1979 Ford Courier Chinook Camper

 

From Jonathan Welsh:" I spotted this rolling time capsule at India Point Park in Providence, R.I. Current trends in camping and other VanLife pursuits seem to have made these cooler than they were the first time around. The Chinook company built the campers using chassis from a number of automakers. I understand the Ford Courier version is especially rare. This one looks almost new except for a couple of faded decals."

(from Blue Oval Trucks) The first generation Ford Courier was introduced for the 1972 model year and sold for a little over $3,000 USD (equivalent to $17,969 in 2018) when introduced. The Courier was manufactured by Mazda (Toyo Kogyo), and imported and sold by Ford Motor Company as a response to the unforeseen popularity of the small Toyota and Nissan (Datsun) pickups.

AL: Too bad Ford didn't take that size truck and run with it; they might have developed into something like the Tacoma today. Maybe not in Texas, but certainly here in Maine, Toyota, not Ford or Chevrolet, seems increasingly the truck of choice, while the others look like bloated and chrome-festooned giants, the 1958 Buicks of our era, vaster and sillier every season. BYW we spotted a 1978 Toyota Chinook in Blue Hill Maine last year.