I have pointed out silly little cars at outrageous prices before, but if you should be overcome with the need to shell out a lot of cash for a little Fiat …
… don’t do this to it. Please.
Tag: cars
XKE
A recent sighting.
Down a door
Almost every time I walk the dog/s (the neighbor’s usually goes along), I pass this car, which has been there a very long time.* Some time ago it lost the driver side window. As of today …. Theft? Vandalism? Owner’s doing?
* you can see it in the background here.
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.
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
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
The car that isn’t there
Taken some time ago, this would be impossible tonight because the car is in the shop where they’re fixing the problem they said they had fixed a week ago. At that time, they were going to clean or replace the acceleration sensor to fix the hesitation the car has had for a couple years. Instead they replaced the ignition coil, which helped. For a few days.
Evening now approaches on day two. I hope they know what they’re doing this time. If last time is a clue, they’ll probably call at 7:30 PM or so to tell me it’s ready so I can jump on my bike and ride to get it AT THAT MOMENT.
Fusca
Why they call VW Beetles ‘fuscas’ in Uruguay remains a mystery to me.
You’ll see plenty of them around. The president of the country drives one.