Outside of the continent, any discussion about Australia and pop culture will most probably go around the following talking points: dangerous wildlife, Mad Max, beaches, the Outback, and Steve Irwin. Australian culture is distinct and comes from a distinguished set of circumstances. As with any biosphere, extreme conditions and isolation will bring some unique adaptations.
Take, for example, the Australian ute. No, it’s not an obscure species of Australian marsupial that is also inexplicably venomous. It stands for utility vehicle, a nickname Australians and their love of abbreviations have given to what the rest of the world can loosely translate as “pickup truck.” To call it that, though, would be misleading. While utes do feature an open-topped flatbed in the back, it isn’t necessarily a truck — it can be a coupe-style car with a flatbed.
Ford: The Origins of a Ute
According to Geoff Easdown, author of A History of the Ford Motor Company in Australia, the roots of the ute can be traced back to 1932, when a rural letter-writer asked The Ford Company’s Australian branch to design a car. She asked for something that could take her to Sunday church without the sweat and dirt a regular truck would inflict during long country drives, but still be able to take pigs to market the next day.
Car designer Lewis Bandt came up with a solution: a hybrid of car and truck, effectively combining the front half of a car for style and comfort, with the ability to haul cargo provided by a tray in the back. After overcoming some engineering obstacles, he reportedly declared, “them pigs are going to have a luxury ride around the city of Geelong!”
Celebrating Rural Australia
Today, the ute is a uniquely Australian symbol of rural life, but it’s also grown into its own subculture. While it’s still widely used as a utility vehicle, often modified with practical features like lightweight aluminium flat decks, utes can also be a showcase of high-performance vehicles, with muscle car utes sporting monster V8 engines engaging in popular professional races.
The Denliquin Ute Muster, meanwhile, is the mecca of Australian ute enthusiasts: a yearly two-day festival that’s part country music concert, ute show, rodeo, and carnival. The town of Denliquin, at the edge of the Outback, draws 20,000 ute lovers from all over the country during the event, which is similar to state fairs in the Southern U.S.
Tough Challenges for a Tough Truck
In 2019, a somber headline from the Sydney Morning Herald declared “The Holden Commodore Dead at 42”. Holden was the largest ute producer in Australia and producer of the Holden Commodore, which was the country’s top-selling car from 1996 to 2011.
Pressure from the sales of imported models, as well as declining sales, had prompted the company to discontinue the line. Many also blamed the government’s push for low or zero-emission vehicles, as national policy aligns with climate change policy around the world.
The situation isn’t all grim — several companies are rolling out plans for hybrid utes, launching awareness campaigns through the country to educate car owners about the features and benefits of hybrid vehicles.
Hybrid and electric car technology is the direction the automotive world is headed. And with ute the arising from innovation from a practical need, no doubt the tough working man’s car will also adapt to the needs of a changing world.
