Today’s crossover craze can arguably trace its roots back to 1957 when Ford rolled out its first Ranchero, followed closely two years later by Chevrolet’s El Camino. Both were basically two-door station wagons with their rear-roof sections removed to open up a pickup-style bed that could haul about a half-ton of cargo. Like Ford’s “car-truck,” Chevy’s ’59 El Camino was available with either six-cylinder or V-8 power, with the latter group including both the yeoman 283-cid small-block and the muscular 348.

Most passenger-car features, including snazzy two-tone paint, were available options for the 1959 El Camino, which prices starting at about $2,500. Compare that to the $1,950 bottom line for a typical Chevy Stepside pickup and you begin to see why Chevy people found its original car-truck a bit of a tough sale. Although 1959 numbers (22,246) topped that year’s Ranchero tally by about 50 percent, Chevrolet shelved the idea following a downturn in 1960 to 14,163.