OT: 2026 El Camino?

Here’s one that deserves the nameplate.

Waterboy wrote:

Sorry, I wasn’t aware that the Cybertruck was the fiercest competitor for the new El Camino.  lol.  I thought you were just bringing it up so you could make a negative statement against Musk.  lol. I think his products pretty much speak for themselves. lol

In so many ways!

https://www.dailydot.com/debug/cybertruck-fails-2024/

"It may be ugly, but at least it also doesn’t work.

Significant mechanical, electrical, and design issues left customers stranded and in stitches, as digital ignitions crapped out, systems failed, chasses broke, and sharp edges wounded."

JWaterboy wrote:

Sorry, I wasn’t aware that the Cybertruck was the fiercest competitor for the new El Camino.  lol.  I thought you were just bringing it up so you could make a negative statement against Musk.  lol. I think his products pretty much speak for themselves. lol

Might have to look into one of these.  The reviews are overwhelmingly positive. 

https://www.caranddriver.com/tesla/cybertruck

Waterboy wrote:

What in the hell does a Cybertruck have to with an El Camino any more than a Ford F150?  Lol. It’s kinda like you’re forcing your political views in just for kicks.  Have you test driven a cybertruck?

To be fair, I think all EVs are trash, and I am sick of the agenda getting pushed down our throats. I think the Tesla crybabies are funny though. 

With that being said, The Cybertruck is godawful. It is hideous.

JustInTime wrote:
https://x.com/jeremyfromga/status/1918406722038772086?s=46&t=TjjB9Q4BmOwmN74RrrMjoQ

The El Camino concept car has been kicking around GM for a while.  Here's the Pontiac S8GT version from circa 1999.  I've seen that one at the GM Milford Proving Grounds.  You can see the Pontiac front end.  The automotive manufacturers are in a bad state right now.   They usually design and start tooling up for new vehicles approx. 5 years before they ever see the street.  Most of them went all in on EVs...and are now realizing that was a mistake...after spending Billions.  They now have to redesign and retool designs and plants on the fly...something they're not good at.  Otherwise, all they have to sell is older design vehicles...and in some cases they had already started to change over those lines.  As someone mentioned, Stellantis (Chrysler) is in bad shape likely doesn't survive.  They have a fraction of the design and test people they once had.  Too much interference from their foreign parents (first Daimler and now Fiat), a declining business with heavy pension commitments, loss of the mini-van generation and the rise of the Toyota Tundra.  I'm guessing they shed the Jeep business and close the doors at some point.

Canthony wrote:

To be fair, I think all EVs are trash, and I am sick of the agenda getting pushed down our throats. I think the Tesla crybabies are funny though. 

With that being said, The Cybertruck is godawful. It is hideous.

I drove an EV loaner for a week and LOVED IT! 

One of our next cars will be EV. 

Great for around town, which is the vast majority of our driving. They are fast as hell and I liked not spewing toxins into the atmosphere while driving too.

The EV segment will continue to grow, its not going to go away. Mfgrs understand that consumers want choices (ice, phev, bev) and they'll continue to have them for a long while (unless you live outside the US).

Others are looking into hydrogen, but that's a pipe dream imo.

purplefaithful wrote:

I'm a big car guy...One of my passions in life

I drove an EV loaner for a week and LOVED IT! 

One of our next cars for sure will be EV. Great for around town, which is the vast majority of our driving. They are fast as hell too.

The EV segment will continue to grow, its not going to go away. Others are looking into hydrogen, but that is imo a pipe dream.

I had a hybrid Lexus which was a nice compromise.  The problem with those is the battery goes at about 100000 miles.  In the case of the Lexus, that means unwelding the very large battery support and dropping it down and replacing it.  The cost was in the $9000 range.  And the battery was not recyclable meaning that very large toxic mess was heading for a landfill somewhere.

I won't buy another hybrid or EV until they resolve the recycle issue.  There's too much of this "green" stuff that has a profound negative environmental effect that isn't discussed for ideological reasons.  And don't get me started on those stupid wind turbines.

badgervike wrote:

I had a hybrid Lexus which was a nice compromise.  The problem with those is the battery goes at about 100000 miles.  In the case of the Lexus, that means unwelding the very large battery support and dropping it down and replacing it.  The cost was in the $9000 range.  And the battery was not recyclable meaning that very large toxic mess was heading for a landfill somewhere.

I won't buy another hybrid or EV until they resolve the recycle issue.  There's too much of this "green" stuff that has a profound negative environmental effect that isn't discussed for ideological reasons.  And don't get me started on those stupid wind turbines.

I edited my post while you were replying...I understand there is more to do on battery disposal. The mfgr I used to work for was devoting quite a bit of resource to make sure the plants to battery disposal were "more green" on the environment. 

By the time these batteries die, most people will be looking for a new car anyways. 

No, not perfect yet by any means.

I don’t think a Cybertruck is a horrible comparison.  It seems to me like it’s in that half-car, half-truck, mostly in the city niche that an El Camino would try to fill.  Only issue I have is that it isn’t giving me El Camino vibes.  I probably would have rebranded it as a newer S-10 Baja.  Striking this out.  I can't see some social media posts while at work, and was referring to a different rendering at the top of google that was giving much more truck vibes.

purplefaithful wrote:

I drove an EV loaner for a week and LOVED IT! 

One of our next cars will be EV. 

Great for around town, which is the vast majority of our driving. They are fast as hell and I liked not spewing toxins into the atmosphere while driving too.

The EV segment will continue to grow, its not going to go away. Mfgrs understand that consumers want choices (ice, phev, bev) and they'll continue to have them for a long while (unless you live outside the US).

Others are looking into hydrogen, but that's a pipe dream imo.

If there’s ever a full size SUV I’d consider an EV. 

Hydrogen might be closer than you think.

JustInTime wrote:

If there’s ever a full size SUV I’d consider an EV. 

Hydrogen might be closer than you think.

I just see how slow the electric rollout has been..Hydrogen intuitively will take longer imo. 

Like I posted earlier, Mfgrs have learned consumers want choices and thats a good thing. 

We're no longer car people, just SUV (or my little convertible).

I think the massive legislations to shore up EVs will end up being seen as overreach, at a global level. The charging stations still have consistency issues, the vehicles are still running relatively young science (and adding more bells/whistles by the minute), and buyers traded an awful lot of EVs back in after the initial push.

There were and are many simpler ways to push electrification, and I hope that hydrogen gains traction...but, EVs with "range extending engines" are a likely focus for the near term.

purplefaithful wrote:


I drove an EV loaner for a week and LOVED IT! 

One of our next cars will be EV. 

Great for around town, which is the vast majority of our driving. They are fast as hell and I liked not spewing toxins into the atmosphere while driving too.

The EV segment will continue to grow, its not going to go away. Mfgrs understand that consumers want choices (ice, phev, bev) and they'll continue to have them for a long while (unless you live outside the US).

Others are looking into hydrogen, but that's a pipe dream imo.

Some EVs are very good cars. Son and his wife got a new Volkswagen ID4 last year....got like $15,000 in subsidies in Colorado/Federal so that's why he went new. They love it, its a a great car. I sent him a new EV charger I had sitting in the box in my garage from a previous employer, so they charge it mostly in their garage overnight.

Zanary wrote:
It's a decent concept, and I've liked "Rancheros" I've seen from Mustang foundations...

...but, right now, the car buying public is fixated on some version of a 'pregnant hatchback'. They're happening in all shapes, sizes, drivetrains, etc...sedans are almost dead, coupes likewise, pickups have to have Bluetooth, cupholders, and multiple screens....

I think it is the car makers fixated on the crossover hatchback.  It classifies as a truck and therefore not subject to the same level of safety regulations as cars.  That is why all of them look the same.

As to the El Camino, Ranchero, I hated the originals and feel the same for the new "retro" model.  The weird cross between truck and car just seems lame to me.  The bigger models like the Avalanche are just a bigger blight on the road.  Had a coworker mention his "truck" when we were moving work stuff.  Hard not to laugh knowing he drove an Avalanche.

Canthony wrote:

To be fair, I think all EVs are trash, and I am sick of the agenda getting pushed down our throats. I think the Tesla crybabies are funny though. 

With that being said, The Cybertruck is godawful. It is hideous.

saw one trimmed out to look like an actual dumpster.  Was spot on.

Call me old fashioned, but I think a truck should be able to go over a speed bump without scraping bottom

This is the new Chinese Cyber truck! 👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/rqE5nqWbba

— Suzie rizzio (@Suzierizzo1) May 5, 2025

This one doesn’t look like it could be entered in a soap box derby.

JustInTime wrote:
https://x.com/suzierizzo1/status/1919475655726793042?s=46&t=TjjB9Q4BmOwmN74RrrMjoQ

This one doesn’t look like it could be entered in a soap box derby.

That's the thing that gets lost in all this. Politics and assembly issues aside, the Cybertruck is just one really ugly vehicle.

greediron wrote:

I think it is the car makers fixated on the crossover hatchback.  It classifies as a truck and therefore not subject to the same level of safety regulations as cars.  That is why all of them look the same.

As to the El Camino, Ranchero, I hated the originals and feel the same for the new "retro" model.  The weird cross between truck and car just seems lame to me.  The bigger models like the Avalanche are just a bigger blight on the road.  Had a coworker mention his "truck" when we were moving work stuff.  Hard not to laugh knowing he drove an Avalanche.

I was OK with Rancheros, El Caminos, etc in that they were from a simpler time; they offered a fair amount of basic utility with easier ingress/egress than pickups...and got a few more mpg due to weighing a good bit less.

As I play music a lot of evenings but like a good performance car, some of the "Mustang Shooting Brake (wagon)" concepts always worked for me; having my power/handling plus space for amps and guitar cases was a happy thought. Realistically, I'll end up with an Explorer Sport or similar.

Zanary wrote:

I was OK with Rancheros, El Caminos, etc in that they were from a simpler time; they offered a fair amount of basic utility with easier ingress/egress than pickups...and got a few more mpg due to weighing a good bit less.

As I play music a lot of evenings but like a good performance car, some of the "Mustang Shooting Brake (wagon)" concepts always worked for me; having my power/handling plus space for amps and guitar cases was a happy thought. Realistically, I'll end up with an Explorer Sport or similar.

I previously had an Explorer. Nice vehicle and very good mileage.

MaroonBells wrote:


That's the thing that gets lost in all this. Politics and assembly issues aside, the Cybertruck is just one really ugly vehicle.

We have 3 or 4 in our neighborhood.....very ugly vehicles.