Sometimes I still dream about my first car. But I also daydream about a car I never had. Well it’s sort of a car and sort of a truck. A cruck? A trar? The El Camino. Practical pickup truck bed, small vehicle. Given that I remember them from the 70s and 80s, I doubt they were very efficient. They probably had massive engines and miniscule MPG.
They fell out of favour as Americans went for bigger and bigger vehicles. But the concept lived on in Australia where they’re known as ‘utes’, and I’d occasionally catch a glimpse of them if I momentarily got caught up in some Aussie drama series. Never mind the near incestuous relationships, the crook storylines or the suspiciously high rate of accidental deaths on these shows – it was all worth it for the utes.
When searching for utes for sale in the UK (ya never know), I came across a used car site which was selling those big SUVs with a dwarfy little pickup bed sticking out of the end. None of the sleek romance of the El Camino. These newer things just look like bulbous chimeras.
I thought I’d have a little more luck on eBay, but even there nothing like the El Camino.I did however find a new object of desire – this Nissan Sunny ‘cruck’. Not quite as romantic, but seriously quirky.
But as much as I covet this Sunny, it doesn’t replace the El Camino in my heart. I know my dream is out of reach. So like a 15 yr old boy drawing in his school notebook, I made an image of my dream car.
Call it an artist’s proof. There are a few problems here (kick the tire for one) – but I love it. It’s one of the few prints I’ve pulled where it was love at first site – and this was an impulse print after I’d printed a dry point etching. This lino was printed on an etching press on damp Somerset – giving it some cool emboss. It’s my bitchin’ El Camino. The car of my dreams.
Look out for more alluring automobiles in future posts. I have a strong bench of contenders.
