prgclb (03/22/83)
My wift heard an item on WBBM (Chicago) business news Monday evening -- it said that an american company was going to import Mexican VW Beetles and "federalize" them, then sell them in the states for ~$7,000. Volkswagen's comment was that "there's nothing we can do to stop them." Since WBBM gets its business news from the Chicago Tribune, I looked in yesterday's and today's paper to confirm this item. I have yet to see anything. If anyone else sees or hears of this, send mail or post to the net, because I'm . . . A VW lover, Carl Blesch Bell Labs - Naperville, Ill. IH 2A-159, (312) 979-3360 ihuxm!prgclb
yuan (03/25/83)
#R:ihuxm:-17700:uicsl:2800002:000:575 uicsl!yuan Mar 24 14:53:00 1983 I've seen this piece of news on our local newspaper. It also mentioned that the new beetle had got 'hot' again especially in the southern states. And there are some car 'rings' illegally import those beetles into the United States because those Mexican beetles do not meet the federal emission standard of some sort. (Sorry, I'm not too familiar with this.) Finally it was also reported that some cars are going for 2,500 and very popular in campuses. Sorry for those who do not like to see the response posted. Thank you for your patience.
rs55611 (03/25/83)
The reputed low price of the Mexican beetles that are "smuggled" into this country may have something to do with the recent devaluation of the peso. One reason for the demand for the beetle may be due to its being un-federalized: the Mexican beetles run on regular (leaded) gas. Federalization would presumably change this. I'm not sure what gas prices are now in Mexico, but a couple of years back they had an interesting price structure (just a side note). Reg. was about 60 cents per gallon (converting from the original pesos/liter), while unleaded reg. was over $1.00 a gallon. The reason? The only cars in mexico needing unleaded gas belonged to American tourists who had driven down. Bob Schleicher