CP sent in the following letter, which may have been in response to our story, “Brazilian Volkswagens show automaker’s struggle for a post-Beetle look.”
I have been following the Brazilian car scene for a few months and I find the evolution of U.S.-derived models fascinating, as the cars that were made for the American middle-class consumer were targeted to Brazilian luxury car buyers. To replace some aging European originated models, a few U.S.-based models were introduced by Ford and Chrysler.
The first car introduced starting in 1967, was the 1966 Ford Galaxie Sedan, which used a Ford 292ci truck engine at the start but was pretty much the same car as sold in the U.S. The car then evolved with incremental changes into the Ford Landau, and became Ford Brazil’s answer to the Lincoln Town Car. The 1966 Body and Chassis was discontinued in 1983.
Chrysler introduced the 1969 Dodge Dart Sedan as a 1970 model in 1969. Again much the same car as the 1969 model, however, some substitutions were made, beefier rear end, plusher interior, stronger front suspension parts to handle Brazilian roads. A whole range of cars were derived off the Dodge Dart and the Dart Coupe (Swinger).
Later, Ford introduced the Maverick coupe to Brazil in 1973 to compete with the home-grown Chevrolet Opala, derived from the Opel Ascona and the Dodge Dart Coupe, which had a new low-priced Dart SE option to lure performance-minded youth.
All this occurred during the time of the military dictatorship ruling Brazil, in power since 1964. Tough restrictions were placed on imports, creating a nearly closed market for automobiles. This insulated the Brazilian car market from competition other markets experienced, and led to exotic cars with a mixture of old and new technology!
Today, older Brazilians fondly remember the American cars of their youth, and the classic car markets are very competitive, with prices fetching two times what a comparable car could get in the U.S.
PS: I’m so fascinated with the Brazilian classic car scene, I’ve taken it upon myself to learn Portugese!
— CP
PHOTOGRAPHY:
- Images of 1978 (banner) and 1976 Brazilian Chevrolet Opala SS by Niemann333 via Wikipedia Creative Commons 4.0.
The history of the Brazilian car market is a fascinating one, indeed.
Chevy Opala was based on the larger Opel Rekord C, not Ascona, as far as I know. In fact, it predates the Ascona by several years.
And not only the Brazilian car market but also the Argentinian one where Chrysler sold the A-body as Dodge Valiant/Coronado/Polara and GTX along with Ford who sold the 1960 Falcon body until 1990 or 1991 depending of the sources and at last but not the least, the Rambler American rechristened and reskined as the IKA/Renault Torino.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-cohort/cohort-pick-of-the-day-dodge-coronado-the-a-body-lived-on-until-1981-in-argentina/
https://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/the-ford-falcon-death-cars-of-argentina/