Need a compact pickup? Build your own from a VW Jetta - The Detroit News
So Mark Smith was running his big, fast Scarab boat on 100 percent biodiesel fuel (and thought it was funny that those with sailboats were filling the engines in their supposedly clean, green machines with petrol-based marine gasoline). In 1993, Smith founded Fast Five Racing, the Massachusetts-based kit car company, which he sold to his brother and co-owner in 2012. Smith, who also helped launch Phoenix-based Local Motors, then started Smyth Performance to develop a mid-engine... Regardless, for $3,500, Smyth Performance will sell you the materials to turn a used Jetta sedan into a compact pickup with a 6-foot bed. By cutting them apart, Smith found 1999-2004 VW Jettas were built like “a bloody tank”: The structure of the Jetta was some 300 pounds heavier than the typical compact sedan. They also unearthed a 3-inch boxed frame section beneath the rear of the car to support the pickup bed. Because it’s based on a VW Jetta, the “ute” can be. Source: www.detroitnews.com
