Hugo Chavez's car

[MrMopar]

Let me get this straight: the best car you an afford to drive is a old-school VW Beetle?

http://jalopnik.com/this-is-the-only-thing-ill-miss-about-hugo-chavez-451342429

 

[Dozenspeed]

Let me get this straight: you spend over a decade stealing $1 billion from your country's citizens, and the best car you an afford to drive is a old-school VW Beetle?

http://jalopnik.com/this-is-the-only-thing-ill-miss-about-hugo-chavez-451342429

Just throw a grenade into the forum there, Mr. Mopar!

 

[MrMopar]

Just throw a grenade into the forum there, Mr. Mopar!

You are right. [edited]

I'm just shocked that he didn't own something, I don't know, "better." I think even the Pope had a modern VW.

 

[Dozenspeed]

It is unusual for a leader of a country to not have a fleet of posh cars. I think that is why we are hearing about this case, it goes in character with the image trying to be portrayed.

 

[MrMopar]

I guess it does fall by the side that once you get to be "The Leader" you don't really have a car of your own. You get driven everywhere in the government cars. NICE government cars.

 

[Dieselfitter]

I don't believe any of the BS about him stealing $1-2 billion from his Country.

I liked his 'Made in Venezuela' fuel prices.

 

[waltzconmigo]

dieselfitter---i also have no clue to the validity of the $1-2 billion stolen by Chavez or where those estimates come from. this sounds like misinformation to me. we never heard about misappropriations by the Shah or Saddam Hussein while they were our allies.

however, since Chavez took power and expropriated the oil industry, field yields and product refining, has significantly fallen. venezuela essentially exports more raw crude to the US now (though they are producing less) and has to import more finished products (because they have lost capacity). on top of this, these are then discounted to not pennies, but bolivars, on the dollar. it is obvious what this does to their account deficits. say what you will about him as a leader but these policies can not last forever and will end with a rude awakening.

as a general rule i am against expropriation, i can think of at least one example where it seemed reasonable. on the other hand this seems to be a difficult endeavor in a highly technical and capital intensive business, such as the petroleum industry. for the example i cited above, google: the Arbenz administration in guatemala in the 1950's and united fruit company.

although paying those prices would be nice, in the end, there is no free lunch.

 

[MrMopar]

Probably the biggest thing that sticks in my mind is the time he told his citizens that they needed to take 3 minute showers to conserve water.

That's right: one of the most oil-rich countries in the Western Hemisphere can't keep the lights on and the water flowing to homes.

 

[aja8888]

Probably the biggest thing that sticks in my mind is the time he told his citizens that they needed to take 3 minute showers to conserve water.

That's right: one of the most oil-rich countries in the Western Hemisphere can't keep the lights on and the water flowing to homes.

When these technology-poor countries that are run by dictators kick out the expats that develop and run the businesses, eventually, process plants grind to a halt. It's going on in Mexico too.

 

[Pat Dolan]

When he was alive, Chavez was not exactly my favourite person, but, DAMN, I sure like his taste in cars.

 

[TDI2000Zim]

Was there ever an Old Beetle with an air cooled DIESEL ENGINE?

 

[oilhammer]

Was there ever an Old Beetle with an air cooled DIESEL ENGINE?

A prototype, yes, in the early '50s. Too expensive, too heavy, to complex, never made it into production. Bang for the buck was still with the gasoline engine back then.

 

[TDI2000Zim]

A prototype, yes, in the early '50s. Too expensive, too heavy, to complex, never made it into production. Bang for the buck was still with the gasoline engine back then.

Wow, if VW had the foresight, they could have adopted an air cooled diesel engine by the early 1970's and saved the old Beetle from Ralph Nader's Wrath.

A front diesel tank would have been a few orders of magnitude safer than the gas tank.

By the way, I found this air cooled diesel engine made by Kohler, which is practically the same form-fit-function as the old gas engine, and almost the same horsepower as the early 1970 Beetle:

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/KO...1K751&ef_id=UpFPotXiMnQAABn8:20130326123100:s

 

[oilhammer]

It would have been too expensive. The original Beetle's best feature was its ultra low cost, and simplicity. Gasoline was cheap then, too. So if you were driving a car that already got 35 MPG (earlier versions, anyways) and cost about $1500 to purchase brand spanking new, it would not have made any economical sense to make a more expensive diesel version that may have only been able to get 40 MPG with the technology of the time.

Mercedes did, but they were much more expensive cars, and the diesel engine added even more cost, and their driveability (compared to gassers at the time) was awful.

Even today, even in Germany, Volkswagen's most popular car, and the sort of indirect descendant of the Beetle, the Golf, only sells about 50% diesel. And I would wager to say that of that 50% that chooses one of the diesel engine options they have, not all of them ever will recoup that added cost over the time they own the car.

 

[TDI2000Zim]

Is diesel more expensive than gas in Germany, as it is now in the USA?

I remember when diesel was cheaper than gas (before 2007).

When diesel was cheaper than gas, the diesel engine's better fuel efficiency made recouping the investment a shorter cycle. Now we never recoup it, although getting more miles per gallon makes me feel happier about reducing my sliver of foreign fuel demand.

 

[TomJD]

Was there ever an Old Beetle with an air cooled DIESEL ENGINE?

I think the prototype went from 0-60 in one minute. It was awfully slow.