utility vehicle

Ute - another Australian word perhaps not commonly known

@JudyEv (381582)

Rockingham, Australia

February 27, 2022 7:16pm CST

When I first joined myLot, I had no idea there were so many words and phrases that were uniquely Australian. The word ‘ute’ was one that people asked about. ‘Ute’ is short for ‘utility vehicle’. It seems similar vehicles in America are mostly called pick-ups or trucks. My sources say the difference between a truck or pickup and a ute is that the tray back is made from one sheet of metal attached to the cabin. Henry Ford started manufacturing vehicles in Australia in 1925. When the Great Depression hit in 1929, farmers could only get credit for one vehicle, and that needed to be a truck. A farmer’s wife wrote to Hubert French, Ford Australia’s general manager, pleading for a vehicle that could take her to church on Sunday and carry pigs to market on Monday. Designer Lew Brandt adapted a Ford coupe sedan, shortening the cabin and moulding a tray to the rear. Henry Ford dismissed the early prototypes as ‘kangaroo chasers’ and so the first utes were manufactured by Ford Australia. They were an instant success in Australia and soon became an everyday sight in rural areas. In 1999, Deniliquin, New South Wales, staged the inaugural Deniliquin Ute Muster with the aim of bringing much-needed revenue to the drought-stricken town. Since then, 10,000 or more utes descend on the town on this day. They come from all over Australia. Nowadays, the ute is the workhorse vehicle, used by tradesmen and farmers alike. The photo shows the lengths you have to go to if you don't own a ute.

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18 responses

@rebelann (117181)

• El Paso, Texas

28 Feb 22

As JJ said, it's an Indian tribe here in the USA.

https://www.utetribe.com/

www.utetribe.com

https://www.utetribe.com/

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Feb 22

I have heard of the Utes. When I was small, my father bred horses and mostly paint/pinto/skewbald horses. Cowboy and Indian films were very popular and the Indians all have coloured ponies. Some of our horses were given names of Indian tribes - but we didn't have a Ute.

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@rebelann (117181)

• El Paso, Texas

28 Feb 22

They aren't as well known as the Souix or Apache in Hollywood films which is probably why your dad didn't name one Ute.

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

2 Mar 22

@rebelann People would have been thinking of the vehicle too and wondering why a horse was called a 'ute'.

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@LadyDuck (502002)

• Italy

28 Feb 22

The Ute tribe is a native American tribe and I think it is the tribe that gave the name to the American state of Utah.

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@LadyDuck (502002)

• Italy

2 Mar 22

@JudyEv The first time I went to the United States I was fascinated visiting a Native American Tribe. I bought books to know their names, where they lived, what they did when the country was their country.

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

2 Mar 22

@LadyDuck When I was growing up, Westerns were the most popular film genre and the native Americans were always the 'baddies'.

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

2 Mar 22

Yes, it seems that way.

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@BarBaraPrz (51811)

• St. Catharines, Ontario

28 Feb 22

https://www.utvdriver.com/utv-buyers-guide/

www.utvdriver.com

https://www.utvdriver.com/utv-buyers-guide/

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@BarBaraPrz (51811)

• St. Catharines, Ontario

2 Mar 22

@JudyEv That's like the Ranchero that Ford produced between 1957 and 1979.

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

2 Mar 22

Thanks for the link but that's a totally different vehicle. This is what I'm talking about.

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

2 Mar 22

@BarBaraPrz Yes, that's a lot nearer what I'm talking about.

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@wolfgirl569 (135493)

• Marion, Ohio

28 Feb 22

I love the versatility of having a truck.

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@wolfgirl569 (135493)

• Marion, Ohio

28 Feb 22

@JudyEv It is. And especially with mine having a back seat

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Feb 22

In your situation, you'd find it incredibly handy.

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

2 Mar 22

@wolfgirl569 They call them 'extended cabs' here. Some are good but in some, the extension would be very uncomfortable for anyone but a midget.

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Vicki, #1 Creek Girl

@1creekgirl (44560)

• United States

28 Feb 22

That's very interesting! I learn so much from you, Judy.

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Vicki, #1 Creek Girl

@1creekgirl (44560)

• United States

28 Feb 22

@JudyEv Sticky beak? That's cool!

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

2 Mar 22

@1creekgirl It means a nosey-parker. Someone who is always checking out someone else's business.

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Feb 22

Thanks. I guess I'm just a sticky-beak. I find something interesting and then I want to share it with everyone.

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@DeborahDiane (40841)

• Laguna Woods, California

28 Feb 22

@JudyEv - It took me a while watching TV shows made in Australia to figure out what a Ute was. It is funny how different words mean different things in different countries. We all speak English, but our words can have different meanings ... just like the boot of a car in Great Britain is what we call the trunk.

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@DeborahDiane (40841)

• Laguna Woods, California

3 Mar 22

@JudyEv - Yes, our glove box is called a glove compartment ... and the funny thing is that I do not know anyone who keeps gloves in it!

People here in the U.S. have different expressions, habits, and foods in different parts of the U.S. In Texas, so much of the food is fried that it shocked me when we first moved there. I remember going to one restaurant where everything on the menu was fried ... the meat, the potatoes, and even the vegetables!! I like the California food better, and think it is healthier. In fact, California is tied with Hawaii for the states with the longest lifespan.

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Mar 22

@DeborahDiane We sometimes remark how big some Americans are and how much some seem to eat but Australians are following in your footsteps. However, we have plenty of information on how to eat more healthily and plenty of healthy options in our shops.

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

2 Mar 22

We call it a boot too and we have a glove-box but I think it's a glove compartment there. Is that right? Even our states sometimes have different terms. A crisscross patch in WA is called a gaiter in SA. (these are for mending punctures).

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@shaggin (74988)

• United States

28 Feb 22

I was reading the whole thing wondering why you weren’t showing Ute in your photo. I giggled when I got to the part that explains what you are showing in the photo!

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Feb 22

We don't have a ute and I don't have any photos of utes so I had to do some creative thinking!!

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@58lordstreet (1668)

•

28 Feb 22

@JudyEv they do like shortening things in Australia

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@Shavkat (141906)

• Philippines

28 Feb 22

I had learned some new words and idiomatic expressions here.

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@Shavkat (141906)

• Philippines

1 Mar 22

@JudyEv I think we do not have.

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Feb 22

That's good. I'm sure you'd have utility-like vehicles in the Philippines.

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@FourWalls (86480)

• United States

28 Feb 22

As JJ said “Ute” is also a tribe of American Indians, honored by the nickname of the University of Utah (the Utah Utes).

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

2 Mar 22

People always have to shorten words, don't they, although I don't think Ute (as in native Americans) is one of them.

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@DWDavis (25797)

• United States

28 Feb 22

The ute you describe sounds similar to my F250. The cab is a four-door and can accommodate 5 passengers easily. Here in the US, a Ute is a Native American tribe located in the state of Utah.

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

2 Mar 22

Some of ours are four door and extended cabs now. There is a huge range of configurations.

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@RubyHawk (99367)

• Atlanta, Georgia

28 Feb 22

We have almost as many pickup trucks on the road as cars.

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Feb 22

I can well believe it. They're very handy.

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@RubyHawk (99367)

• Atlanta, Georgia

1 Mar 22

@JudyEv They are handy when you have things to move.

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@thedevilinme (5217)

• Northampton, England

28 Feb 22

I hear the Kingswood yute is making a comeback

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

2 Mar 22

It could be but I didn't think we were making cars any more. The Kingswood was popular in its time.

@thedevilinme (5217)

• Northampton, England

2 Mar 22

@JudyEv They closed in 2015 but every Aussie had a Kings once. Its now cool to have a retro Kingswood Yute

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@CarolDM (203396)

• Nashville, Tennessee

28 Feb 22

I have learned a lot from my friend and her emails. I have to research many words.

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

2 Mar 22

I hope your friend is safe. The floods in Qld have been horrendous.

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@CarolDM (203396)

• Nashville, Tennessee

2 Mar 22

@JudyEv She is for now she said.

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@Adie04 (17405)

•

28 Feb 22

I still remember when the big rubbish bin was out of area, cousin took the rubbish bin and place just like in the picture.

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Feb 22

It was an easy way to move the bins as we had quite a distance to take them to the road.

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@Adie04 (17405)

•

28 Feb 22

@JudyEv Yup, I agree with that.

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@bunnybon7 (50970)

• Holiday, Florida

28 Feb 22

funny. Thanks for all the interesting things about your country. I have a bad habit of not realizing our phrases are not the same all over the world, so times I get misunderstood but I try.

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Feb 22

I think, when I first joined, the community was nearly all Americans but now there seems a more even mix of nationalities. So phrases are even more often not known or misunderstood.

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@franxav (14588)

• India

28 Feb 22

Utes are certainly very useful vehicles . A similar vehicle in Bengal is called " Chhota Hathi" ( Baby elephant)

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Feb 22

That's an interesting term. Are big trucks 'Big elephants'?

@LindaOHio (222180)

• United States

28 Feb 22

I swear just about every man would love to have a pick-up truck here in the US. Thanks for the back story on the utes.

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Feb 22

They are a bit of a status symbol here too now and they've got bigger and bigger.

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@Kandae11 (57233)

•

28 Feb 22

Very interesting bit of history there. Looking at the picture, there is no doubt the Ute is the best bet.

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@JudyEv (381582)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Feb 22

They are a bit of a status symbol here now too. It's pretty macho to own one. The backs all have lids to stop the contents being stolen. An unhappy sign of the times.

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