Australia to lose its ute?

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The “ute” term, Australia’s longtime shorthand for utility vehicle, is being scrapped as GM Holden adopts the U.S. term and calls it a pickup.


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“It's part of our desire to reposition the vehicle,” he says. “There is an association from a customer perspective of it being a slightly smaller version of a U.S. pickup truck, and a lot of customers will refer to it as a truck.

“We’re calling it a truck because that's really what the market increasingly refers to them as.”

GM Holden spokesman Sean Poppit says all vehicles such as the Colorado, Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Nissan Navara shouldn’t be called utes.

“The ute name usually refers to utilitarian models based on passenger cars, such as Holden's Commodore Ute,” he says. “It’s fairly straightforward.”
 
If people call them utes, then they're utes. It’s fairly straightforward.

Doesn't really matter what GM wants to call them.
 
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True, but I thought it interesting, and wondered what our members from down under thought of it.

GM may well be on the right track, perhaps body on frame deserves the truck moniker, while unibody deserves ute, or some other dividing line; monikers aside, of course one could use the vehicle how they best see fit. Perhaps its just a distinction like CUV and SUV--minor differences that just help divide the field a bit--or perhaps a bit more meaningful, like AWD&4WD, which (often) distinguishes drivetrain a bit.
 
Subaru was selling utes in the US. They were yellow vehicles, did they stop it, I haven't seen them on the streets for a while? I think the only ute we have is that Honda "pickup" truck.
 
Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
Subaru was selling utes in the US. They were yellow vehicles, did they stop it, I haven't seen them on the streets for a while? I think the only ute we have is that Honda "pickup" truck.


They quit long ago-- Wikipedia says 2002 through 2006. Subaru planned on selling 24k/year but only sold 30k over that timespan, so they killed it.
 
Just a change in words to separate a few products perhaps mostly for marketing purposes.

Don't forget the demographic of who'll use any new automotive word.

EXAMPLE: SUV was established and CUV came along recently.

Without meaningful differentiation (car chassis vs. truck chassis OR PERHAPS engine selection OR PERHAPS ride height) I know crusty old f@&ts like me won't care.
 
There is still a ute being sold in the US - it's called a Honda Ridgeline.
cool.gif
 
We used to have more-they were called El Caminos & Rancheros, truck/cars that couldn't carry much weight, nor very many people! Believe the Avalanche would qualify, though, & the 2500 ones can haul some.
 
I guess I'm not fully familiar with the use of the term. I had always thought an Australian "Ute" referred to vehicles like the US-market Ford Ranchero and Chevy ElCamino, the Subaru Brat, and the Australian-market Chrysler Valiant Ute (see pic below). All of these are based on a passenger car chassis. Did the term also apply to "real" pickup-trucks?

chrysler-valiant-ute-04.jpg
 
Image0095.jpg


Suzuki Mighty Boy.

543 cc, SOHC three-cylinder transversely mounted engine, 60cm (!) flat bed.

Y'all want to call it a truck?
 
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I don't know about Aussie, but here in NZ a truck is a large commercial vehicle used for carting big stuff...a ute is more often a private vehicle and carts small stuff around. We don't go around calling the common Japanese pickup, Hi Lux, Navara, Triton etc a truck, we put some big loads on them, but they are not into real truck territory. We'd have to call real trucks something else then.
 
Originally Posted By: Silk
We'd have to call real trucks something else then.


Those are lorries.

Waggons to the pros.
 
Originally Posted By: Silk
I don't know about Aussie, but here in NZ a truck is a large commercial vehicle used for carting big stuff...a ute is more often a private vehicle and carts small stuff around. We don't go around calling the common Japanese pickup, Hi Lux, Navara, Triton etc a truck, we put some big loads on them, but they are not into real truck territory. We'd have to call real trucks something else then.


Same here. And it won't matter what the GM marketing machine would like us to call them, everyone will still refer to them as utes. I see no need to Americanize our language!
 
Originally Posted By: Silk
I see no need to Americanize our language!


Er...I think that should be "Americanise", actually.
 
We call those L200/Shogun and Rams etc Pick-ups. Open bed or with a removable cover, otherwise it's a van, bus or SUV. I like the mighty boy!
 
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Originally Posted By: Ducked
Originally Posted By: Silk
I see no need to Americanize our language!


Er...I think that should be "Americanise", actually.


You're correct, but the American based spellcheck doesn't like it!
 
This is Globalization at it's finest, they don't want to call them utes, then they can get out. Trump pledges to bring back "Merry Christmas" so I guess the Aussies need to petition Government officials to use ute as a cause of National sovereignty?
 
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