All 4 wheel drives are the same, if you stick to that line alone.
All it says is that the vehicle being refered to has a 4 wheel drive capability, regardless of the type of vehicle it is fitted to. If the 4 wheel drive function is a permanant one, say, as in Suburu models, then it is generally accepted that we would call this an "all wheel drive vehicle", again, regardless of the vehicle type.

The term "4 wheel drive", [sometimes reduced to "4x4"] alludes exclusively to this selectable mechanical feature, however, since this feature is most frequently connected to a particular group of vehicle classes, many people incorectly conclude that the term 4 wheel drive automaticly refers to this vehicle category.
In many instances, these 4wd chassis are fitted with either passenger or commercial bodies. Land Rover would be an example of this

I am surprised that you would ask such a basic question.

Dattodevil
The "Car Truck" has been available in the US since '57 when the Ford division released it's Ranchero. This is the name that they applied to the first real mass production ute in the US & it seems to have been used as a substitute for the term "Ford Ute"

In '59, the Chevrolet division released it's own ute & they called them "El Camino" [I hope i got the spelling right] Like Ford, this seems to be the substitute for 'Chrev ute" & these two names have stuck.

These were always passenger car based designes, so they were Passenger Car Derivitives, & not based on a true commercial chassis.

Both model lines remained in production for many years, but i do not know if they are still being made

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I asked this question so I can better understand where/how you see things.

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As you seem to be after "deep thinkers", as I am. I just cant spell.

So here is the next basic question for you. Do you think that all commercial vehicles are the same??

Blair

i have a theory, maybe its nothing more than that, but to me it sounds reasonable...

dictionary definition of utility:
The quality or condition of being useful; usefulness;
and:
Designed for various often heavy-duty practical uses. e.g. a utility vehicle.
(this was the closest i could find of the term utility, and its application to vehicles)

When ford first invented the ute, it was a very useful car. (the idea was mentioned before of people being able to use it for work during the week, and still having a car to drive on sunday) Naturally they called it a utility, in accordance with the definition above. Later, the trayback version was invented/used, and in order to show there was a difference between the various types, they named it a trayback. The fact still remains, that it is a useful vehicle, and so under the dictionary definition, it is possible to refer to a trayback as a utility.

We could, using this idea, probably apply the term "utility" to every type of vehicle, as they are all useful. The original application of the term ute was to one with an open load space, the type we are discussing, and so it has remained specific to this category. as a result, individuals apply the term "ute" or "utility" to this group, or to a certain variety in this group.

Since there is no dictionary definition of the term utility, and its application in this area (at least, not that i could find, and yes dodgeman i did research ) the term can be applied as each individual wants to...

so we can probably all continue arguing/discussing this until our fingers are so sore we can't type anymore, and we still won't get anywhere.
maybe we should respect each others definition of "ute" and leave it at that.

interested to hear your views on this...

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Reasonable yes!!!! This all comes down to different points of view of many other people.

So by that Quote.........A 4X4 with a tray is a ute in my opinion.....like the Landcruiser. So I think that others like that should be classed as a ute cos it can be used as a sunday vehicle and a work vehicle mon-fri, even though they maybe be also classed as a commercial vehicle.

Blair

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If we stick strictly to what you have writen, then, yes, all commercial vehicles are the same in that they are just that, "commercial vehicles"

Within that very broad & all encompasing heading we will find a wide variety of diferent commercial vehicle types. If we use the term "vehicle" to mean only regristerable, road going machines, we can comfortably leave out Euclid dump trucks & anything else that would not be normally seen on the road. For the purpose of this exchange, i will also leave out any truck above a GVM of whatever you like, but i suspect that we could include vehicles with a payload capacity of up to 2 tons as some of the pickups can easily handle this.

Within the remaining spread we will see utes, pickups, flatbeds, or tray tops. Some of these tray tops are plain, or with fixed sides, or drop sides, or stake sides, some have tiping bodies. Some with special Trade Bodies.
The utes & pickups can be further divided into Utilities & Utility Trucks. The same applies to Pickups & Pickup Trucks, depending on whether they are built on a passenger chassis, [or it's close kin, the "commercial car" chassis], or instead, a true commercial, or even a truck chassis.
We can broaden the descriptive range even further if we want to get into things like fire trucks, some of which have been built onto the lighter chassis, although, these seem to miss the "open back cargo area" boat.

All of these are commercial vehicles.

So to answer the question that you actually asked, then i have to say, Yes, then No, as described above.


Edit. To reply to the last two posts. Lets get one thing clear.
FORD DID NOT INVENT THE UTE. They adopted it

The utility body style was invented by Holden body builders in 1924. Ford copied this style in 1928 [see photo] They then proceded to add a fixed top to this design in 1934, thereby producing a new variant, the "COUPE" utility. To do this, they added their existing "roadster" ute back, to the newly released coupe cabin. The utility body type had been in production for ten years prior to this development.

The name "utility" was applied to this body design by Holden, the original designers & makers of this body design, & this was carried through by the distributors of both Chev & Dodge when these vehicles were offered for sale on the showroom floor. I have seen an original 1924 newspaper ad for the Chev ute, & it was called a Utility in this ad I have also owned the derelict remains of a 1924 Dodge utility. It was clearly a factory made body.

Flatbed, or tray top vehicles had been well known as cargo carriers since the horse & cart days The "tray back" was around long before the ute body type, so while your theory is a good one, it does not reflect the facts.

At the risk of repeating myself, the name "Utility" was applied to a newly designed body style by it's designers & manufacturers in 1924. It refered to a specific design of body, whose decendants are still in manufacture today. The formal Pickup design seems to have appeared at about the same time, or a little earlier, & these used a pressed steel pickup "bed" that was bolted to the chassis, behind the cab, or driving compartment. Same design intent, diferent solution, & we have two diferent vehicles.

The term "buckboard" was often used to describe the tray back bodies that were occasionally fitted to some car chassis in the very early years. This was a direct carry through from the horse drawn vehicle of the same name as they both performed the same basic task, using the same basic design. This term is still to be heard today in some quarters, though not likley in Australia.

All these opinions & theories are just fine, but the word was coined by the originator of the design, & applied by the Distributors of the vehicles that used this body. Nothing has changed.

A Ute is a Ute, & no theory or opinion is going to change that fact.

In two minds I see??? Well like you have said There are many types of commercial vehicles and you have listed some of them. Just like the commercial vehicle the "ute" (in modern culture and to the general population) has many different types of ute classes. All I am saying is that the term "ute" has evolved into a broder term in modern culture etc. Tech side of this you maybe right, but in modern culture I think that you are not. As I like to live in the present and not the past. I am not saying that you live in the past. This is just another point of view/opinion.

Dont take this the wrong way please!!

Blair

and just a note for you......I have seen a fire truck ute.....as my father was a firefighter for 36 years, I got to see alot of fire engines and vehicles that they used in every day use.

Blair

in my point of view dodgeman should lighten up a bit....a ute 2 me is nethin thats between the size of a landcruiser n a mighty boy, n has a tray of ne discription. as usual d/man will disagree with MY OPINION and will turn this post into a bigger bigger #### fight than it already is. d/man has a lot of knoweledge but sum times he thinks he noes it all, if u disagree to sumthin d/man says.. n u are 100% posotive u r corect... correct him..... but usually u cant corect him. i think corigon dog in a ute would be an awesome thing to be at... all them utes n lets just hope theres lotsa datto utes there
woodydat

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Blair
I truly thank you for your engagement as it has forced me to really drag out some old memories, as well as some old research material. I have not taken your input personally, even though this is a subject about which i am personally quite "passionate"

I am truly interested in the phrase "evolved into a broader term in modern culture etc" as this has diferent meanings for diferent people.
Evolved seems to be a cover for "dumbing down" I am not interested in becoming dumber, as i am dumb enough already.

To me, it means that if enough people get it wrong enough, for long enough, often enough, then it must be right. After all, how could millions of bleating sheep be wrong.
I see it as a straight up, black & white issue. A sedan is a sedan, & It has been since the first one appeared. The same applies to all the other body types that we know & love today, but the ute "evolved"? I dont think so. People have evolved perhaps, but it matters not to me if just one gets it wrong, or millions. Wrong is is still wrong.

As i keep repeating, a ute is a ute, in the same way as a sedan is a sedan. Commercial vehicle is the general category, & a ute is but one of the clearly defined designs within that category, just as it was fifty years ago. How hard can that be for the world to grasp?

woodydat
Thanks for your opinion. Apart from popular convention, what is your opinion based on? I noticed some personal invective in there, which you are of course free to use, but precious little of anything else in your post. Is anyone able to trace any of the evolution of the use of the ute term in amongst other specificly named or described vehicle types?

At least i try to back up my opinion[?] with some background, so i KNOW absolutely why i stand where i do on this matter. Are you sure that you do?