14 July 2015 Cars of Monterrey

I was in Mexico for a short trip. There weren't sights to see, but the car selection in Mexico is always unique and different, These are just a few.

The Chevy Matiz is a small car with a questionable past. The Matiz started life as a Korean Daewoo. GM brought Daewoo cars to the the states for a few years including an ill-fated re-badging of the iconic Lemans, before pulling the plug and leaving stateside customers with unreliable cars and few parts. Mexico wasn't as lucky. The country was gifted with the Matiz rebadged as a Chevy.

The Nissan March (or Micra) is highly regarded in Mexico. The 1.6l engine in a lightweight body gives strong performance on the streets. The interior is a step above the Matiz too. This model was just released earlier this year.

I have no idea what this is. It appears to be an 80's vintage. The body has a few dings, but it is obviously someone's pride and has a super stance. The car was parked across the street from our facility for a couple days. Unfortunately, we spotted it diagonally across the road with the front end facing a light pole when returning from lunch. It was there for the afternoon with its hood up. After that, it disappeared. :(

It's a bit scary to think how long this Plymouth Horizon has been on the road. They were first produced in 1977 and lat produced in 1990 which makes this somewhere between 25 and 38 years old. To this day, a Horizon was the completely scariest vehicle I was ever given as a rental car. Driving one of these on the New Jersey Turnpike and being able to see headlights through the gap in the hatch as the body flexed still makes me happy for surviving that trip. I can get nostalgic for most old cars I see, but not this one.

There's not much to do on these trips to Mexico. At least these cars provide a diversion.