14. Chevrolet El Camino
In 1957, Ford introduced the Ranchero. It was a half car-half truck they built on their passenger car design and chassis. It was an interesting alternative to a regular truck since it offered a decent payload. Yet it offered the drivability and size of a standard car. The Ranchero caught Chevrolet by surprise, so they didn’t have an answer for this model. The Ranchero became relatively popular, so Chevy needed something to fight Ford. Their answer came in 1959 in the form of the El Camino.
They built this beautiful truck on an Impala frame featuring the same looks, engine, and cabin. Most customers immediately embraced it since the El Camino offered all the goodies of the Chevrolet main passenger lineup with a half-ton capacity. In fact, they made the El Camino more upscale than the Ranchero. It featured a better option list as well as more powerful engines. The straight-six was standard, but many customers optioned for the V8.