CC Cohort William Rubano posted these pictures of a VW Beetle that managed to catch my attention. Why? It’s a Brazilian “Fusca”, and not a Mexican one as I first flashed on when I saw those wheels. The big difference: Brazil never got the larger side and front windows that the German Beetle got in 1965, and which the Mexican one did too eventually. But there’s more to the Brazilian Beetle story: it was killed in 1986, but resurrected in 1993 thanks to direct pressure from the President of Brazil.
The smaller front windshield and side windows are readily apparent here. Anyway, in 1993, the new President Itamar Franco noticed the lack of low price cars in Brazil (due to severe import restrictions), and somehow coaxed VW into finding their old tooling and restarting production.
The new Fusca had a twin-carb 1600 cc mill available in either gasoline or alcohol versions, as well as a new dash design unlike any other Beetle. But it didn’t sell all that well, and after a few years disappeared again, leaving the Mexican Beetle as the last one until 2003. I suspect this one is a pre-1986 Fusca, and I can’t explain the two different tail lights.
This one was found in the Bahamas, from the license plate. Did it float across the Atlantic to the Bahamas?
Here’s that dashboard for anyone curious (click to enlarge):
Thanks. I’m going to add it to the post; it needs it. I’d forgotten about that new dash; an odd thing.
Yeah aint seen that one before.
Aircooled VW specialists in the UK used to (maybe still do) sell tail lights like the one on the left as “New Beetle style”, to replace the “elephant’s foot” type on the right.
Did you see how Google represented Brazil and Germany on the day of their World Cup match?
Click on it for action.
Oh yes, that match…This was the final score:
Yeah, that was pretty cool what Google did that day.
Also, VW bug stories are always cool!
The Brazilian beetle should have been drawn all crapped out with wheels falling off .
1) I had noticed this during the day of the game. When I got home, I got on the internet to show it to my 3-year old son….only to find that it was no longer up. I have to wonder if it was taken down quickly after the game ended, on the theory that Brazilian fans might no longer find it amusing?
2) Google has an online archive of its doodles. This one can be found at:
http://www.google.com/doodles/world-cup-2014-55
Note the map, which if I follow correctly, shows which countries this was used in. This doodle appears to have been was used everywhere in the Western Hemisphere except Mexico. Because Mexicans would think of their country as the leading producer of Beetles outside of Germany, and wouldn’t “get” it/would be annoyed by it?
In Europe, it was used in Ireland, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and most countries in Scandanavia and in eastern Europe. But it wasn’t used in Germany itself, or in France, Italy, the U.K., Belgium, Austria or Russia.
It was used in most of subsaharan Africa, and most of Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Notable exceptions are Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, North Korea, and a few countries in West Africa. On the other hand, it was not used throughout most of the Middle East, with a few exceptions (for example, it was used in Turkey and Algeria). Maybe some of these places don’t have Google at all, or would have some cultural restrictions on using this type of doodle?
My Dad bought my Mom a 1958 Beetle the year I was born so that she would have a car at her disposal. It lasted 15 years and 120000 miles. It was one of the best cars around at the time.
Thanks, Paul, for something I didn’t know about an old friend. I thought they had gone to the larger windows at some point in Brazil, but I now know better. And I had never heard about the brief return of the car to the Brazilian market.
I now wonder how the Beetles manufactured in South Africa measured up to the German ones. And, where else did they manufacture the Beetle? I’ll have to look it up.
They made them in Australia too. We got basically the 1962 model carried through until 1968, when VW Australia introduced all the ’65-68 changes in one fell swoop. At least that made it easy for anyone to tell a new VW that year!
There were a lot of other oddities too, but that’s the main one that springs to mind.
Fuscas are part of the fabric of Brazil – they are everywhere and you see many restored examples doing active duty.
Even more so are the Kombi vans, They only stopped making them in Brazil this year, due to new laws requiring front airbags. For some years they have had a water cooled engine – you can tell those by black radiator grill added to the front.
Indeed in Brazil the word “Kombi” is the default term for van type vehicles.
Then there was the Santana, basically a mid 1970’s Passat with a notchback style – until very recently these were the mainstay of taxi fleets in many parts of Brazil.
Now one sees all manner of special VW’s in Brazil. A particular favourite of mine are the derivatives of the Fox, a sub-Golf sized car. There is one which is sort of like a mini SUV called the “Cross Fox” (as opposed to the “Particularly Angry Fox, perhaps?). There are also some great looking small VW utility vehicles in Brazil and a huge range of trucks.
You think that black cowl is to keep rain off the engine? The mismatched taillights add to the character as does the coastal rust.
Cool mixture of parts. The 64 and older (in USA) small window bodies were a lot stronger with more steel in them. More than likely this car is also swing axle. Flow through ventilation, high back seats and 3 point belts, cloth upholstery and similar to 68 up doors panels with 64 down vent latches and windows. Probably 12 volt. The duel cluster padded dash is unique. It has the small 65-67 front turnsignal assemblies, and the 73 up pumpkin tailamps. That one flat lens is strange,I wonder if it’s original. I suspect it’s aftermarket. My 73 Sport bug needed that rain cowl, it would never start in the rain without it unless you dried the distributor first. We sold a lot of those aftermarket covers at the dealership, but they look tacky. The way to go, although expensive, were the convertible only drain plates that were on the inside of the lid behind the air vents. I did that to my Sport Bug to avoid the tacky look. VW really screwed up not putting those internal drain cover plates on the sedans. Nice find.
Possibly could have better named. Metisse (after the Rickman bros Metisse bikes) might have served better.
Another Brazilian oddity were the VW Vans with 68-79 front with small pre 68 rear windows.