What is a ute?
EVERYBODY knows Americans love their trucks - but there is one type that consistently raises questions across the nation.
Utility vehicles, commonly referred to as utes, are not as popular in the United States as you might expect.
What are ute vehicles?
This ute is actually very popular Down Under - in Australia and New Zealand.
But the utility vehicle, commonly known as the ute, has yet to take off in the US despite the nation's penchant for massive trucks.
The ute was first invented by the Ford motor company in 1925, as a mix between a sedan and a pickup truck.
It supposedly came about after Ford received a letter from an Australian family in need of a vehicle that could serve their farming business as well as their everyday tasks.
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The vehicle is a two-wheel-drive, with a rear end cargo tray and an integrated passenger body.
To Americans, who favor pickups, the ute would probably not pass as a truck - not least because in comparison they are definitely on the smaller scale.
Ute buyers and collectors are often fans of similar cars, such as the El Camino and Ranchero, which have similar builds and performance.
Yet, as typical, large cargo bed pickup trucks took over America and the need for utes decreased, the vehicle began to fade into the background.
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Do ute vehicles still exist?
While it is true the ute hasn't exactly taken off in the US, they are a national favourite in Australia.
They were first popularised in rural areas of the country, but have since been integrated into the urban streets of Australian cities.
Aside from their cult popularity, one of the bigger factors to the rise of the ute is thanks to how they are made in Australia.
This keeps their prices fairly cheap for buyers within the country.
According to the New York Times, "every year, Australians buy 70,000 utes and small pickups, about 9 percent of the vehicle market".
Are ute vehicles popular in the United States?
The standard pickup truck is much more popular in America than the ute vehicle.
Pickups grew popular because of overwhelming demand for greater load capacity and ground clearance.
US-built pickup trucks are still one of the best-selling vehicles in America today.
The standard US-pickups often include four doors, which makes it more family friendly - something the ute does not provide.
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The price and performance of a US-built pickup truck also made the purchase more worthwhile than a ute.
The Ford F-Series and Ram are two of the top-selling 2021 pickup trucks in the United States.