A Mexico City neighborhood keeps the iconic Volkswagen Beetle alive

Janette Navarro’s 1996 Volkswagen Beetle roars as it barrels up a steep hill overlooking concrete houses stacked like boxes on the outskirts of Mexico City. She presses her foot on the pedal, passes a lime green Beetle like hers, then one marked with red and yellow, then another painted a bright sea blue. “No other car gets up here,” she said. “Just the vocho.” The Volkswagen Beetle, or “vocho” as it’s known in Mexico, may have been born in Germany, but in this hilly neighborhood on the fringes of Mexico City, there’s no doubt about it: The “Bug” is king. The Beetle has a long history in the country’s sprawling capital. The old-school models like these—once driven as taxis—used to dot city blocks as the quirky look captured the fascination of many around the world. It was long known as “the people’s car.” But after production of older models halted in Mexico in 2003, and the newer versions in 2019, the Bug population is dwindling in the metro area of 23 million people. But in the northern neighborhood of Cuautepec, classic Beetles still line the streets—so much so that the area has been nicknamed “Vocholandia.” Taxi drivers like Navarro say they continue to use the “vochos” because the cars are inexpensive and the engine located in the back of the vehicle gives it more power to climb the neighborhood’s steep hills. While some of the older cars wobble along, paint long faded after years of wear and tear, other drivers dress their cars up, keeping them in top shape. Mechanics in the area, though, say driving “vochos” is a dying tradition. David Enojosa, a car mechanic, said his family’s small car shop in the city used to sell parts and do maintenance primarily on Beetles. But since Volkswagen halted production five years ago, parts have been harder to come by. “With the current trend, it will disappear in two or three years,” Enojosa said, his hands blackened by car grease. “Before we had too many parts for “vochos,” now there aren’t enough … So they have to look for parts in repair shops or junkyards.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.