Actually brazilian Beetles never had bumper mounted turn signals, although this arrangement was used in Mexico. The “sorriso curto” (short smile - third drawing) was used in Brazil up until the first semester of ´70, after that the long smile unit was used until the Beetle’s death in ´86 and also in its ressurection…

Yes, it is. Alto has the same etymological origin as halt.

It’s not that the countries allow slave wages. It´s a matter of currency. When the end of the quantitative easing by the (american) Fed took effect, most currencies took a beating from the US dollar, hence emerging markets’ wages were overnight made comparatively low. It´s an intrincate system, mostly driven by the…

It´s a bold move, sure it’s better than being #2 at Ferrari. Will Kimi stay now that Marchionne is not there to call him a laggard or is he fed up? My bet is Ferrari will go with Leclerc and Kimi will retire (he’s what, 39?).

No, it is not, although someone put on the decals.

Arte those C5 corvette rearview mirrors?

Funny fact: In Brazil in the 1960s, Willys sold Renault products, such as the Dauphine and Alpine (named here the “Interlagos”). The Dauphine was to be replaced by the Renault 12 by the time Ford bought Willys. So Ford inherited a project which was already under way, and launched it as the Ford Corcel in 1968 (Ford´s…

The crappiness of them is somewhat of a myth, I guess. I bought a Lada Laika SW (VAZ 2014) in 2008 as a Soviet relic. They came to my country (Brazil) after imports were legalized in ´91, and rumor has it that they were unsold stock in Panama. My burnt-red SW ran fine, by ´70s popular-car standards. No rust whatsoever…

How sweet, Ms. Barra is thinking about the poor... Irony aside, available transportation for “developing countries” usually means affordable bus lines, as cars and maintenance are out of reach for the poor. A brand new Chevy sells for almost 40 times the minimum wage in Brazil. Those that can afford it are very far…