Alameda has quite a few early-70s Volkswagen Transporters, and so far I haven't paid much attention to them (since the island also boasts so many early Type 2s, including this '56, this '57, this '62, this '63, and this '67, not to mention others I haven't shown yet). But I'm making an exception for this '70, because second-gen Transporter pickups were a rarity on American roads even 30 years ago and they're virtually unheard of on the street these days.

As cool as this truck is, the vastly greater load capacity, 6- or 8-banger torque, and functional heater of a cheap Detroit pickup must have made the VW pickup a tough sell in 1970. However, this Volks is still a genuine truck; note the water heater in the bed!


Even though the VW's engine location dictated a very high bed floor, you still got these slick storage compartments on the sides.


And if you wanted a forward-control small pickup in the 1970s, this was one of your only options (Dodge discontinued the A100 after the 1970 model year).

Send an email to Murilee Martin, the author of this post, at .