Intrepid Cohort poster RiveraNotario has posted a number of cars shot in Puntas Arenas, Chile. Let’s take a look at some of them, starting with this Brazilian Opala, which has such a classic Chevy vibe.
He identifies this as a 1991 Nissan Laurel Medalist.
We all know what this is.
And this.
1981 Ford Taunus
Ford Freestar
1994 Nissan Mistral
1999 Daihatsu Charade
A new one for me: 1998 Kia Retona
Mercedes Vario 614D
1978 Chevy LUV
An interesting assortment. I remember those Chevy pickups with the baby blue and white two-tone treatments. They always made me think of an ice cream truck.
That light blue was THE color for the Luv too, I had a Stomper of one in that color.
It’s quite interesting that you mention the “Chevy vibe” when writing about the Opala. As here in Uruguay those Opalas were very common but with Brazilian plates as tourists, and locally we had Opel Rekord C coupe as well as the same body Commodore B Coupe, I tend to see through the bowtie. Of course, when my dad was about to get one of those back in the 70s from a diplomat, I was more than happy to see the bowtie, as American brands were “better” for me than European ones.
Of course, the stripes and SS decals are typical Chevy
Cool stuff. I wonder if KIA got sued for using the JEEP grille. I know that an Indian manufacturer had to stop using their version of the JEEP grille when they were sued. I like the Opala.
There was a Jeep lookalike, the KIA ROCSTA, that was briefly sold here in Uruguay. The one pictured is probably a successor.
I never heard of the Retona before, but from what I can gather, it was the Rocsta’s successor, however the Retona was based on the 1st generation Kia Sportage. Hard to tell from looking at the exterior, but apparently that’s the case. Looks like it came in both soft-top and hardtop forms.
The Retona was evidently sold in many countries, but in Germany the Retona name wasn’t used… instead the German-market version was called the Kia Sportage Classic.
I did find a few brochure pictures online — and I think the Retona wins the competition for the Car Least Likely to Have a Fake Burled Wood Dashboard But Actually Does:
That gold ride looks like a 1967 Chevelle with a 1971 Chevelle front end.
Looks like the Freestar is on a lot that specializes in US market cars. Neon SRT-4, US market ~1997 Ford Escort, ~1997 Chevy Malibu, even a Saturn Aura.
Im seeing a few of those square body Chevys over here lately including a Blazer yesterday all immaculate except the Blazer that looked like it was someones daily drive with dirt all over it, Tauranga where I load is alive with classic cars and the mix is incredible.
And absolutely no mention made about the grey VW pickup truck in the background of the 2 Nissan Laurel photos?
Is it a ” clone ” of a Japanese truck?
No, the current gen VW Amarok is a stand-alone pickup. Unlike the next model, which will be based on the upcoming new Ford Ranger series.
…yet once upon a time there was this VW Taro, a full Toyota HiLux clone.
Interesting licence pate on the Laurel, VG-30-61. Wonder if it is powered by a VG30?
I had a C33 Laurel the same as that. The pictured one is LHD but the factory only ever built them as RHD. Even the wipers have been converted, so whoever converted it to LHD went the extra mile – be fascinating to see how they did the conversion!
Interesting to see that the Cortina-Taunus was sold as the Taunus, not a Cortina. That’s a 79-82 car in UK terms.
(Actually, I saw this on the Cohort and was tempted to use it to continue my Cortina chronicles. Might still do one day)
Wasn’t the Cortina name in that generation used on right hand drive versions only with the mainland getting the LHD as a Taunus? At least that was my understanding, I could be wrong, hence the question.
This is most likely an Argentine Taunus, and that is how those built over there were called 🙂
Cortina in Spanish and Portuguese is curtain, kinda weird name for a car.
Also a ski resort in Italy.
Love the Opala and the off-road Kia.
I’m a die-hard Ford guy, but I freaking hate the Freestar. Utter garbage, just like its Windstar predecessor. I love my Taurus, but the minivans derived from it were terrible. I think every single one should be crushed, along with the awful GM U vans like the Uplander and such.
Thank you, RiveraNotario, whoever you may be. Fascinating stuff.
You’re welcome, Justy Baum. I’ve been lurking around this website for many years. I also wrote a couple articles. My flickr is full of car pictures: https://www.flickr.com/photos/riveranotario/
Punta Arenas? But that’ s the end of the world!
Indeed! But not that far, living in Santiago!
Punta Arenas is a free zone so many more unusual cars there than you might find in other parts of Chile. It’s a cool town, literally as well since it is pretty cold and windy all the time. This Chilean assembled Beaumont is from Punta Arenas but I med him near Puerto Madryn, Argentina while on my motorcycle trip from Brooklyn to Tierra del Fuego. he was at a Rat Rod meetup there.