Summary
The 1955 Chevrolet Cameo Carrier was a special half-ton pickup truck model with a unique “fleetside” body, designed by future GM Styling VP Chuck Jordan. It used fiberglass outer panels to create a slab-sided bed without a step ahead of each rear wheel, which was unusual for pickup trucks of the time. The Cameo Carrier and the equivalent GMC Suburban Pickup also had deluxe trim and interior appointments, making them more luxurious than standard Chevrolet and GMC trucks. High prices meant that the Cameo Carrier and Suburban Pickup sold only in limited numbers through 1958. However, they inspired similar models from several other manufacturers. By the late fifties, most American pickup truck lines offered a similar-looking slab-sided body style.
The Harbinger
It’s tempting to overstate the impact and historical significance of the Cameo Carrier. It did foreshadow the modern age of cushy personal-use trucks and utility vehicles, but it did not bring about an immediate sea change in the social standing of light trucks, nor did it spark a new vogue for luxury pickups. Both of these things eventually happened, but the transition was both gradual and protracted. The Cameo Carrier did provide an auspicious American introduction to the “Fleetside” body style, which proved very popular once it became available in all-steel form, but the popularity of that body style probably had as much to do with the practical advantages of the wider bed — something the Cameo Carrier couldn’t offer — as anything else.
While the 1958 Chevrolet Cameo Carrier looked much like the Apache Fleetside pickup that effectively replaced it, it was considerably more expensive and far less practical, which sealed its fate. This is a very rare truck: Only 375 were built before production ended mid-year. (Photo: “1958 Chevrolet Cameo Carrier Pick-Up” by Greg Gjerdingen, which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) license)
Still, as a truck expressly designed to appeal more to the eye and the ego than to practical sensibilities, the Cameo Carrier was decades ahead of its time.
NOTES ON SOURCES
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Aaron – I cannot tell you how satisfying it is to read your work. I think all gearheads will echo my feelings. Back to the point – as a small child in a small town dealership, we were all involved with Dad’s business. We knew the other kids of dealer owners and the wives all hung out together, too. Therefore we heard what the consensus of the adults usually was. The local Chevrolet dealer loved the styling of the Cameo, but deemed it sale-proof. So, to increase the visibility, he would have the parts department drive one as the delivery truck. I remember seeing a plaque on his wall a few years later noting his excellence in truck sales. We also saw one that had been customized with Cragar wheels and two-toned paint down the sides. As was customary in 1956, it had the words “Tall Cool One” on the flanks. That was a very fun time to grow up as every day was new ground. Now, 60 years later, the little girl who played with my sisters still owns that Chevrolet store. The American Dream.
As regards sales potential, I think there’s some parallel (as mentioned in the text) with the postwar American coupe-utilities. (The limiting factor in sales of the Ranchero and El Camino was not that American buyers didn’t like the look or the idea, but that translating that aesthetic or conceptual appeal into sales was challenging: Yes, a Ranchero or El Camino was car-like, but having NO back seat was a tough compromise for a lot of people, and if you actually needed a pickup, it was hard to get around the fact that an actual pickup was a better value, particularly once the Japanese compact trucks became more widely available.)
Glad to have you back with your beautiful insights…
Aaron,
Thanks so much for the Cameo article! This is one of my all time favorite trucks. I have read most of the material on Ate Up With Motor, some of it twice. I appreciate your writing style and details you provide.
Thanks!
SO glad to finally see some brand new content instead of simply retooling the existing stories. I was frankly worried that you were considering winding the whole site down. Looking forward to seeing your next story about the “rope-drive” Tempest…
I just want to echo others in letting you know how much we appreciate new content from you, as well as your continued maintenance of this site, Aaron! It’s an invaluable resource, and here’s hoping greater clarity arrives with regards to some of the laws that have been vexing you over the past few years!
I wonder if you might reach out to the owners of some other resource sites, like Paul Niedermeyer’s Curbside Classic, who might have spoken with their own attorneys about these regulations.
Honestly, it all seems pretty hopeless, and I haven’t been able to get any help at all. It feels like I’m just running out the clock. I’ve been trying to finish the rope-drive Tempest article, but beyond that, I don’t know.
Loved the article Aaron. I’ve often read about HOA’s banning pickup trucks from parking in driveways where cars would be allowed – “uncouth” indeed! I wonder if that has changed after decades of them being mainstream transport or whether those rules are just ignored/not enforced now?
At the very least, they’ve become harder to enforce in some places. In California, for instance, a rule like that might be considered a form of unlawful housing discrimination. (I’m no lawyer, but current state laws on housing discrimination are expansive, and I believe they include a prohibition on housing discrimination based on someone’s lawful source of income. So, an HOA rule that would have the effect of discriminating against people who work as plumbers, carpenters, or contractors seems like it might be on shaky ground, legally speaking.)