Garota de Ipanema

While Antonio Carlos Jobim’s ‘bossa nova masterpiece ;’The Girl From Ipanema’ enchanted the world in the mid 60’s, it had started then our appreciation too for Brazil, samba, lovely garota and football. The sports legend ‘Pele’ which is regarded as the greatest football player, cemented my awareness of Brazil!

In the automotive world in the 70’s the Philippines tried to implement its ‘Alcogas car fuel program’ during the same time that Brazil’s started their own ethanol program. The stark difference though is that our nation stopped that program in such a short time but Brazil persisted and now is regarded as the leader in Ethanol fuel. On a good note, we have recently restarted our alcogas program based on the Brazilian success story.

The 70’s also marked the height of the popularity of locally assembled CKD (completely knock-down) units of Volkswagen. These were performed by DMG Pilipinas and included among others, the VW Brasilia. A wonderful VW, that somehow has a VW411 front and a VW Golf box-hatch silhouette! It was a hit over here back then, much like Jobim’s classic bossa nova tune! The local VW outfit assembled the Brazilian-made VW Beetle, VW Passat and VW Brasilia until the early 80’s….after which operations sadly stopped. While in contrast, Brazil continues to produce VW’s to this date. Lucky for them!

Luck is pouring my way this year and among them would be getting my scale version of the VW Brasilia. ‘Obrigado’, goes to my Rio de Janeiro friend for the wonderful car!



A great memento is the literature to go with the collection. The VW Brasilia is part of a motor periodical’s celebration of the history of classic Brazilian cars.
Front of Literature

Rear of Literature

Pages



Centerfold... The Girl From Ipanema

.....Swings so cool and sways so gentle, That when she passes each one she passes goes "a-a-ah!"

Seja feliz!

Last hurrah for the summer!

It’s peculiar season again. A time when summer is about to end and the rainy days are about to set in, is upon us once more! For the weather tracker, it’s shaping to be a very unusual year; El Nino for the 1st half, La Nina for the other half! For the rest of us, the optimist kind, we’d use this period for the last leg of summer fun.

These images then come to mind; A car of your choice and a scenic camping destination thrown in.


A better image would be; A group of friends sharing the same love of cars, a breath-taking vacation escape and water-fun on blue waters!



Hurrah!!!

We are the Champions!

Last year, on its 40th birthday the legendary Porsche 917 was bestowed the title “The Greatest Race Car in History”. I always have a fondness of the 917, as it has the mystical imagery of power and success. I akin this to a fire spewing dragon; a mighty beast to conquer and a powerful force to respect!
Scale car manufacturer are not immune with the unique fascination and magnetism of the legendary 917. One of them is Safir of France under the ‘CHAMPION’ branding, and their versions are nonetheless real champions in their own right.

These two possess the old world charm that only vintage 3” scale car have.

I’m partial to the appealing 3” products of the 1970’s. These fit the bill!

CHAMPION Porsche 917 #22 Martini 1971 Lemans Winner (white)

CHAMPION Porsche 917 #23 Salzburg 1970 Lemans Winner (red)