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Bug Blues
By Kate | May 24, 2007
Our neighbor, Hoover, is very kind. He always offers us rides in his yellow/white 2000 VW bug. Turns out that in Mexico they did not stop manufacturing the classic Beetles until 2003. They are EVERYWHERE in Mexico. I am pretty sure that you can cross no major (or minor) street in Mexico without seeing one. As far as we can tell, and as far as cars have come- they seems to us to be the perfect car. It gets upwards of 50 miles per gallon & according to Hoover can fit at many as 13 people. I´m not sure how this is physically or legally possible, but I´ve been it already with 7 people and it was almost comfy. Very diverse little vehicles.
The fact of the matter is that in Mexico parking is a huge issue. These little champs of cars can only be trumped in that area. They do not have a radiator, they have an air cooled engine (I´ll admit to not having any idea about the merits of this, but it sounds impressive). They are user-friendly and can even float.
So, basically after drilling Hoover (in Spanish, mind you) about the pros and cons of the Beetles, Neil was sold. I, being very easily swayed by impassioned arguments, was quickly convinced. And then we created our vision. We wanted a lime green 2000+ Beetle with www.kateandneil.com emblazoned across it. We would import it to the US via one fantastic international road trip of glory and live the rest of our days with Beetle goodness.
However, a little superficial ´net research yielded the answer I was afraid I´d find. Turns out It is illegal to own & operate a Mexican Beetle in the US. There are no air bags and no side door impact beams. Apparently it may not meet emissions restrictions either. When we learned that upon crossing the US border the car would most likely be seized, our dream started to fade.
Tagged with: Mexico • Neighbor • Transportation
June 3rd, 2007 at 8:54 am
Playing slug bug in Mexico and quickly become an all out fight. Especially when played with four fours in a cramped car. That is the downside of too many bugs!