1981 Volkswagen Rabbit pickup truck

The Rabbit pickup is a vehicle I see from time to time in Seattle, though I haven't seen one in many years in other parts of the country. Most of those that remain appear to be the diesel-powered model (biodiesel is popular out here on the west coast), although this appears to be a gas-engine copy.

Built in the U.S., the economy-minded Rabbit pickup sold an impressive 37,392 copies in 1981, a year in which gasoline prices rose to an all-time high of $1.35/gallon, $3.51 in 2016 dollars. The Rabbit pickup's payload was a respectable 1,103 pounds. Unfortunately, VW's American plant closed in 1984. This resulted in all the tool and die equipment used to build American Rabbits being shipped to South Africa, where VW produced the original Mark I Golf-Rabbit as a pickup until 2007 and as a car until 2009.

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