Gurgel XEF

One of those cars that could've only happened to be made in Brazil during the period between '76 and '90 when an imports ban was enforced (with very few loopholes which still rendered an imported car out of reach for the average Joe), the Gurgel XEF relied on a traditional Volkswagen air-cooled engine, and most of its driveline was sourced from Volkswagen, yet it had a proprietary tube-frame wrapped by the fiberglass bodywork, which had its design inspired by the Mercedes-Benz cars of the late-'70s and early-'80s. Less than 200 were made between '82 and '86, and it had accomodation for the driver plus 2 passengers on a single row. For a 3.12m-long and 1.7m-wide car meant for city usage, it is surprisingly not as cramped as it would be supposed - I once spotted 3 guys, all of them around 2-metre tall, getting inside one of these...

Dongfeng Sokon C35 van, that Chinese minivan "inspired" on the 3rd-generation Ford Transit

Chinese automakers have had a good time in Latin America, and even some markets which used to be somewhat conservative such as Argentina also experienced a presence of Chinese-made vehicles such as the Dongfeng Sokol (DFSK) C35 van, noticeable for its design which is obviously "inspired" by the facelifted 3rd-generation Ford Transit. This model was never available in Brazil, where some other DFSK models have been imported, yet this one registered in Argentina showed up in downtown Florianópolis. On a sidenote, the C35 is originally either a 2-seater panel van or a 5-seater "crew cab" van, so the side windows fitted to this one are clearly aftermarket.

Possible Grosspal SuperVan body in a Brazilian Bumpside Ford truck?

Between the late '80s and early '90s, the Argentinian company Elio Agustín Grosso, famous for its Grosspal trucks, made an attempt to develop a full-size van similar to the American ones. Resorting to the same underpinnings of the Ford F-100 of that era, it relied on a fiberglass reinforced plastic body, and allegedly the plan was to feature a 2.4L turbocharged 4-cylinder VM Motori Diesel engine made under license by Borgward Argentina. Lighting on this bodyshell, which was assembled on a Brazilian Ford F-1000 frame, was clearly not the same featured in the original prototypes of the Grosspal SuperVan, but most of the proportions seem to be exactly the same of the Grosspal SuperVan. How did a somewhat obscure Argentinian prototype which never reached full-volume production found its way to hit the roads in Brazil, I have absolutely no idea, but the '80s and '90s were still a time when creativity was high in the field of custom trucks in Brazil.

Brazilian Ford F-85 military truck, now de-militarized

It had been well documented that Ford bought the Brazilian branch of Willys-Overland in 1967, with the Jeep range and the Aero-Willys remaining in production for a while, and more specifically the Jeep CJ range soldiered on until around 1983. There was a model specific for Brazil, meant to replace WWII-era Dodge 3/4-ton trucks, based on the Willys Pick-Up and with a more clearly visible difference being the soft-top cab with a fold-down windshield. Officially named Camioneta Militar Jeep Willys 3/4-ton 4X4 at its introduction in 1961, to be later renamed Ford F-85 while its civilian counterpart was named Ford F-75, at a first moment it had the Willys Hurricane engine in a 6-cylinder version, replaced around 1975 by the 4-cylinder Ford 2.3 OHC engine, both gasoline-powered. There were some trials in 1964 with a Perkins 4-203 Diesel engine, but it was never officially available for this model.

The one in this picture is a 1976 model, but the cargo body which used to be the same of the civilian model was replaced by one which resembles more its Dodge predecessor. And the engine was replaced by a 4-cylinder Chevrolet of the 153 series.

How was the Fiat Uno so close to become nearly as much of a cultural icon in Brazil as the Volkswagen Beetle?

A car which is often pointed out as die-hard and capable to handle some harsh conditions, also praised by its amount of internal space within a small footprint, the Fiat Uno was a hit in Europe and also other regions, including South America where a local derivative was made mostly in Brazil and Argentina, yet based on a different floorpan adapted from the 147, itself a renamed 127, leading specifically to a huge difference regarding the rear suspension arrangement. Instead of the torsion beam which would later be found on newer generations of Brazilian-made small Fiats, the regional version of the Uno retained the unusual independent rear suspension with transverse leaf springs which also were meant to perform as a sway bar, which ultimately required the spare tire to be relocated under the engine hood instead of under the luggage compartment, and with a redesigned engine hood in order to make access to the spare tire easier. Odd enough, despite having a front engine and front-wheel drive in contrast to the rear engine and rear-wheel drive often credited by the Volkswagen Beetle's suitability to riding through unimproved terrain, the Fiat Uno is now as popular in rural areas as it used to be in big cities.

And just like Volkswagen took benefit of local production in Brazil since mid-'50s as the local politics were favorable to the arrival of full-volume automobile industries as part of a major import substitutions effort, Fiat would have its share of political involvement in the '90s when it applied for a tax break to a 1.0L-engined version of the Uno which had already been bound for export to Europe as a budget option to the Italian model in the mid-'80s. which was ultimately granted in the context of a "people's car" plan which was ultimately also embraced by Volkswagen, Ford and GM/Chevrolet. While Volkswagen was at some point persuaded to reintroduce the Beetle in '93 during the presidential tenure of Itamar Franco, yet also having the Gol as a contender to the 1.0L-engined class started with the introduction of the Fiat Uno Mille in the Brazilian domestic market, most of the customer base in the '90s was already favorable to a then relatively modern design, especially in bigger cities where unpaved streets were already not so common except for some impoverished areas in the outskirts. However, just like front-wheel drive was never a deterrent for the Citroën 2CV to be as off-road capable and a cultural icon in Argentina as the Volkswagen Beetle is in Brazil, at a later stage the Fiat Uno would start to be embraced by Brazilians from rural regions due to its affordability and fairly simple underpinnings once rear-wheel drive models such as the Volkswagen Beetle or its derivatives started to go on short supply in the used car market or priced out of reach as a collectors' item.

Sure the Fiat Uno, just like any other Brazilian-made compact car from the '80s or '90s, will have some features with a greater technical complexity compared to a Volkswagen Beetle in one way or another, yet still being manageable by a shade-tree mechanic if need arises, and parts availability is still suitable to the needs of most who just look for the utilitarian aspect of a car which may now be seen as "too old" in Europe. Regional adaptations for harsher terrain conditions, even though they also retained a lower cost due to the repurposing of many subassemblies from its direct predecessor which was already made locally, also played a pivotal role to retain a customer base who was already held by Fiat once it became perceived as a "specialist" in compact cars among the Brazilian car buyers. So even though coming late to the party did not help Fiat to establish itself as quickly as Volkswagen did, despite having some minor CKD assembly operations held by the long-gone Varam Motores in the '50s, the Fiat Uno had its merits leading to a continuous production run from '84 to 2013 in Brazil being only phased out because it was perceived as unaffordable to upgrade to the dual-airbag mandate in 2014.

Honda VT 600 C/Shadow VLX, an icon which is no longer so easy to spot in a nearly-stock condition

Made from 1988 to 2008 for international markets, while in Brazil despite some grey imports it started to be made locally in 1998 and phased out in 2005, the Honda VT 600 C which is also better known as Shadow VLX was quite successful within its class. A friend of my father had one, and I remember how it stood out while new, in a market where small-displacement and more utilitarian models still retain the largest share of the Brazilian motorcycle market. As second-hand examples became available at a lower price, sure it attracted buyers willing to turn them into choppers, bobbers, among other sorts of custom motorcycles, to the point it's no longer so easy to spot one in a nearly stock condition such as this '99.

3-door Brazilian converted Bricknose Ford

Brazil used to have a very different car market, with artesanal double-cab conversions which used to be more family-oriented holding some popularity for a while due to factors as diverse as road conditions and different levels of import restrictions rendering them a viable alternative to a full-size sedan. Also, the Brazilian preference for 2-door bodystyles dictated that most conversions had only a 2-door cabin, yet there were some with a curb-side rear door too.

That's the case of this '93 Bricknose Ford F-1000, remembering the production run of Ford trucks in Brazil often mismatched the evolution of their international counterparts so the Bricknose ran from the '93 to '96 model-years for instance, not to mention a different and more regionalized engine selection with a 4-cyl MWM Diesel which was available in either naturally-aspirated or turbocharged versions. The door handle of the rear curbside door sitting lower than the stock one from the front door was at such position to allow clearance from the rear window which extends further down, just like it used to be common on similar conversions which retained the 2-door layout.

American-styled ambulance with single rear wheels in Brazil

Coachbuilt ambulances based on a cab-and-chassis truck are not nearly as common in Brazil as those based on vans, yet once in a while some models which may resemble those stereotypically American ambulances can be seen roaming around, yet mostly based on European-designed vehicles such as the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. However, while some versions with dual rear wheels are available in Brazil, it's not uncommon to find them with single rear wheels also converted to ambulances. While stability would be better with dual rear wheels, especially due to the width excess, a reason for single rear wheels to be used on modular American-styled ambulances is the lower expense with tolls on certain roads.

2nd-generation Toyota Innova, clearly deserved a chance on more international markets

Introduced in 2015 as a replacement to the previous generation released in 2004, the second generation of the Toyota Innova remained in production despite the release of a noticeably more modern successor in 2022. Still based on a more rugged body-on-frame layout with a longitudinal engine and rear-wheel drive, available with either 2.0L and 2.7L gasoline-powered engines or 2.4L and 2.8L turbodiesels, and targetting mostly to Southeast Asian markets such as Indonesia or the Philippines and Vietnam, sharing most of its features and specifications with the Hilux and Fortuner, sure the Innova could've had a much broader worldwide presence, and it had been even available as a captive import in Argentina for a while, and quite surprisingly it was never made locally even though the Hilux and Fortuner are, so most of the conditions to make it worth the endeavour were already sorted out. Maybe some Brazilians would look at it and consider it "outdated" for the minivan silhouette, which to be honest tends to match my tastes more than some random SUVs which often may not be so much better regarding off-road capabilities...

Sure front-wheel drive and transverse engines would be supposed to make more sense in minivans, as they tend to be seen as too bland to be "funny", but the rear-wheel drive is still favored among some of the target-demographics of the Toyota Innova as it's still perceived by many as better suited to heavier tasks such as towing a trailer. Parts commonality with the Toyota Hilux may be even more appealing to buyers who consider the Hilux a benchmark for reliability under the harshest conditions, even though the Innova was never available with 4-wheel drive due to the higher taxation for nearly any vehicle with such feature in Indonesia which is still the biggest market for the Innova. In fact, nothing seems to make it technically impossible for Toyota to provide 4-wheel drive as an option to the Innova, which would be the only way to bring the turbodiesels to Brazil as the Innova has seating for fewer than 10 people and a payload smaller than one metric ton, and being so satisfying for my acquired taste for minivans...

Brazilian Type-301 Variant II, often pointed out as the best air-cooled Volkswagen at the worst time

With a short production run from '77 to '81, the Volkswagen Variant II was released during a time when Volkswagen was already trying to become "modern" and competitive, which sort of meant getting rid of a dependency for the basic layout of the Beetle on its passenger cars range, even in Brazil where it was the best-selling automaker. As the Variant could be positioned as a more upscale counterpart to both the Beetle and the Brasília, also considering how a more utilitarian role could be fulfilled by the Kombi, the most logical option would be making the early Passat Variant in Brazil, as the Passat had been available in Brazil since '74, and even the McPherson front suspension of the Passat was also fitted to the Variant II in place of the Beetle's superposed trailing arms and torsion beam setup. Sure retaining the air-cooled engine and rear-wheel drive could've been a good option for so many Brazilians, who still used to favor rear-engined Volkswagens due to their better traction than the competition on harsh terrain conditions, and the traditional air-cooled engine regarded as easy to mantain despite the Variant always featuring a dual-carburettor setup in order to clear more space for the rear luggage compartment, which rendered a tune-up more labour-intensive than a single carburettor.

Naturally, as the competition evolved despite the restriction on imports which set the Brazilian market apart from '76 to '90, urban buyers tended to become more favorable to front-engined cars, including Volkswagen's own Passat and Gol, with a front-engined front-wheel drive Volkswagen station wagon in '82 finally making its way to Brazil when the Gol-derived Parati was released, and the Variant II having already been phased out in '81. Despite having a more modern suspension setup which even allowed a more usable space at the "frunk", and a design which was in fact fairly attractive considering the time of its introduction, with styling cues from the smaller Brasília which was released in '73 and soldiered on until '82, clearly the Variant II was disfavored both by competition from similar station-wagons of other manufacturers operating in Brazil at that time, but also had to face a friendly fire as its price was higher than that of a Kombi, which basically meant that anyone willing to get a rear-engined Volkswagen with better interior room than a Beetle or a Brasília could be easily convinced to not even take a look at the Variant II. In the end, despite being praised as the best Brazilian air-cooled Volkswagen for its comfort and handling compared to the Beetle and the Brasília was released at the worst time for air-cooleds...