Why Uruguay is a classic car paradise

DW (English)

Uruguay is home to a vibrant vintage car culture, with many of those retro rides still on roads instead of in museums. Despite rising imports of electric vehicles, collectors are committed to preserving this automotive heritage.

Transcript

00:00Uruguay, a magnet for classic car lovers.

00:04Uruguayans are very nostalgic.

00:07A hotspot for retro rides.

00:12Many of us grew up with these cars.

00:14Classic cars were, and are still, a common sight on the roads.

00:21We have a rich heritage.

00:24Even the former president drove a classic car, German style.

00:28Here we just keep things running.

00:31So why are there so many historic automobiles on the road here?

00:36And can Uruguay's classic car culture survive a new wave of electric imports?

00:45To find out, we take a trip out to the countryside to a car collector's paradise.

00:53We're meeting Milton Duarte, a guardian of Uruguay's motoring traditions.

00:58He owns a 1948 Jeep Willys CJ2.

01:02They arrived in large numbers after World War II, along with many of Uruguay's European immigrants.

01:10In Uruguay, there are many classic cars.

01:14We have a culture of people who came from Europe during the war, when things were tough, and started with nothing.

01:24And that taught them to save, to mend, to make.

01:27And that was passed down from one generation to another.

01:36Old objects have a certain special nostalgia.

01:41To me, riding in an old car transports me back in time.

01:44It's something special that you feel when driving a classic car.

01:51Milton Duarte is the organizer of a classic car club, Sangre de Fiero, or Iron Blood.

01:59We tag along with him shortly before one of the clubs meets,

02:02as he joins a few fellow members to spot some classic cars along the way.

02:12My father bought this truck in 1970.

02:15It's a 1950 Borgvaud.

02:18All original.

02:21He's even got the original German language manual.

02:24I had a German neighbor, and he helped translate it for me.

02:31And we even find old clunkers treasured as family heirlooms, like this Fiat 850.

02:40My grandfather bought this car many years ago.

02:44I never use it.

02:47It's very special to me.

02:49But there are also financial reasons for Uruguay's many classic cars,

02:57as Milton's fellow club member, Sergio Decimos, explains.

03:01He renovated this 1946 Ford.

03:08The engine is original.

03:10It's a V8.

03:13Many such Ford models arrived after World War II.

03:16But Uruguay suffered a decades-long economic decline,

03:21starting in the late 1950s, discouraging imports.

03:28At the time, in the 1950s, there was an economic boom in the country,

03:33and many new vehicles arrived,

03:36many of which were fancy for the time.

03:39And then for many years, hardly any new cars were imported until the 1980s.

03:43And so, many of us grew up with these cars.

03:46They belonged to our grandfathers, our fathers.

03:49They stayed in families for their whole life.

03:54Sergio works as a train driver,

03:57but prefers four wheels over steel rails,

04:00and enjoys the mechanical quirks of older models.

04:03It has small details that modern cars don't have.

04:09The steering wheel has a bit of play.

04:13The gears are here.

04:14That's reverse, first, second, and third.

04:18Three gears.

04:21It's got an old-school system.

04:24The key doesn't start the car.

04:25It just locks the steering wheel.

04:27Once you unlock it and turn the wheel,

04:31then you can start the car.

04:35New cars are now readily available,

04:38but many Euroglans keep their old trusty models as a backup.

04:42Sergio's new renovation project is a 1948 Opel Olympia,

04:46which he spent years trying to buy from its elderly owner.

04:49When I asked about buying it,

04:56I had the money to do it right then.

04:58But the lady said, no, I'm not selling it.

05:01She was 82 at the time

05:02and didn't have a driver's license anymore.

05:05I kept at it for a year and a half or two years,

05:08and I ended up buying the car.

05:11The great thing about it is

05:13I've left it sitting for about three years,

05:15and I just changed the battery,

05:17hopped in, and it started right up.

05:19It always runs.

05:23Many of Milton's club members own two cars,

05:26but Santiago Rupel has the unique distinction

05:29of buying the same car twice.

05:31He bought, renovated, and sold

05:33this 1977 Citroën 3CV.

05:37Years later, he saw it in a dilapidated state

05:39and bought and renovated it again.

05:41There are not many people

05:44who've bought the same vehicle twice,

05:46but I have a little bit of a tendency

05:47to do things like that with vehicles.

05:49I have a certain nostalgia for these things.

05:53He's not alone in admiring old things.

05:57Every year on August 24th,

05:59Uruguay celebrates a national nostalgia night.

06:04It's a night where we remember old things.

06:07Vehicles, shops, things like that.

06:11There are parties and dancing and all that.

06:15Uruguayans are really, really nostalgic.

06:22It's a trend exemplified by Uruguay's

06:25beloved former president, José Mujica.

06:27He drove his 1987 Volkswagen Beetle for decades,

06:31even while in office,

06:33and refused an offer from an Arab sheikh

06:35to buy it for a million dollars.

06:37Today, Uruguay's streetscape is changing.

06:44In the capital, Montevideo,

06:46electric vehicles are becoming a common sight.

06:49Uruguay now imports more EVs per capita

06:52than any other South American country.

06:55That's due in part to government tax exemptions

06:58and discounts.

07:00Previous government decisions were responsible

07:02for keeping so many classic cars on the streets.

07:09Fernando Benitez is another member of Milton's club

07:12with unique insight into the history

07:14of Uruguay's auto sector.

07:19He runs a scrapyard where cars are dismantled.

07:23Buyers come from far and wide

07:25to hunt for rare parts,

07:27drawn by Uruguay's reputation

07:28as a vault for old vehicles.

07:34People come from everywhere.

07:36Argentina, Brazil, Chile.

07:38One guy flew in from Chile

07:40to get an Austin engine.

07:43There's one main reason

07:44for Uruguay's love for classic cars.

07:47The country never had

07:48a domestic car manufacturing industry

07:50to protect.

07:51Drivers here were given no incentive

07:53to scrap their old cars,

07:55unlike in neighboring Argentina and Brazil,

07:57where government programs

07:59paid drivers to scrap their old vehicles

08:01and buy new locally made ones.

08:06We had and still have a rich heritage.

08:09Unfortunately, many cars went to Brazil,

08:12Argentina and Spain.

08:14So we lost part of our beautiful

08:15automotive heritage.

08:17There are still some,

08:18but not as many as before.

08:20The idea is to save these classics,

08:23to keep them from ending up in the junkyard

08:25or in Brazil,

08:27because this is a heritage

08:28that won't come back,

08:30to try to not dismantle them,

08:32but keep them running for a long time.

08:37Fernando hopes his scrapyard

08:39can help keep Uruguay's retro cars

08:41on the road.

08:43He owns a 1955 Dodge Kingsway Custom,

08:46and driving it takes some getting used to.

08:52It's hard to drive.

08:53They're not easy to handle.

08:54You have to connect with the car.

08:57The braking is different.

08:58It pulls to one side.

09:00But it has that charm

09:01that classic cars have.

09:06Finally, Milton and his 20 club members

09:09are on their way to their main event

09:10to connect with potential new members.

09:12Among their collection

09:15are a Hillman Minx,

09:17several Ford's and Chevrolet's,

09:22a Morris Oxford,

09:24an Opel Capitain,

09:26a Studebanger,

09:28a Humber,

09:30and a 1930 Model A Ford.

09:33That's the oldest car,

09:34while the newest is from the 1980s.

09:36The members help keep

09:37one another's machines running.

09:39Maintenance is part

09:40of the Uruguayan mentality.

09:42Here we just keep things running.

09:45We keep working on them,

09:47fixing them,

09:48rebuilding the engines.

09:49But it's not only cars.

09:51We also fix old shoes and appliances.

09:54And, of course, vehicles, too.

09:57The club's asados, or barbecues,

10:00combine Uruguay's love for classic cars

10:03with the country's favorite pastime

10:04of grilling meat,

10:06served up on simple platters,

10:08accompanied by folk music.

10:10Uruguay's car customs are changing.

10:14Each year, there are fewer classic vehicles

10:16on the roads

10:17and more imported electric autos.

10:20But here, they're doing their best

10:21to inspire younger generations

10:23in the hope they'll carry the culture

10:25on into the future.

10:26For Milton, keeping a retro ride

10:32is about more than mobility,

10:34frugality, or even nostalgia.

10:38When I travel to another place,

10:41someone comes up to me,

10:42especially older people,

10:43and they say,

10:44I used to have a Jeep Willys.

10:46And that starts a conversation

10:47and sometimes a friendship.

10:49In times past,

10:53classic cars were a necessity.

10:55Now it's the connection

10:56between drivers and their vehicles

10:58that is keeping Uruguay's

11:00classic car tradition alive.

11:01and they say,

11:04if you have a Jeep Willys.

11:07Enter your cars

11:18a car in half,

11:20and you can't see one thing

11:21on Erica find it in theständ.

11:23And I wish I would say

11:24if you would come to the怖

11:26of the road,

11:27as you'd like.

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