Ute (coupé utility)
- Date
- 1934 · confidence high
- Place
- Geelong, Victoria, Australia
- Credited to
- Lewis Bandt (Ford Australia)
- Field
- Movement
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A vehicle with a passenger-car cab and an open cargo bed on the same chassis, created so a farmer could go to church on Sunday and take pigs to market on Monday. It was produced from 1934.
There were earlier passenger cars with cargo beds in the US (Ford Model T, 1925); Ford Australia's contribution was the integrated design on a coupé chassis. The date of the first unit (1932 or 1934) varies by source.
What it led to
- pick-ups and light utility vehicles worldwide
- Holden built its own version from 1951
- a vehicle class tied to Australian culture