THE REAL THING
It’s an interesting phenomenon, the ute. Its purpose and practicality on the farm is unquestionable, especially in drier places like the North American midwest, Australia, and Africa.
By ute I mean the half-car, half-truck we know best from where the term originated, in Australia. In North America, of course, they are pick-up trucks, and they are big enough to use that name, and in South Africa they are backies.
At one stage they had fallen so far out of favour that Holden dropped them from their line-up. Now the modern equivalents dominate new ‘car’ sales for other manufacturers. They have become a lifestyle choice. The name ute has transferred to the modern version, the light trucks, some of which are four-wheel drive, that can tow around 3500kg but which don’t share a name or any body parts with a car — vehicles like the Toyota Hilux and the Nissan Navara. It must be noted the term ‘truck’ is probably more popular with ‘lifestyle’ buyers, the people who made the Ford Ranger the biggest selling ‘car’ in New Zealand.
He always knew that he was going to restore the ute at some stage, so it was kept in storage for about eight years before work began on it
There’s no doubt
