The Return of the El Camino? Part 2 05/09/2011
Previously, we detailed the history of the Chevrolet El Camino and car fans' clamoring for a revival of this classic coupe-pickup Frankenstein model from the 60s. The company came close with the Pontiac G8 ST, a model very close in design to the El Camino that was ultimately scrapped before the brand was axed.
With all quiet on the El Camino front for several years, fans of this classic model now have a new beacon of hope in the form of Joel Ewanick, Chevrolet's new Chief Marketing Officer. As all marketers seem to be doing nowadays, Ewanick recently joined Twitter and was quickly contacted by a user known as "Chevalanche," who asked what it would take to get a new El Camino. Ewanick's response was "we need you and 100,000 of your best friends."
And the race was on.
The story was picked up by car blog Jalopnik, who urged users to comment on the post and contact Ewanick on Twitter to request a revival of the car. Considering that the post got thousands of comments in just a few hours, GM just might have something on its hands here. Later, GM President of North America Mark Reuss chimed in on Facebook by commenting "well I vote yes."
Perhaps many would write this off as nothing more than as a social media distraction that won't really go anywhere, but there is a bit of precedent. Audi previously used Facebook to gauge interest on a U.S. version of the TT RS, and ultimately felt the response was strong enough to put the car into production. Several other sites have also picked up rumors that GM was considering an El Camino revival anyways, with the Pontiac G8 ST seemingly confirming those thoughts, even if only momentarily.
Time will tell, but don't be surprised if in a few years you see the El Camino let loose on the streets again.