The First Utility

I have just been reading for the 50th time an article claiming that a farmer's wife from Gippsland (it used to just be a farmer's wife but giving her an address makes it more authentic) asked for a car to go to church on Sundays and carry pigs to market on Mondays. Churches and pigs sound a bit American to me but still possible. I doubt Ford would have created a production line born out of Mrs O'Flaherty's (getting more authentic with a name) mythical letter.

There had been many styleside utes produced over the years including body builders in USA on the T Model but the claim is for a coupe hard top ute based on the front end of the company's current sedan. Nearly everything up to that stage had soft top cab or a square truck-style cab.

Unfortunately in 1927 Volvo started producing style side utes in both soft and hard (based on their sedan styling) front end. When they began their vehicle production it was going to be 50/50 hard and soft top right across their range but very quickly the Swedish weather had the customers wanting an 80/20 mix.

Here is a photo of the 1927 soft top version I will try to find a good photo of the hard top machine that gazumped Ford by 7 years.

Yet another long held myth blown out the door!
I'm inclined towards the Volvo version.
Dave

Kind of hard to distinguish between a car and a truck in the early days. A lot seems to depend on the shape of the cowl and windshield posts.

Plus, the tray/rear treatment also makes a huge difference too.

Ford's ute is definitely car based and shaped . . . not that I have ever necessarily agreed to the claim of it being the first.

Here is a 1927 Volvo sedan and Volvo truck

Defining a truck and ute, the load carrying area of a truck is separate from the cab, whereas the same area on a ute is integral, with the sill and roof of the cabin.

I am getting close to a ute photo.

Here is the Coupe cab on which it was based.




Here is a 1940 Volvo ute.

Even Ford beat themselves. Three years before Mrs O'Flaherty wrote to Ford Geelong this Ford "Huckster" was on the road. This is a museum model.



This makes all Australian claims total BS.

This is a good story on them. Before Aussie ute die-hards try to claim the body came from outside Ford and they were just assembled at the factory. The great majority of vehicles up to WW2 (and many later) had outside bodies. GM used many outside body builders such as Fisher and Budd. Holdens (at that time not belonging to GM and even well after) built bodies for many different makes in Australia. Richards (at that time nor belonging to Chrysler and even well after) built bodies for many different makes.

The final test is were they sold as Fords, Chevrolets or whatever by the factory dealership network.

The main point is even in their wildest dreams Aussie ute supporters do not have a leg to stand on.

www.soonermodela.org/Events/Articles/66A_Chronicles_pt-1.pdf

I have never heard of the story of Mrs O"Flaherty or of the connection with Gippsland. I have seen publicity from Ford Australia claiming that in 1932 Ford Geelong received a letter asking for a car-based vehicle that could be used both as car and a light truck. Apparently, we are expected to believe that nobody had heard of the light trucks that had been around since the earliest days of motoring. Ford made much publicity until he died, of Mr. Lew Bandt, including colour posters of him beside one of the Utes. Ford claimed he had designed the Coupe-Ute which they said was the forerunner of all ute-type vehicles in the world.

As I have said several times on this forum "Don't let my 1929 Chevrolet Ute hear you say that Ford invented the Ute in 1932." The Chev. Utes, from much earlier than mine are pictured in the book "Sixty Years of Chevrolet" by Howard H Damman. The Utes were built by Chevrolet in USA and by several body building Companies in Australia and other countries. I have a brochure from a Western Australian builder featuring a 1929 Chevrolet Ute.

Morris

Are they car coupe style hard top utes not truck cabs or soft tops. The rear body has to have continuous styleside as a one unit body not a separate cargo or "pick-up" bed. I think that is the definition of an "Aussie" ute - a Coupe Utility.

We call every light vehicle with a tray, styleside or Landcruiser type tray back a ute now but the claims centre around the classic coupe.

Soft top utes go back to Karl Benz.