Cars in Mexico vs US - worlds apart.

[pezzy84]

The rental car is a whole different experience. We had some sort of Kia with a 5 speed manual. It’s great being able to travel on your own to explore. It gets pretty remote pretty fast especially off the toll road. We covered a lot of the Yucatán. Car was covered inside and out of that white limestone powder from the jungle mud. Waze & Google maps work surprisingly well. Got harassed at one police checkpoint and they tried to rip us off but we were able to get away since my wife speaks fluent Spanish. Looked too American, I guess.

This is good to know - it seemed the majority of the cars stopped at the checkpoints were rentals. I looked into a rental and it was $220+ for a 4 day rental so not sure if I would want to try to deal with all that just to drive something I normally would not.

the further south you go the fewer toyota cars there are, pretty much all trucks and the very rare corolla. lots of nissans, VW and of course french cars.

my buddy rented us a renault/dacia duster 5 speed when we were in colombia, neat little truck for what it is. roll down rear windows no airbags and all kinds of poverty options but it did have bluetooth connectivity so i can’t complain.

Nissan and VW seemed to be the most popular in the Riviera Maya and Cancun area.

 

[dlundblad]

I saw a Ford Everest while in the Bahamas. Never heard of one until seeing it. Wish we could get them here.

Another funny thing, their Jettas were Boras. Looks exactly like the Jetta minus the name. Since seeing that, I’ve seen one Bora here in Indiana.

 

[pezzy84]

I saw a Ford Everest while in the Bahamas. Never heard of one until seeing it. Wish we could get them here.

Another funny thing, their Jettas were Boras. Looks exactly like the Jetta minus the name. Since seeing that, I’ve seen one Bora here in Indiana.

Some VW enthusiats rebadge their Jetta as Bora, Jetta is pretty much a North America only nameplate and it is Bora elsewhere.

 

[atikovi]

One of my Smarts is from Mexico.

 

[CKN]

For the most part small cars are complete death traps in Mexico due to the lack of safety equipment. When you look at Miles driven, lack of car ownership by many in Mexico, traffic deaths (while lower in Mexico than U.S.) are actually quite high considering the factors I just mentioned.

 

[DirectRejection]

Darned if I didn't see a Toyota Hilux this morning. It was on the freeway near the Port of Oakland. Dark Gray. Short Bed. Double Cab. Tube Steps. No indication re engine or whether 4x4. Good curves and smooth lines on this truck. Jalisco, Mexico license plates.

 

[Crash Bandicoot]

Used to live in Texas and so quite a few Tsurus, Navarras, and Global Rangers.

not a fan of the safety standards or lack thereof in Mexico, would occasionally see some cool Renault’s and Peugeot’s as well

 

[hpb]

There's actually a newer model Hi Ace out now, quite different from the one pictured earlier in this thread. Almost a certainty as a hotel transfer vehicle in Oz

 

[Jetronic]

Toyota sells a Proace in europe now, but that's a rebadged peugeot/citroen

 

[csandste]

Then there is the Dominican Republic

 

[Jetronic]

Used to live in Texas and so quite a few Tsurus, Navarras, and Global Rangers.

not a fan of the safety standards or lack thereof in Mexico, would occasionally see some cool Renault’s and Peugeot’s as well

The tsuru worked nicely as crumple zone

 

[Pew]

The one biggest thing that I noticed is how much better foreigners are able to drive stick smoothly than US drivers. The smoothest shifting driver I had was a uber in Canada that referred to himself as a gypsy - he's travelled all over Europe for years. I didn't realize we were in a manual car until I looked over.

 

[Kira]

Is that a phone number on the X-Trail in post #11? Looks it.

 

[SteveG4]

The one biggest thing that I noticed is how much better foreigners are able to drive stick smoothly than US drivers. The smoothest shifting driver I had was a uber in Canada that referred to himself as a gypsy - he's travelled all over Europe for years. I didn't realize we were in a manual car until I looked over.

U.S. drivers haven't "sticked" in a decade or three!

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

Is that a phone number on the X-Trail in post #11? Looks it.

Yeah. Took the picture as a joke since it looked like the price.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

The one biggest thing that I noticed is how much better foreigners are able to drive stick smoothly than US drivers. The smoothest shifting driver I had was a uber in Canada that referred to himself as a gypsy - he's travelled all over Europe for years. I didn't realize we were in a manual car until I looked over.

Very true. Manuals are very common outside of US. Even city busses in Mexico are manuals. People have much more practice.

 

[Kira]

"Took the picture as a joke since it looked like the price."

Ha-ha. Among the "pictures that got away" was of a used car lot in Italy before the Euro came along.
You should've seen those numbers.

 

[K20FA5]

I saw a Toyota Hilux with Mexican plates up here a week ago. I kind of liked the way it looked compared to the endless sea of Tacoma’s you normally see.

 

[jimbrewer]

I see Ford “Lobo”s (F-150) from time to time.

When I was a kid Mercedes had a plant there and you would see Ponton type 1950s style Mercs for years and years.

The big brand in those days was Chrysler. I suppose it was the Lago Alberto plant near Mexico City. For whatever reason the quality was just killer there and Chrysler enjoyed a Honda-like reputation in the local market.

 

[Snowflake White]

For the most part small cars are complete death traps in Mexico due to the lack of safety equipment. When you look at Miles driven, lack of car ownership by many in Mexico, traffic deaths (while lower in Mexico than U.S.) are actually quite high considering the factors I just mentioned.

It's all relative, how did we in the USA survive our 1990s and earlier cars?

I'd GLADLY buy a car without the safety nannies and airbags for a lower price and sign a waiver here in the USA.

As we've seen airbags are a two way street, they might save your life or they might kill you....Thanks I'll take my chances without them and the added thousands of dollars of cost.