Although we have a much larger share of "cool" exotic models from around the world than we used to, there are still many vehicles that we never see here in the U.S. And wouldn't you know yet again, it's an American company's foreign division that offers this tasty treat.

Holden, GM's Australian division, and where the full-size rear-drive vehicle never really disappeared, but continued to evolve and refine, just came out with what would be an excellent El Camino SS, should GM ever feel like bringing it over. What I'm talking about here is the SS Thunder Ute. For those unfamiliar with Aussie lingo, "ute" is essentially a car-based truck, much like the El Camino and Ford Ranchero we had here a few years ago. While not as capable as the full-size brutes in towing and hauling capacity, they offer just enough utility (hence the name) to make a case for themselves. Even cooler is the low & long "Crewman" 4-door version they offer for leadfooted Sport Truckers with families. The original Elko never offered that!

GM is justifiably skeptical about bringing over another Aussie vehicle verbatim after the disappointing sales of the Pontiac GTO, which was offered after the ceaseless pleading of American enthusiasts, who promptly left the General high and dry by not putting their money where their mouths were.

But it doesn't look like GM's going to make the same mistake twice. The sketches I've seen of the next-gen Goat leave no doubt to the car's intention, unlike the rental-clone styling of the last GTO.

An additional strike against the possibility of the Ute making the trip across the Pacific are the disappointing sales of the Chevy SS-R, a retro-styled quasi-ute that was long on boomer nostalgia style, but woefully short on any kind of truck-like utility. In addition, its steep price tag of $40k-plus turned away a lot of prospective buyers.

So for now, we can only hope that GM realizes that there are enough enthusiasts out there (i.e. potential buyers) to justify adapting the vehicle to the American market.