When The Bugs Move Out
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When The Bugs Move Out
Volkswagen stopped making its traditional Beetles four years ago (Mexico was the last holdout for the ubiquitous little cars), but since they were easily the most popular in the country’s history, there are still plenty of them on the roads.
The bugs were always versatile vehicles, and particularly useful as taxis for short hauls around town. In Mexico City, they still appear to be in the majority, although they are slowly being replaced as taxis by newer sub-compacts, such as Chevys.
VW bugs, it is well known, last for years and years, so where are they all going? The answer appears to be the provinces. The thousands of Combis that used to supply most of Mexico City’s “collective” taxi routes can still be found in smaller towns and cities, and likewise, bugs are the most commonly used in many places.
Acapulco has thousands of VW taxis buzzing up and down the main coast road, but the place for which the bug is particularly well suited is Taxco, an old silver mining town in Guerrero state that is still the country’s best-known place for buying silver handicrafts, even though there is only limited mining there now.
Taxco is built on the side of a hill, with its main square and famous Santa Prisca church at the top. Access is along some very narrow, steep, cobbled roads, many of which are two-way traffic but only really wide enough for a single file of cars. This is where the bug comes into its own, not only able to squeeze in and out very small gaps in the traffic, but also to handle the sharp climbs as well as any four-by-four, so not surprisingly most of the taxis in town are VWs.
It’s hard to see what could replace them in Taxco.
mexexperence.com
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When The Bugs Move Out
Volkswagen stopped making its traditional Beetles four years ago (Mexico was the last holdout for the ubiquitous little cars), but since they were easily the most popular in the country’s history, there are still plenty of them on the roads.
The bugs were always versatile vehicles, and particularly useful as taxis for short hauls around town. In Mexico City, they still appear to be in the majority, although they are slowly being replaced as taxis by newer sub-compacts, such as Chevys.
VW bugs, it is well known, last for years and years, so where are they all going? The answer appears to be the provinces. The thousands of Combis that used to supply most of Mexico City’s “collective” taxi routes can still be found in smaller towns and cities, and likewise, bugs are the most commonly used in many places.
Acapulco has thousands of VW taxis buzzing up and down the main coast road, but the place for which the bug is particularly well suited is Taxco, an old silver mining town in Guerrero state that is still the country’s best-known place for buying silver handicrafts, even though there is only limited mining there now.
Taxco is built on the side of a hill, with its main square and famous Santa Prisca church at the top. Access is along some very narrow, steep, cobbled roads, many of which are two-way traffic but only really wide enough for a single file of cars. This is where the bug comes into its own, not only able to squeeze in and out very small gaps in the traffic, but also to handle the sharp climbs as well as any four-by-four, so not surprisingly most of the taxis in town are VWs.
It’s hard to see what could replace them in Taxco.
mexexperence.com