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The SFW image thread

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Fina

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Charlette
 
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2012 Chevrolet Lumina SS Utility

Although the car-based truck died out in the US with the cancellation of the El Camino after the 1987 model year, as well as the failure of the Caprice-based 1995 concept car to enter production due to GM deciding to terminate the full-size RWD B-body platform in 1996 to repurpose the factory space for truck & SUV production, and the sales failure of the SSR, enthusiasts still hoped for a such a vehicle to once again be sold in the US. They found hope in looking to Australia, where vehicles similar to the El Camino, commonly referred to as 'coupe-utilities' or 'Utes' had been popular for decades, including a version made by GM's Australian division, Holden, which was sold as the Chevrolet Lumina Utility in the Middle-East and South Africa. Their hopes were raised, after a number of RWD Holden vehicles were rebadged and sold in the US, such as the 2004-06 Pontiac GTO, and several vehicles built on the Holden-designed GM Zeta platform (Pontiac G8, 2010-15 Camaro, 2011-17 Chevrolet Caprice PPV & SS sedans,) and indeed, a version of the Holden Ute nearly made it into the US market bearing Pontiac badging, only to be scuppered by GM's financial collapse and the demise of the Pontiac Motor Division in the company's 2009 bankruptcy reorganization. Despite that, enthusiasts still hoped that the Holden Ute/Chevrolet Lumina Utility would become the basis for a revived El Camino, and several such proposals were teased in the media and by unofficial comments from GM employees. However, nothing came of that, and GM's decision to close Holden's factories and terminate production of their unique models, and instead rely upon imports of GM vehicles from other countries for Holden's lineup in late 2017 in order to save costs seem to have killed off whatever hopes there may have been of reviving the El Camino for the foreseeable future.
 
Golbez & Exdeath trying to cheer up Rydia
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Rydia: You guys love big boobs, right? It...it's not like I'm upset about it or anything!!
*sniff*
Golbez: The small ones are, of course, the best!!
Exdeath: Fafafa! This is truly a supreme representation of "Nothingness"!!
Cecil Harvey: I don't think you're helping...
 
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1959 Pontiac Catalina Safari concept truck (a.k.a. 'El Catalina')

Although Chevrolet and GMC were the only two GM divisions to put a car-based truck into production, Pontiac, at several points, was sufficiently interested in the concept to build prototypes, though never getting beyond that.

The first attempt was made in 1959, with the Catalina Safari pickup, which was commonly referred to as the El Catalina by Pontiac engineers & stylists involved in the project. With Ford's introduction of the Ranchero in 1957, followed by the first El Camino in 1959, Pontiac management thought that the car-based light truck was a market segment that they might be able to expand into, and ordered three prototypes built in order to explore the concept. Accordingly, a Catalina Safari wagon chassis was selected as a base for the vehicle, as the most suitable platform, and El Camino cab and cargo bed sections were acquired from Chevrolet and mounted to the wagon frame. However, Pontiac sheetmetal would not easily mount to the Chevy shell they were using, requiring considerable custom work. Pontiac's metalworkers ended up having to graft the El Camino window frames to the doors of a Catalina 2-door sedan, which also made it easier to fit Pontiac quarter panels to the bed (heavily modified Catalina convertible panels.) The tailgate was a Safari wagon one, heavily modified for the purpose, and the rear body work was completed with a mix of Catalina & Bonneville parts. Likewise, the exterior trim and the interior were a mix of Bonneville and Catalina pieces. The only parts that did not require modification were the bodywork forward of the firewall, which were standard Catalina pieces. Power was provided by a 280 hp version of Pontiac's 389 c.i. V-8, fed through a GM Hydramatic automatic transmission.

The El Catalina prototype was completed in April 1959, and although Pontiac management liked the vehicle when it was presented to them, an analysis of market conditions, including underperforming El Camino & Ranchero sales, suggested that the market simply would not support a third car-based truck, and therefore the El Catalina project was cancelled. At the time of cancellation, a second prototype was partially complete, with the front section and cab finished, but the bed not yet installed, while the parts for the third had been made and gathered, but assembly had not yet been started. The partially completed second prototype was fitted with a flatbed, and used as a utility vehicle by Pontiac's engineering shop for several years before being crushed, while the parts assembled for the unstarted third prototype remained in storage for several years, until a Pontiac engineer got permission to take the material, which had been slated for disposal home; he used those parts to build a custom vehicle similar to the El Catalina.

Although this vehicle, the one factory-built El Catalina prototype, was ordered destroyed upon the cancellation of the project, it instead somehow made its way to a Pontiac dealer in Michigan, which used it as a parts delivery vehicle for several years despite it never having received a VIN, just a trim tag and engineering prototype number, before the owner passed it on to his teenage son. In 1969, it was purchased by an enthusiast who had seen the vehicle shortly after it was completed, and appreciated its rarity. However, between a couple accidents, and its lacking much of the insulation, sealing, and rustproofing applied to production cars thanks to its status as a hand-built prototype, the El Catalina was in sorry shape. Although the buyer intended to restore the El Catalina, it turned into a decades-long undertaking due to extensive metalwork being needed, issues in figuring out just what Pontiac used to put the vehicle together, sourcing replacement parts and modifying them as needed (including having to source a replacement frame,) going through several restorers, and the buyer having to sell the car. Its present owner purchased the car in 2008, and the restoration was completed in 2011. Right after the restoration was completed, it was displayed at a major Pontiac show, where it received a perfect score in judging, and was voted 'Best in Show.'
 
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That picture is priceless I started laughing when I saw it. It reminds me of a story my mom told me when she had went to seaworld in Vancouver and sat in the front few rows while her friends went a couple rows back. She got soaked when the Orca swam by.
 
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