Category: Wheels
Beetles weekend in El Pinar
I’ve wondered what they race at the autodrome between here and the airport, and the answer, this weekend, is fuscas, only they refer to them as escarabajos (beetles). Despite my fascination with them (example, example), I won’t be there. Other plans, and it will be cold.
The “Superescarabajos” are reportedly the largest and most popular category here. There will be 30 of them racing.
Una Harley para papá
If there’s one thing I’d care to win less than a trip to Brazil for the UY-UK match, it’s probably a noisy, rattling and dangerous (especially given Uruguayan drivers) pile of outdated technology. Not that I stand a chance of winning (oh, such stinkin’ thinkin’!) but fortunately cupones (coupons) were only offered upon purchase of certain Father’s Day (today in Uruguay) items, and we’ve only bumbled into a couple of those the last few weeks.
Around $9,000 new in the land of the Untied Snakes, prolly $19-20,000 here. I found the local web site, but under precios it has no prices. It does have an enticing shot of snow-capped mountains, though …
… amusing because Uruguay has neither snow nor mountains. Oh, details.
Hitchin’a ride
I don’t like taking pictures out the car window, but couldn’t resist when I saw a guy riding on the brush hog on the back of a tractor.
Why not?
Such a deal, Uruguay style.
Yes, you can buy this tiny 34-year-old Fiat 600s toy-looking car for only 3,100 US dollars. And you can call any time during the day!*
New vehicles in Uruguay are ridiculously overpriced. You can expect to pay close to double what similar would cost in the US. Comparative used vehicles, however, can cost much more than that—not that you could back this thing out of your driveway in northern North America without getting arrested.
When we moved here in 2009, I had sold my 2002 Toyota 4Runner in Texas. In mint condition, I might have gotten $8,000 for it. Here, I saw same year, diesel engine, same mileage, advertised for $32,000. Yes, USD 32,000.
You think this is an anomaly? Look here to see other Fiat 600s for sale in Uruguay. “U$S” means US dollars; “$” means Uruguayan pesos, currently trading at 22-23 per dollar.
* see comments; doesn’t mean what I thought
How things work (officially) in Uruguay
Confiscated motorbikes behind the Intendencia.
Judging by the tree growing, they’ve been there a while.
Judging by the tree growing, they’ve been there a while.
How things work (officially) in Uruguay is seldom the same as how they work in reality.
When I realized, in 2012, that I’d forgotten to renew my driver’s license (doing the homologación from a foreign license is easy, but they only gave me two years), I researched and discovered that 1) if you miss renewal by under two weeks, no problem, 2) between two weeks and two years, you have to take the written and driving test, and 3) after two years you have to take driving school.
In my case, the two weeks had passed, and the two years would come next October, but my foreign license—from Mexico—expires two days from now.
Today was my appointment. I was a little nervous about taking a test in Spanish, though I had studied the Manual de Aspirantes and found nothing daunting. I figured the driving part was no problem. I’ve gone 40 years without an accident (other than bozos running into me).
The whole process took over and hour and a half: present required paperwork. Wait. Name called. Take paperwork to cashier, pay $1,000 (USD 45). Get in line. Give receipt. Wait. Name called. Photo taken. Wait. Name called. Sign here; here’s your license.
But officially ….
Der deutsche Angriffsfahrzeug
Whenever you see a vehicle like this, even without looking at the tags you can tell what language its occupants speak. Not French. Not Italian. Not Spanish (maybe), maybe English mit einem Akzent. They may be from Switzerland, but they will definitely speak German.
These things always make me think “assault vehicle” (hence the blog title). At the very least, the concept of “blending in with the locals” apparently doesn’t figure prominently in some people’s weltanschauung.
Last minute Christmas shopping in your…
Your classic car that is approximately the opposite of restored, proclaiming it’s retrofitted with a Mercedes 220 diesel engine (cool for me, actually; I drove a gas 1960 Mercedes 220 when I was 17 in 1971—aah, we won’t got there for now). I don’t understand the details of engine mounts and such, but it strikes me as typical Uruguayo to pull off such a feat.
Windows left open; apparently not concerned about spontaneous theft.
Really, the more I look at this snapshot the more I wish I had hung around to interview the owner: what mods did you do to marry a Mercedes engine block to a Ford Falcon transmission?
And what signifies the “USA?”
Instead, I plodded inside Tienda Inglesa to film a mechanical dinosaur.
We all have our priorities.
Still life with fusca
Still trying to sort this out.
Yes, the flashers are flashing.
Yes, that is a Mercedes hood ornament.
Yes, that is a dog in the passenger seat.
Yes, there is a man’s face stenciled to the concrete post.
No, I have no idea what that sign means.
(You can click on the photo to it larger.)