El Camino - Everything You Need to Know | Up to Speed
El Camino - Everything You Need to Know | Up to Speed
It’s a bird! It’s a truck! It’s a car! —it’s the Chevy El Camino!
Taking cues from the Ford Ranchero, Chevy rolled out the El Camino in 1964. Through it’s history, it’s died, been reborn, lived as a confused truck car hybrid, grown into a burnout + drag machine muscle car, but all the while it has captured our attention as one of the most unique American cars of all time.
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Content
0 -> (tires screeching)
1.64 -> - The El Camino has been accused of being
3.5 -> the mullet of cars for too long.
5.94 -> Ha! Hilarious! Get it?
7.6 -> It's a sedan in the front,
and a truck in the back,
10.12 -> it's like a mullet!
11.4 -> I bet you haven't heard that one before!
12.9 -> You know what, pal?
14.14 -> The El Camino is truly one
of the most unique cars
16.96 -> to ever come out of Detroit.
18.74 -> From humble beginnings hauling hay
20.9 -> to later, hauling ass.
24.94 -> This is everything you need to know
26.04 -> to get up to speed on the Chevy El Camino.
28.68 -> (retro arcade music)
31.66 -> - Yeah, yeah yeah, I know,
33.36 -> the El Camino was not
the first car truck thing
36.42 -> to go on sale in the States.
38 -> Ford did it first, with the Ranchero 1957.
40.48 -> Ford marketed the Ranchero
as "more than a car,
43.42 -> more than a truck," and it was a hit,
45.4 -> and Chevrolet took notice.
48.34 -> - Well yeah, I noticed.
49.88 -> - The first El Camino
was brought to market
52 -> two years after the Ranchero in 1959.
54.64 -> Chevy sold over 22,000 units in
56.28 -> the first year of production,
57.7 -> but it got worse in
1960 and sales dropped.
60.34 -> Baby boomer families were growing,
61.88 -> so they needed more than two seats,
63.28 -> and the cargo space wasn't that great
65.76 -> compared to a real truck.
67.2 -> Basically, Chevy missed
out on both markets.
69.52 -> And the El Camino was
discontinued the following year.
71.74 -> - Wait, what?
72.56 -> What did he mean by discontinued?
74.5 -> - Meanwhile, the Ford Ranchero
was doing pretty good.
78.38 -> It was now based on the Ford Falcon,
80.04 -> just like the Mustang.
82 -> Chevy took note of Ford's
experimentation and said
84.66 -> "Hey, we can do that!"
86.52 -> Chevy brought back the El Camino in 1964
88.76 -> and this time its sister car
was the frickin Chevelle.
92.58 -> The Chevelle Super
Sport was one of Chevy's
94.54 -> first entries into the slowly escalating
97.12 -> muscle car arms race.
98.68 -> So it would make sense
to offer this performance
101.36 -> in the El Camino, right?
102.64 -> - Yeah.
104.22 -> Yeah blonders.
105.92 -> That's a good idea.
107.4 -> - Chevy didn't think so.
108.5 -> They did not offer the El Camino SS.
110.42 -> Yet.
111.08 -> Chevy was still determined
to market the El Camino
114.14 -> as a truck with the comforts of a car,
116.32 -> as opposed to a car with
the utility of a truck.
120.24 -> However, as the 1964 model year went by,
123.08 -> Chevy eventually offered
a 327 cubic inch V8,
126.9 -> making a decent 300 horsepower.
128.92 -> - Pretty, pretty, pretty good.
132.36 -> - From 1964 to like
1980, the design changed
136.28 -> every
137.34 -> single
138.32 -> year.
139.04 -> Every single year.
140.16 -> 1964
140.86 -> 1965
141.52 -> 1966
142.4 -> 1967
143.06 -> 1968
143.9 -> 1969
144.62 -> 1970
145.32 -> 1971
146.08 -> 1972
147.06 -> 1973
147.96 -> 1974
148.82 -> 1975
149.68 -> 1976
150.58 -> 1977
151.5 -> 1978
152.76 -> 1979
154.22 -> 1980.
155.4 -> But the philosophy stayed the same:
157.14 -> practicality and luxury,
all in one, just like me.
160.62 -> - (wheezing laughter)
162.96 -> - The El Camino took
the undeniably beautiful
165.36 -> looks of the Chevelle and mixed it with
167.08 -> the practicality of a truck.
168.68 -> Chevy continued to give the El Camino
170.44 -> more and more power and it
got better and better looking.
174.2 -> Look at the 1968 and 1969 models.
176.76 -> Those are some good looking cars.
179.3 -> And if you say otherwise,
you're a (bleep) liar, Mark!
182.66 -> I know you're watching, Scott told me.
184.88 -> Scott told me you watch all my shit.
186.92 -> You follow me on Instagram, Mark.
188.3 -> Chevy sold the most El Caminos in 1968
191.82 -> because it was offered with Chevy's 396 V8
194.36 -> and it made 375 horsepower.
196.98 -> The gloves were starting to come off.
198.24 -> In 1969, Chevy finally gave the people
201.18 -> the El Camino SS,
202.64 -> (cheering)
204.64 -> with a special blacked out grill,
206.24 -> disc brakes and powerlocks and windows
208.7 -> just like a racecar.
210.34 -> But Chevy wasn't done,
because the 1970 El Camino SS
214.22 -> might be one of the most
unique muscle cars of the era.
217.92 -> While you can still get the 396,
219.88 -> Chevy raised the stakes with the 454 V8.
223.34 -> This colossal big block
made 450 horsepower,
227.54 -> and a whopping 500 foot pounds of torque.
231.52 -> That's enough power to pull
your neighbor's house down.
234.52 -> Don't ask me how I know that.
235.86 -> (bell rings)
236.48 -> It also came with a four speed
short ratio transmission.
239.22 -> Long story short, it hauled ass.
241.16 -> (engine revs)
244.04 -> Or, whatever else you wanted to haul,
245.7 -> because it had a truck bed in the back.
247.68 -> Like all good things,
including every
250.5 -> single
251.38 -> one
252.1 -> of my beautiful hamsters, the El Camino SS
254.88 -> met a swift end.
255.98 -> In 1971, Chevy saw the writing on the wall
258.54 -> with the looming gas crisis and started
260.4 -> to detune their big block offerings
261.86 -> to be more fuel-efficient.
263.96 -> This is also the part where the El Camino
265.86 -> gets noticeably less attractive,
267.64 -> but can you blame it?
268.88 -> It was in an abusive
relationship with Chevy.
271.48 -> How would you feel?
272.5 -> You'd probably get a little ugly too.
274.16 -> - This one, real (bleep) ugly.
276.22 -> - The gas crisis didn't
kill the El Camino.
277.96 -> Quite the opposite, actually.
279.32 -> Despite being the largest
and nearly the slowest
281.78 -> El Camino ever, the 1973 model
283.98 -> was by far Chevy's best-selling.
286.3 -> The next year the El Camino reached
288.18 -> the pinnacle of luxury with the
289.94 -> carpeted door panels and wood
grain instrument panel trim.
294.28 -> - That's fancy. That's fancy.
296.22 -> - Real fancy.
297.18 -> - If Chevy couldn't make
the El Camino more powerful,
299.3 -> well gosh darn it, they
were gonna make it fancier.
302.88 -> The fifth gen El Camino arrived in 1978
305.5 -> with a few different trim levels
306.72 -> including the Black Knight,
which I only mention
309.32 -> because that is literally
the most kickass name
311.76 -> for a trim level ever.
313.34 -> Chevy had to change the
name of the Black Knight
315.28 -> to the Royal Knight in 1979
because of copyright issues.
318.94 -> Wait, who owns the
copyright to Black Knight?
321.24 -> - Martin Lawrence is the Black Knight.
324.46 -> - When the gas prices of
the 70s came to an end,
326.6 -> Chevy ushered in the 80s
with a new El Camino,
329.62 -> with zero changes to the body
332.16 -> and only minor tweaks to the engine.
334.54 -> Thus began the twilight of the El Camino,
336.56 -> and no, I'm not talking about vampires.
338.74 -> The Elkie lived out its final
years with few highlights.
341.16 -> In 1985 Chevy started
producing the El Camino
343.9 -> in Mexico to save on costs,
345.48 -> but it didn't last long,
because the El Camino
347.6 -> finally left us in 1987.
349.68 -> Just like my dad.
350.64 -> The death of the El
Camino was a somber one,
353 -> but the fact that it wasn't
being sold in showrooms anymore
355.78 -> didn't stop people from loving it.
357.38 -> The El Camino is a folk
hero in the car world,
359.86 -> a solid performer who wasn't
afraid to get down and dirty.
363.32 -> If you have the chance to
buy an El Camino, do it.
365.86 -> - Just do it!
367.3 -> - There have been a million rumors
368.54 -> for a million years now that
Chevy's gonna bring back
371 -> the El Camino but I'm
not holding my breath.
373.3 -> - (heavy breathing)
375.4 -> - Would this ruin some of
the legend of this car?
378.28 -> That's always a possibility.
379.6 -> But the way Detroit is
pouring out new muscle,
381.68 -> a brand new El Camino could
actually be pretty tight.
386.02 -> That's everything you need
to know to get up to speed
388.24 -> on the Chevy El Camino.
389.44 -> Would you rather have a
classic one or a new one?
391.8 -> Let me know in the comments below.
393.38 -> Have you ever (bleep) in an El Camino?
395.02 -> You ever (bleep) in an El Camino?
396.48 -> Everyone send me a dollar
so I can buy a Lamborghini.
398.84 -> And as always: like,
subscribe, comment, share,
401.9 -> tag your friend who likes an El Camino,
403.66 -> tag your friend who has a mullet,
405.06 -> ask him what's wrong with him.
408.18 -> tag your friend who has a mullet,
409.414 -> ask him what's wrong with him.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvhWORwQiNg