The Australian affection for the ute (short for "utility") allowed the Falcon to serve as the base model for their line of utes and panel vans, starting in 1961 and gaining rapid recognition by (usually younger) enthusiasts by the mid-1960s. As the base sedan and station wagon models of the Falcon further evolved, so too did the ute and panel van models, although usually up to a year or so after initial release into the market. The only exception was the XF series, which lasted through the initial "EA26" era. While EA26 ute prototypes were actually built, the XF shell continued through to the 1998 release of the AU model, in 1996 gaining the nose treatment of the then current EF series Falcon, with a combination of XF and E-Series Interiors. Low Series XH utes did not have airbags, for example.