While these Volkswagen beauties have not been produced anywhere for almost a decade, Bolivia continues its love affair with the classic Beetle (marketed here as the “Peta”). In all the major cities and towns, the streets abound with this unique and cherished automobile.
I’m not sure how much longer these cars with remain a characteristic feature of the streets of Latin America but I certainly love seeing (and hearing) the “people’s car” everywhere I go.
It’s amazing that these little bugs can chug up those huge mountains of Bolivia. I see that the locals aren’t holding back with the bling on these VW hot rods. I look forward to my journey to South America tonight. I’m buying the beer:)
Hey Paul, yes it is a wonder how they continue to chug along at altitude. Some cars here actually use natural gas in the lowlands (since this is a major export of Bolivia) and switch to a gasoline reserve tank when the start climbing. And yes, the BLING is always entertaining, some of the best custom jobs I couldn’t get on film!
Can’t wait for you to get down here and tip some cold ones, we’ll need to keep hydrated in hot & tropical Guayaquil… lots of salsa music in the air!