer here that's not really an issue.

Okay, so El Civico ain't too fond of washboard bumps: the torsional rigidity obviously does leave something to be desired. But I seriously doubt it's less safe than just riding the motorcycle. Granted, once I get into an accident in this car I'll be in for a world of hurt. Do I have any other mods planned? Probably an ejection seat for just such an occasion. I'll want to get some distance between me and the bike should the 's' hit the fan.

But until the doors stop working due to body flex, or the front half says 'Adios' to the back half, El Civico will remain the workhorse that keeps me in the racing game. In fact, working as a team last year, The Tinman, El Civico, and I took home the top trophy of Alaska drag bike racing.

My apologies to DeWalt, but their heavy duty reciprocating saw turned out to be less heavy duty than a drunk with an old Civic. May it rest in peace.

On Saturday morning, I had a rare and exciting encounter. I was walking to my favorite taco stand to get a burrito to soak up the beer in my belly from the night before. Then, up in the distance coming towards me, could it be? Cool! It's a Le Car, that alone is nothing to special, but what is it covered in!? Well it's covered in the badges of hundreds of other cars of course!

And if that weren't enough, as it pulled up along side me, I realized this was no ordinary Le Car covered in random badges, it was a RAGTOP, LE CARMINO!!!!! My jaw dropped, the proud owner saw the huge smile on my face and waved, I asked if I could snap a picture, and I think I made his day just like he just made mine.

I thought to myself, the good people of Jalopnik must know of this, they
must see that there is still good in this world.

God Bless America!

What if the G8 El Camino was simply a Pontiac G8 variant, like Mustangs Bullitt and the California Special? Albeit on a more complex, but still platform produced scale. GM let everybody who wants one get a copy during a couple years of production, then phase it out when demand falls only to introduce a new variant — the G8 wagon. We see this as a brilliant theory, but we have some ideas to add here.

We can see the market for truck-cars going one of two ways, the direction Lassa points at — a complete niche for enthusiast buyers, or, breaking out like gangbusters. Why would we say that? Because of the economy. It's no secret the housing market is taking a dirt nap, some markets have seen a decline in home values as high as 20% in the last year. GM knows housing sales are the biggest indicator of light truck sales trends, and the sharp decline in that segment across the board in the last two quarters backs that up. The midsize trucks currently in place are as large as full size trucks two decades ago, and their fuel economy credentials are slipping badly. With gas prices on the rise, and environmental consciousness coming into vogue, there's a possibility, though admittedly small, that GM may actually be first to market with a hot new segment, efficient trucks.

Certainly the current iteration with it's 361 HP V8 is not fuel sipper, but we're betting the V6 already for sale in Australia would be an easy option to incorporate if demand was there. Heck, the Solstice sourced Ecotec 4 cylinder would probably fit nicely in that car. So say what you will about GM's Pontiac G8 sport truck, you may feel that it's folly, but people have to haul stuff regardless of the price of gas, and GM knows this too. So in the end, GM can show it's enthusiasts the love as well as take the option to capitalize on a market should the opportunity arise. [Trends of the Motor Variety]

"To date, El Camino has a massive head start, thanks to skillful grassroots campaigning."

After Wert basically wrapped up our New York Auto Show caminogasm with his post earlier today on The New York Times's assessment of Pontiac's intro of its Down Under Ute to the U.S. market, the commentators started weighing in swiftly and decisively. This comment, from
Ω βгåғғ™ , takes the honors because it just hit the right note, with concision and wit:

I bet the NY Post loves this car...

"Who exactly was clamoring for a two-seat, gas-guzzling pickup with the cheapest-looking interior this side of a Motel 6?"

...he misnames as the "Pontiac Sport Truck," forgetting those strong G8 roots. But he makes up for it with hackery like calling our beloved El Camino the "Like Hell Camino," the "Pontiac Wallaby" and the "Haulacious." Isn't that precious? It's like he studied at the school of me, but without the love of real cars. [New York Times]

Bob's response: "Well, I personally like the name, it has instant name recognition". We're considering nominating Mr. Lutz as Vice President of Jalopnik's Awesome Division. Perhaps we'll put his name in the masthead under the title of "El Camino Loving GM VP". Now that we know we have a man on the inside, the momentum is going to be inevitable.

"For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the El Camino be."

Coming from LuciferV8, the irony is not lost on us.

Since Roo's are pests in Australia like deer and antelope here, and not of the cuddly belly-pocket toting icons they are in the US, making sure your Holden wins in a fight is more important than looks. Of course, depending on your perspective it does look pretty badass. We've got a shiny new nickel that says this ride has never done a donut in its life. [DigiAds]