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Written by Rowan Horncastle
Last Friday, at 3pm local time, the last ever Falcon Ute rolled off Ford"s Melbourne factory production line.Dwindling sales and increased interest in the Australian-developed, Thai-built Ranger pick-up truck spelt the end for it. This, combined with arch rival Holden also ceasing production of the crazy half truck, half car mish-mashes means that the venerable Aussie icon is no more.For those few of you unaware, a ute is an Australian invention that combines the benefits of a car with the practicality of a pick-up truck. It"s the opposite of a mullet: party in the front, business at the back. The idea came about 80 years ago when a farmer"s wife from Gippsland, Australia, wrote to the head of the Ford Motor Company"s outpost in Melbourne. "My husband and I can"t afford a car and a truck," she said, "but we need a car to go to church on Sunday and a truck to take the pigs to market on Monday. Can you help?"In an act of consumer responsiveness that these days only happens after a particularly shouty tweet, Ford Australia went and built the first utility vehicle. Since the start of production in February 1961, 439,743 Falcon utes have been made. Over the years, all manner of mad and crude utes have been produced, and we"ve gone through and highlighted some of our favourites. They are here. Enjoy.
Date written: 3 Aug 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 4511
Last Friday, at 3pm local time, the last ever Falcon Ute rolled off Ford"s Melbourne factory production line.Dwindling sales and increased interest in the Australian-developed, Thai-built Ranger pick-up truck spelt the end for it. This, combined with arch rival Holden also ceasing production of the crazy half truck, half car mish-mashes means that the venerable Aussie icon is no more.For those few of you unaware, a ute is an Australian invention that combines the benefits of a car with the practicality of a pick-up truck. It"s the opposite of a mullet: party in the front, business at the back. The idea came about 80 years ago when a farmer"s wife from Gippsland, Australia, wrote to the head of the Ford Motor Company"s outpost in Melbourne. "My husband and I can"t afford a car and a truck," she said, "but we need a car to go to church on Sunday and a truck to take the pigs to market on Monday. Can you help?"In an act of consumer responsiveness that these days only happens after a particularly shouty tweet, Ford Australia went and built the first utility vehicle. Since the start of production in February 1961, 439,743 Falcon utes have been made. Over the years, all manner of mad and crude utes have been produced, and we"ve gone through and highlighted some of our favourites. They are here. Enjoy.
Date written: 3 Aug 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 4511
