One of the most gloriously peculiar and brilliant moments in American car history belongs to the coupe pickup truck. A cross between a car and a pickup truck, it was essentially the answer to a question nobody seemed to be asking but which the entire world seemed incredibly excited to finally have answered. The creation of the coupe pickup is subject to more lore and debate than you might expect.

Whether you’re looking to the brilliant designer Harley Earl who’s generally considered the mind behind GM’s 1952 concept coupe utility, or you want to blame the wife of a farmer somewhere, everyone seems eager to lay claim to its invention. The coup de maître gave rise to one of the most enduring automotive rivalries between the Big Two of the time, Chevrolet and Ford, with both fighting for space in this brand new, utterly weird automotive niche.

1. 1957 Ford Ranchero Pioneer Launch

Once again, the Blue Oval got in first. The company first introduced the Ranchero back in December 1956. The marketing department in Dearborn must have seen something the public might be interested in as they marketed it under the slogan: More than a car and it wasn’t an empty claim. A Ranchero would be built to work, with six-foot bed, and half-ton capacity for light loads, rivaling many small trucks at the time. For a second time the Blue Oval repeated their innovative action, reinforcing the position of the vehicle and establishing an entirely new automotive category on the market.

Trailblazing Innovation That Started It All:

• First coupe pickup launch
• December 1956 debut timing
• Six foot bed utility
• Half ton capacity strength
• New segment creation

However, this was no barren, no-frills workhorse. You could purchase one of these with several different trim packages everything from an extremely base model to a fancy-pants Custom trim that was made to hit the clubs with. For those with a heavier foot, engine choices went from an unimpressive 144 horsepower six cylinder all the way to a 212 horsepower V8. Folks liked it so much that the first year saw over 21,700 models sell.

2. 1959 Chevrolet El Camino Bold Response

After about two years Chevrolet finally responded to the challenge issued by Ford with the 1959 El Camino. And how did they respond? Whereas the Ranchero was a good-looking, useful vehicle, the El Camino was some sort of wild,jet age hallucination with a set of wheels attached to it. The El Camino sports all the crazy styling seen in the rest of Chevy’s lineup, with huge bat-wing fins, intake grilles above the headlights, a big bullet grille,and those unique cat eye taillights making it one of the most awesome looking car ever conceived in an era of automotive wild experimentation.

Jet Age Styling That Stole Attention:

• Massive bat wing fins
• Iconic cat eye lights
• Bold grille aggressive design
• Dramatic air intake styling
• Extreme visual appeal

The machine was pure theatre on wheels and fired the public’s imagination so well that it sold 50 per cent better than the Ranchero. Built on a Brookwood wagon chassis, its engine options ranged from a 135 horsepower 6-cylinder all the way to fuel injected 335 horsepower V8s. But despite its rakish appearance, it was also practical, carrying payloads from 650 pounds to 1150 pounds. It’s ride, because of it’s softer springs was perfectly smooth, even unloaded, a wonderful compromise of comfort, utility and out-of-this-world design.

3. 1959 Ford Ranchero Stylish Evolution

Never one to be shown up, Ford did an extensive redesign of the Ranchero in ’59. Although it wasn’t quite the El Camino, this ranchero was actually pretty nice and looked pretty sharp too. Ford removed all of the lower-line Ranchero trims and only offered the top-line Custom version, this was in direct acknowledgement that many buyers weren’t buying this to go to work in, but as a more stylish, almost fun kind of lifestyle purchase, in contrast to the pure utilitarian intent of the first Rancheros.

Premium Shift Toward Style Focus:

• Upscale Custom trim only
• Lifestyle buyer targeting shift
• Stylish redesign emphasis strong
• Premium positioning strategy
• Visual appeal priority increase

Style was obviously important as the Ranchero came in with 26 different paint options 11 single colors and 15 different two-tone schemes. The 6-cylinder model put out 145 hp while the optional, more powerful 300-hp V8 did a much better job at moving this surprisingly quick vehicle. The 1958 sales figures for the Ranchero were rather dismal, but this new version was a success as it managed over 14,000 sales for 1959. Ford was not standing still.

4. 1960 Chevrolet El Camino Refinement Phase

Chevrolet subdued El Camino’s styling after its radical 1959 introduction. The bat-wing fins became flattened but the enormous Vista Panoramic windshield was retained in 1960 with eight-feet of glass. That El Camino was no less of an attention-getter than its predecessor, but with a softer profile. The design was revised with less-extreme styling to align with current fashion trends, still looking assertive but much less in-your-face.

Balanced Styling With Subtle Changes:

• Flattened fin design update
• Eight foot windshield feature
• Reduced visual aggression overall
• Retained iconic identity elements
• Shift toward balanced aesthetics

The engine range is again a wide, the six cylinders at 135hp, the V8s are powerful (335hp), but without fuel injection now. However sales declined by one third to 14 163 units, putting them on a par with Ford. This put paid to the Impala in the range, its first life ending that year. This illustrates how quickly fashion can pass.

5. 1960 Ford Falcon Ranchero Smart Pivot

For 1960, the full-size model was replaced with an entirely new compact version based on Ford’s Falcon compact. Moving away from extravagance, the focus shifted to efficiency and a price point more appropriate for everyday driving for a more diverse audience. The new design showed off Ford’s willingness to reinvent a segment in order to offer the coupe-pickup design to a larger base of customers.

Compact Strategy That Changed Direction:

• Falcon platform compact design
• Shift to affordability focus
• Smaller lighter vehicle concept
• Practical usage emphasis strong
• Market adaptation strategy clear

A mere 90-horsepower six-cylinder took the helm (no more V8 muscle), but offered an 800-pound payload that fit most family and small business needs. The El Camino from 1960 was a dismal sales effort, however the Falcon Ranchero made a killing and demonstrated the continued thirst for cars and trucks with fuel economy. This coupe-pickup hybrid showed its versatility.

6. Engine Options Defined Versatility

A very unique thing about the earlier coupe pickups was that there was such a large variation of engines for sale in these. You weren’t just buying an earlier coupe pickup for work purposes only but could choose a wide range of powertrains in these depending on what you wanted them to do. This ability to decide which powerplant you could have made them more desirable for everyone that loved driving, but also to people that needed one to get from point A to point B, the coupe pickup did it all.

Power Choices That Defined Identity:

• Wide engine range availability
• Six cylinder economical option
• High performance V8 choices
• Flexible buyer customization ability
• Multi purpose usability strength

In the 6-cylinder range the power could go from just 135hp up to a 335hp V8 and Ford did too from a 145hp to a 300hp version. This allowed both work-ready as well as performance models to be created. Being customizable helped the coupe pick-up stand out by offering both function and form and for many buyers they reflected not just the use it would be put to, but also how the owner wanted to.

7. Jet Age Design and Visual Appeal

One look at late ’50s American auto design tells all, and no genre sums this up quite as well as the coupe pickup truck. They weren’t subtle machines by any definition; vehicles like the 1959 El Camino were bursting with styling extravagance and were practically automotive works of art. That style also carried with it the kind of unrestrained enthusiasm and optimism that really helped define the decade in automotive terms, making it arguably their biggest legacy today.

Design Era That Defined Legacy:

• Bold styling experimentation peak
• Iconic fins dramatic presence
• Unique grille visual identity
• Eye catching overall aesthetics
• Artistic automotive expression

Chevy offered a sleek body complete with bat-wing fins, large scoops and cat-eye taillights; meanwhile Ford’s Ranchero provided a polished style with available multi-color paint schemes. However even the less dramatic versions of these models featured large windshields, and a bold flair which the designers weren’t shy about showing off. It’s the combination of workhorse appeal and daring styling which helped solidify both the El Camino and Ranchero as beloved icons of a very bold design age.

8. Philosophy Behind Coupe Pickups

And their appeal was embodied perfectly in Ford’s brilliant coupe pickup slogan: “More than a car! More than a truck!” The coupe pickup had that dual-nature carved right into its DNA, offering the comfort of a car but the utility of a truck. Coupe pickups could easily be a part of the daily commute or double as work vehicles, appealing to consumers who saw benefits in both.

Concept That Redefined Vehicle Purpose:

• Car and truck combination
• Versatile everyday usability concept
• Practical yet stylish approach
• Dual purpose vehicle identity
• Unique market positioning strategy

The cars managed to blend the comfortable ride of a car with the utility of a truck. Owners of these cars didn’t have to get a truck, they could carry anything in the car’s open bed and do both work and fun, in one car. This whole car concept seemed inherently American an innovative and practical solution to transport. That sentiment is carried forward today. They continue to be the epitome of American ingenuity: a revolutionary design, blending form and function in perfect and complete measure.