The cars here are awesome

[Tremelune]

I've been in Mendoza for a few days, and I'm in love with some of the vehicles running around here. You can buy a car from the 70's that was built five or ten years ago. That is sweet. I wish I could buy these things in the states.

My guess is that the safety standards adopted during the 80's in the US and EU left these cars in the dust...Does that sound about right? The laws here are...less, so I guess they just kept making them.

In addition, there's nothing quite like a pickup truck full of dudes cruising the strip.

 

[Ries]

There actually are a lot of cool cars here- but cars from the 70's?

I mean, they did keep building the notorious Ford Falcon here a good 10 or 15 years later than they did in the states, and they also kept building the Peugot 504 here for at least ten years after it was gone in France.

But Argentina has had auto factories for close to 100 years now, and they build some pretty modern cars here right now, too...

The coolest thing, in my book, is the strange vintage cars you see here- a buddy of mine recently bought this Isetta-
and he took me to the mechanic who restored it,where there were probably 30 micro cars- BMW's, Heinkels, Messerschmitts, Gogomobils, all kinds of wacky tiny cars from the 50's.
The Isetta has a one cylinder 350cc engine.

There are a fair amount of these still running in Argentina, along with Fiat 600's, and other more medium sized little cars.

I also really like some of the Argentine models made here- their version of the jeep, the Rastrojero, is a really great retro mini pickup.
http://www.google.com/images?client...tle&resnum=3&ved=0CDcQsAQwAg&biw=1455&bih=835

 

[Tremelune]

Exactly: New classics!

Take the glorious Lada Riva, which is effectivley a 1972 Fiat 124 that they're still selling in Egypt, et al...If you check Mercado Libre, you'll see a few from the late 90's for sale around here.

If I end up staying in Argentina for a while, I truly hope to own a car from the former Soviet Union.

The climate certainly helps keep truly old cars in good shape. I've seen some beat rides, but there just isn't rust here.

 

[Tremelune]

Wait, Messerschmitts?

 

[Ries]

Yep, Messerschmitts.
They were assembled in Argentina for a few years, so there are probably more of em here than anywhere outside of Germany.
The red car in the foreground is a Messerschmitt. It has a sliding plexiglas canopy.

The baby blue car and the red car on the left are both Heinkels, also german microcars of the 50's assembled in Argentina.
The yellow car is a bigger Isetta, with either a 500cc or 600cc engine.

 

[Ries]

If you are into cars, you should browse the local version of Autotrader-
ARCARs-
http://www.arcar.org/justicialista-sport-14553

The Justicialista was a fiberglas bodied sports car that Peron decreed should be built to prove Argentina was a modern country- there were only a couple hundred made, and probably around 20 left. My same friend just bought a total basket case, like this red one, but it will need a year or two of expensive rebuilding. When finished, it will be completely unique, and cost about as much as a new Renault or Honda 2 door hatchback- and about 1/10 of what a new Porsche costs, landed and licensed, in BA.

 

[Tremelune]

Excellent, thanks.

In the States and EU, 90% of the cars are 90% identical. Here there is character (sometimes good, sometimes bad, but often interesting).

 

[gouchobob]

I guess it depends on your definition of what's a cool car. Most of the stuff I see here is just old, obsolete, and poorly maintained, very little that any collector of old cars would be interested in. Kind of reminds me of the country in general, old, obsolete, and poorly maintained, however some some find it charming.

 

[Tremelune]

A cool car is one that requires knowledge, skill, and enthusiasm drive.

 

[igor]

Exactly: New classics!

Take the glorious Lada Riva, which is effectivley a 1972 Fiat 124 that they're still selling in Egypt, et al...If you check Mercado Libre, you'll see a few from the late 90's for sale around here.

If I end up staying in Argentina for a while, I truly hope to own a car from the former Soviet Union.

Eh, I believe they still make them in Russia:

http://www.lada.ru/cgi-bin/models.pl?model_id=4935&branch=tth