Driving down our motorways you'll see just about everything, from Hummers to ancient Toyotas. Lots and lots of 'bakkies' and Golfs too.
A 'bakkie' is a vehicle with an open back so that you can squash goods and people all in together, like thus:
posted by Judools
about 1 month ago
Yeah, there are some 'old cars' in Costa Rica alright ...
but like 'back-home', they are mostly a 'novelty' ... the majority of the cars 'on-the-street' are new models.
posted by t0mas
about 1 month ago
I've never been to Cuba, but I've heard that they still patch up old U.S. vehicles dating from the fifties, pre-Castro days.
You see a lot of old Gremlins here. AMC stopped making them in what, the early 70's?
Mostly newish cars but some old ones. Laws in Australia allow old cars as long as they can pass the test they can have normal registration.
Uganda had lots of white toyotas from the early to mid 90's. The rich have landrovers or similar.
In Scotland most cars are in pretty good shape. They have to pass an annual MOT exam in order to be on the road.
If you've ever wondered what happens to 'old' Japanese cars, some of them are sold at auction and exported to Australia. I think the maximum life of a car in Japan is five years after which the car is considered no longer roadworthy but manpower being so expensive in Japan they don't bother with mechanical checks after that age. Instead of them going to be crushed they are sold to other countries where the car will actually be tested for roadworthiness before being sold.
In hot, humid, tropical Guam, cars are considerd biodegradable. So, not too many older cars around. Now and then you might see see a GI driving an older car...a "Guam Bomb".
Interestingly, one of the perks for servicemen and women, at least when we were there, was that U.Sam paid the shipping for one car to be sent back to the States when the tour of duty was over. Hence there were a lot of Japanese cars sold in Guam to U.S. military personnel. Guam had no sales tax, so it was a good deal all around.
MrT the car we bought in Uganda - a Suzuki Escudo - was bought from the Bond which is used cars imported from Japan but never driven on Ugandan roads. It was a '95 and in good condition and lasted us well including on game drives in rough conditions.
Most of the taxis are toyota corollas imported from Japan and for some reason most are white.
Most cars here in the CZ are 'Skodas.' I had never even heard of that brand until I moved here, but apparently they are manufactured and sold in Europe, China, and Mexico and sold in Canada. The town where I live is the 'Detroit of the CZ' - the original Skoda factory is here, so there are a lot of new Skodas being driven by Skoda employees, of course. I do see an awful lot of old, rattle-trap cars, however, and have ridden in a few. Scares the HELL out of me! These people drive at lease 140 km per hour down the freeway with VERY 'iffy' sounding brakes, front ends out of alignment, etc. Riding with a Czech driver in a NEW car scares the hell out of me, too! These people are crazy! They pass on hills and curves and tailgate like you wouldn't believe. *Sigh* - too many more trips with the locals and I'm going to run out of my Lorazipam...
