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Offline ag1987

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Cars in Colombia
« on: October 14, 2018, 07:01:19 PM »
Hi all.


Curious, for those whom are living in Colombia, or those who've married and are back in USA:


What is the popular car/segment there? While living in Japan, smaller cars (kei) were quite popular. There was a requirement to show you had a parking space for a vehicle, but kei cars were exempt from this. With 3 cylinder sub-1000cc engines, going up hills was always interesting (turn the a/c off in some!). Small SUV (like Nissan Cube, xB, etc) were also popular. Large sedans were normally for the wealthy.


Curious if 1) many people even own vehicles and 2) what kind?


Thanks!

Offline Elexpatriado

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Re: Cars in Colombia
« Reply #1 on: October 14, 2018, 09:26:22 PM »
Yes lost of KIAs

And probably only 25% own cars.

The rest..motos..

Tons of motos

« Last Edit: October 15, 2018, 08:29:36 AM by Elexpatriado »

Offline Wildstubby

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Re: Cars in Colombia
« Reply #2 on: October 15, 2018, 04:02:23 AM »
I see quite a few Chevy Sparks. What surprised me was the amount of Toyota Land Cruisers which are in actuality the 4Runner, (the Land Cruiser is bigger). I've seen many, (and rode in quite a few), Toyota Camrys. Surprisingly though, I don't recall seeing a single Mini Cooper.

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Re: Cars in Colombia
« Reply #2 on: October 15, 2018, 04:02:23 AM »

Offline robert angel

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Re: Cars in Colombia
« Reply #3 on: October 15, 2018, 04:55:02 AM »
There is no single vehicle on earth that more have been produced , than the Toyota Corolla.

The rather large Land Cruiser, ladder based frame and all, (starts at $83,000+ in the USA) underneath it's upscale creature comforts, descends from a prototype vehicles that the the US Govt. had a number of different companies submit, to replace the aging Willys Jeep in the late 1940s, early 1950s.

While the version the Japanese submitted (highly copied from a Philippines Jeepney) wasn't accepted, it saved the company from otherwise going out of business.

That company, Toyota, is today the largest auto company on earth.

That failed military prototype/proposal, caught on in the private sector in the 'F', 'FJ' Landcruiser and to a lesser extent in terms of similarities, the also excellent Forerunner. Especially once they started using less rust prone metal, all those vehicles can reliably last a long, long time.

Amazing what a small military contract can do for a business....
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Offline buenopues4

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Re: Cars in Colombia
« Reply #4 on: October 15, 2018, 03:12:09 PM »
Lets not forget Renault with probably the longest running assembly plant, Sofasa of Envigado, in Colombia. It was the second company to assemble vehicles in country. (The first was British Austin in the 1960s but they didn't last long).Sofasa produced their first car, the Renault 4L in 1970 and continue with production of various models today. The Renault Logan was the second highest selling in 2017 after the Chevy Spark. I drive a Renault Duster Dynamique 4x4, sixth highest. Later the Sofasa plant also assembled some Toyota models including the Landcruiser which you could order with the option of factory installed armor. In the 1970s and 80s a lot of Russian and Soviet Bloc cars were brought in, sometimes traded for coffee. There are still a lot of little 4x4 Lada Nivas running around and I see a Zastava, Tavria or UAZ now and then. Most of the cool or unusual old cars are off the roads now though because of stricter vehicle inspection laws. And don't forget the North American contender. The Dodge Dart was assembled in Bogota from 1979 through 1982. Because of their size they were popular as taxis. You still see some around Cali. When I came in 2002 I think the only Chinese brand in Colombia was Beijing Jeep, utility vehicles used for public transport. Now there are about twelve or fifteen Chinese car and pickup makes being sold.

Offline robert angel

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Re: Cars in Colombia
« Reply #5 on: October 15, 2018, 08:06:52 PM »
Lets not forget Renault with probably the longest running assembly plant, Sofasa of Envigado, in Colombia. It was the second company to assemble vehicles in country. (The first was British Austin in the 1960s but they didn't last long).Sofasa produced their first car, the Renault 4L in 1970 and continue with production of various models today. The Renault Logan was the second highest selling in 2017 after the Chevy Spark. I drive a Renault Duster Dynamique 4x4, sixth highest. Later the Sofasa plant also assembled some Toyota models including the Landcruiser which you could order with the option of factory installed armor. In the 1970s and 80s a lot of Russian and Soviet Bloc cars were brought in, sometimes traded for coffee. There are still a lot of little 4x4 Lada Nivas running around and I see a Zastava, Tavria or UAZ now and then. Most of the cool or unusual old cars are off the roads now though because of stricter vehicle inspection laws. And don't forget the North American contender. The Dodge Dart was assembled in Bogota from 1979 through 1982. Because of their size they were popular as taxis. You still see some around Cali. When I came in 2002 I think the only Chinese brand in Colombia was Beijing Jeep, utility vehicles used for public transport. Now there are about twelve or fifteen Chinese car and pickup makes being sold.

It's amazing how many Russian and Eastern European cars you still see, especially given their terrible quality, on the roads around the world. Anybody here remember the Yugo?

After WWII, going into the Korean War, the USA needed a replacement for the venerable Willy's Jeep. Amongst companies given small contracts to submit prototypes for consideration, was a small company in then still post war devastated Japan.

The Japanese allegedly put a Philippine Jeepney (their rugged 'bus', still used today) on a barge, floated it to Japan, cut the middle section out, beefed it up, made a few other modifications and submitted it.

It was rejected by the US Army, but the contract money was just barely enough to keep the company from disapearing forever.

You might possibly have heard of them----the company's name is 'Toyota.' They're the world's largest car maker today.

They took that failed prototype and it became the F, FJ series and eventually, the Land Cruiser. (Which today in the USA, STARTS at over $83,000) And like them, the also excellent 4 runner shares outstanding reliability and ruggedness,  also built on a beefy ladder frame. Aside from some tweaks to make the ride nicer and the interior more luxurious, quiet and engines more eco friendly, those vehicles haven't really changed a great deal, except for price.

So it's no surprise they're seen in Colombia-- as well as in almost every nation--they're tough, reliable and tops in resale value..

But otherwise, so much has changed globally in the automobile business, starting from the earliest years, when Henry Ford made Model T's in Argentina way backin 1913 and then in Brazil 1919. (Prior to that, he exported them there) Actually,  they built them all over the world, including in Asia, early on.

Mass production indeed.

It continues  still today, as now the auto industry is even more global than ever before. Last time I checked, the Ford F150 pickup truck had less USA 'domestic product' in it than did the Toyota Tundra pickup. Corvettes have had 'made in China' transmissions.

But don't let Ford's foreign content make you think that that (or high gas prices/shortages) scare folks in the USA, because as of January 2017:

"In total, the F-Series has been America's best selling truck for 40 consecutive years and its best selling vehicle overall for the past 35 years." 

https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-f-series-f150-truck-sales-record-history-2017-1

And those ''Made in Mexico" Chevy Silverado Crewcab pickups--some are pushing (after options) well over $80,000. Some Ford pickups top a $100K now....

Or would you prefer one of the new "Made in Mexico" Cadillacs? Even the Germans, from their econo lines to their luxury/sport models,  are moving to Mexico lately.

Honda and other Japanese brands also.

We unfortunately bought my son a new Chevy Cruze and even with our GM family employee discount, all the stupid repairs have soaked us to the point where a Civic or Corolla would've saved us mucho $$$$.

US automakers have simply not figured out how to design and make a decent 4 cylinder engine yet. The Cruze, in its relatively short life, is being, or has been built in plants in Australia,  Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Japan, S. Korea, Kahztastan, Russia, Thailand and a few other nations I forgot. And they all suck!

Our's was slapped together in Lordstown, Ohio, USA, and was definitely built on a Monday. As said, I think I missed a few assembly plants around the world, but you get the idea of how 'global' cars are today ---and the Cruze isn't even a big selling car.

Volvo is 100% Chinese owned and increasingly, Volvo production is moving there and they're sending models to the USA.

For every three cars that GM sells in the USA, GM sells four in China, Mr. Trump....

Of course, Italy's Fiat owns 100% of Chrysler.

Want a 'proper' Rolls Royce or Bentley? Better call their owners: Germany's BMW and Volkwagon.

https://www.consumerreports.org/cars-who-owns-which-car-brands/    (9/2018)

India's Tata family owns 100% of Jaguar, Land and Range Rover, after buying them from Ford. Amazingly, while they still make them in England, build quality and reliability has improved a great deal.

Want a deal on an Aston Martin? Better call Kuwait...

A long time ago, I worked for GM in their oldest assembly plant. It was 90 acres of pure, unadulterated hell, ironically located on the picturesque Hudson River, in tony Tarrytown, Westchester County, NY.

Between the mob, the Unions and conditions that hadn't changed much since they bought the plant from the Stanley Steamer "Motor Carriage' company a bit after 1900, it was horrible. The heat, with almost zero ventilation, was unreal, the air toxic. Today, the remains, especially the dirt, going down to great depths at the long closed site,  are still so polluted, that it's a massive 'superfund' toxic site. 

As employees, we were treated like sh!t and we built Chevys, Cadillacs, Buicks, Oldsmobile and Pontiacs accordingly. A lot of junkies strung out, pretending to work. I'd see guys do things like take their half eaten lunch, throw it in a chassis and stamp the rear seat over it. We'd spot weld holes in bodies on purpose.

The old guys, especially the wise, older black dudes, would advise, implore me: "Quit, before you get addicted to the money--I can't quit--I'm a slave to GM, with no marketable skills. I HATE GM and so does my family, but now they're used to the money and I can't begin to afford to quit. "No pride, tons of anger on that assembly line back then.

Were it not for those old guys, gracious enough to care for a snotty ass white 'boy', I would've caved in and stayed, to no good end. I really thought I was something.

No wonder that was the decade that the Japanese got a leg up on the US auto market..

I made huge money working in that hell hole, but even more money from 'helping out' the gambling and various 'substance' sales that were endemic thru out that whole plant.

The trusty vacation website 'TripAdvisor' has it right:

"What is even more historical is the SuperFund site that you have to walk past to get to the lighthouse. It is the defunct GM factory that is contaminated with high concentrations of various heavy metals. We were FASCINATED by our first visit to the SuperFund site, and we recommend it. The lighthouse was ju
st ok."

So Dodge Darts were made, or at least sold in S. America? I had a 1968 Dodge Dart. Man, that was a GREAT car. Had so much low end torque, I had to keep a couple sandbags in the trunk to keep from spinning out at the lights.

I'd still have it if I wasn't driving, as a gal was down, giving me head and I hit a '"Keep Right" sign, at speed. The damn sign snapped, coming, slapping down SO hard that the writing from the sign actually came off on the hood's white paint as the sign, pole and all, came thru the windshield like a guillotine, smacking out the rear window too

Man, am I ever glad that girl kept her head down!!! ::)
« Last Edit: October 15, 2018, 11:33:58 PM by robert angel »
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Offline mudd

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Re: Cars in Colombia
« Reply #6 on: October 17, 2018, 10:44:00 AM »
Hi all.


Curious, for those whom are living in Colombia, or those who've married and are back in USA:


What is the popular car/segment there? While living in Japan, smaller cars (kei) were quite popular. There was a requirement to show you had a parking space for a vehicle, but kei cars were exempt from this. With 3 cylinder sub-1000cc engines, going up hills was always interesting (turn the a/c off in some!). Small SUV (like Nissan Cube, xB, etc) were also popular. Large sedans were normally for the wealthy.


Curious if 1) many people even own vehicles and 2) what kind?


Thanks!



most small cars are popular here, ford fiesta, kia rio, other small cars. also you will  see some  big SUV " stupid useless vehicle"  with only one person.
a lot of cars here, that  are  sold in the US for example, will have a smaller engine and less airbags in colombia.

Offline Elexpatriado

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Re: Cars in Colombia
« Reply #7 on: October 17, 2018, 03:10:41 PM »
Most of the taxis, which make Up a LARGE percentage are KiAs

 

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