Rant

"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
11/09/2018 at 01:17 • Filed to: None

Torch, Mexico is not your personal time machine. Yes, we have beetles... yes, we have B13 Sentras, and yes we have some old ass trucks. But please stop celebrating that.

I’m not gonna say VW has been bad for Mexico; they are central to Puebla’s economy, but the reasons why the “vocho” was big here weren’t some fairy tale story of the little car that could. No... it was a big company pulling levers, abusing of protectionist policies, lax government regulations, and a poor market to sell an outdated, unsafe, inefficient, polluting piece of shit until 2003 for an egregious amount of money. Similar market forces allowed Nissan to sell the B13 until last fucking year . Neither car should’ve been sold in the 2000s and both are a reminder that automotive policy has a long way to go here in Mexico, specially around safety and consumer protection. For fucks sake, our first headlamp regulations don’t even come into function until the 2020s!

Sure, Vochos and B13s and other stupid cars are interesting when you come here, but when you have to live with these “novelty” cars all around you all the damn time it’s a different story.

DISCUSSION (18)

Berang > Spanfeller is a twat
11/09/2018 at 01:52

Take a chill pill dude.

It’s just a car.

And for what it’s worth, Rover made the Mini until 2000 - which is not much better than a Beetle in most respects. I don’t think anybody thinks that reflects badly on England, although it is sort of a sad commentary about the state of the motor industry in that country at the time.

Spanfeller is a twat > Berang
11/09/2018 at 02:05

I think it does reflect bad on England, as you said, it was a “sad commentary. ”

Look, I get it that Americans find those cars fascinating for some reason, but man, if you’re gonna make an article about a city with more than a million residents and one of the more important hubs for design and manufacturing for VW , you better include something other than nostalgia and shitty cars about it. So much more to talk about Puebla other than beetles. It’s like only talking about Trab ants in Berlin!

Berang > Spanfeller is a twat
11/09/2018 at 02:10

It’s sad commentary for Rover, who were going down the toilet at the time, but not for England as a country. Speaking of England , there are plenty of people who go just to see old castles and such. They may be missing out, but there’s nothing inherently wrong with an interest in history.

facw > Spanfeller is a twat
11/09/2018 at 02:13

It’s like only talking about Trabants in Berlin!

Which is a thing that I think Torch would be perfectly happy to do (unless he’s going back to the pre-war era).

Spanfeller is a twat > Berang
11/09/2018 at 02:16

And Rover was pretty much a market failure because of the government. In the same way VW could sell the Sedan until 2003 because no one had the guts to care.

Plus, I get it: History! But history without context is useless.

Spanfeller is a twat > facw
11/09/2018 at 02:19

I think it’s a waste of time, unless they spend a genuine amount of time investigating the history of these cars in their communities. If Torch wants to show the world the history of the VW sedan in Mexico, I think it’d be great! It’s nicely documented by fan clubs all over the internet. He could touch on:

The opening of the VW factory as a 50/50 investment between Germans and Mexicans

The 90's crisis that brought down one of their competitors, VAM

The time Mexico City banned beetles from serving as taxis, which drove the market down

And the end of the line, 2004.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Spanfeller is a twat
11/09/2018 at 06:31

The FIAT 126 was produced and sold (produced since 1972 when it was a new design) in Poland (and a lot of Europe) all the way until 2000, and it was heavily based on the classic FIAT 500 which debuted in 1957...need I remind you the original 500 had something like 18hp and was a cramped tin can compared to the Beetle’s larger size and comparable power.

I still want a 126 anyway though. :D

I can understand your POV though.

DutchieDC2R > Spanfeller is a twat
11/09/2018 at 07:04

That was one of the better articles Ive read since a long time on FP. Maybe because it didnt contain much text, but a lot of pictures.

Also, I completely understand the corruption argument around Nissan and V W (its happening in Europe too, just in a diff erent way), but I do think youre overthinking with the article. He's a bug afficionado, for starters. He likes old, quirky cars in general and I honestly dont think he meant to put out some sort of bad reflection on the city. He's just showing off some old cars.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Spanfeller is a twat
11/09/2018 at 07:08

Let's face it. Most of his audience knows fuck all about Mexico. But Torch knows his audience. You are not his audience.

UnderSTeerEnthusiast - Triumph Fanboy > Spanfeller is a twat
11/09/2018 at 07:18

I don’t understand why this is such a big deal. He’s just walking around a city showing the cool old cars.

BigBlock440 > Spanfeller is a twat
11/09/2018 at 07:39

I think it would have been awesome to still have Valiants or Gremlins still being sold brand new

FatherMcKenzie > Spanfeller is a twat
11/09/2018 at 07:50

I really don’t w ant to be disrespectful now, but don’t you drive a Stinger GT and a Grand Cherokee? That’s hardly “having to live with these ‘novelty’ cars”. As a fellow Latin American, I totally get your POV, I truly do, but an argument could be made that you and Torch are in t he same position to talk about this.

fintail > Spanfeller is a twat
11/09/2018 at 09:20

Don’t worry, it’s not like it is the opinion of the legit motoring press :)

Spanfeller is a twat > FatherMcKenzie
11/09/2018 at 10:12

I disagree, I don’t need to personally suffer in order to see how my society suffers. Road deaths, a bullied market, and an inefficent car shouldn’t be something we’re proud of.

Spanfeller is a twat > DutchieDC2R
11/09/2018 at 10:20

I think that he could’ve used the opportunity to show the history of Vochos here.

Spanfeller is a twat > BigBlock440
11/09/2018 at 10:21

*inner Ralph Nader triggers*

FatherMcKenzie > Spanfeller is a twat
11/09/2018 at 10:27

I agree that there’s no need to be proud of that. But that’s not what I’m talking about, I’m talking about how you put yourself in a “we” that you are not a part of. That doesn’t mean I think Jalopnik shouldn’t talk about the corruption that allowed the Vocho and B13 to stay in production for so long, just as I think they should talk about the terrible and atrocious military dictatorship that allowed all those quirky Brazilian cars with it’s import ban that favored VW ext remely heavily, or how that company had very strong ties with the regime.

Alas, that’s not my point. My point is that you are not even remotely close to that “we” and, as such, is as removed from their reality as Jason is. I can agree with some of what you said and still point out the problems in how you said it.

Spanfeller is a twat > FatherMcKenzie
11/09/2018 at 10:44

I do understand why you feel that way, trust me that it’s been pointed out to me before. I just disagree with the notion.