Business in the Front, Party in the Back:
Can anyone explain why the Ute is popular in Australia?
I don’t know for certain, so I’m just theorizing here. My guess is it’s basically nothing more than an image thing. Utes have a strong association with certain qualities that Australians claim to value: working with your hands, working outdoors, living in a country town, enjoying a cold beer, etc. These qualities have been compressed into a concept known as The Battler. The Battler is beset on all sides with adversity; the indifferent violence of nature; the greed of bankers; the studied malice of bureaucrats. But The Battler keeps on going. Car companies have managed to create a marketing iconography that strongly links the ute to the concept of The Battler. Like all the best marketing it never makes these links explicit, leaving you wondering things like “Why is that Scotch College kid driving that fuck-ugly car?”