The Chevy Cameo carrier paved the way for the El Camino personal carrier. Photo from www.barrett-jackson.com

Chevrolet’s 1955.5 Cameo Pickup was the first high-style pickup truck with fiberglass fenders, chrome style-accents and full wheel covers from the Bel Air passenger car line. The Cameo also marked it as Chevy’s first personal-use pickup. Introduced as a carrier pickup truck, it can be argued that the Cameo was grandfather to the El Camino. If not the direct descendant, the El Camino was certainly helped by the introduction of the Cameo.

The Cameo was a variation of the company’s light-duty pickup and offered several car-like features that included passenger-car styling. Which as we noted in the #5 top pick for this week, making pickups look and drive more like passenger cars was a strong effort on GM’s part.

Never a huge seller, the Cameo has become a well-respected collector truck. Photo from www.barrett-jackson.com

The price tag on the Cameo carrier was slightly higher than others in the Chevrolet line, which was due in large part to the passenger-car styling elements that were injected into the truck world in a serious way. Because of the cost, the Cameo was not a hot seller on the dealer lots.

The Cameo was definitely a top line with even the standard models getting two-tone upholstery. The 1955 carrier had a new frame with longer leaf springs and a two-inch shorter wheelbase compared to the other light duty trucks in 1955.

Featuring a forward slanting wrap-around “Panoramic” windshield within the newly styled upper cab structure, hooded headlights and fiberglass rear fenders that were widened to the same width as the front end for a flow through profile. The interior was also more passenger car like with a dash that featured a speedometer and needle gauges like the Bel Air coupes.

This unique design for the time makes the Cameo one of the most historically important pickups of all time and lands it in the #4 spot on our list.