As you may be aware, our own David Tracy is on, of all things a cruise, where the man who normally revels in pain and discomfort is being pampered and encouraged to graze like an emperor at lavish buffets. It’s hard to picture, I know, but it’s happening. One nice perk of it all is that, of course, David is still David, so he’s keeping an eye out for interesting cars, and boy did he spot some while in Mazatlán, Mexico. These are fascinating cars, a kind of air-cooled Volkswagen Beetle variant I wasn’t aware of, and one that only exists in Mazatlán. They’re called Pulmonias.
And, yes, that name is the Spanish word for pneumonia, because when these first appeared in the 1960s, there was a belief that riding around in an open car could give you pneumonia, which I’m pretty sure medical science has disproven, otherwise there’d be a lot of very sick Miata owners.
It seems that the whole thing started with a man named Miguel Ramirez Urioui, who made the first open taxis from three-wheeled Cushmans in the 1960s, but these proved a bit too small and unstable, so by the 1980s the baseline Pulmonia had changed to a VW Beetle-based machine. This, of course, makes a ton of sense, as Mexico was producing huge numbers of Beetles (Vochos) at the time and Beetles were already in use as cabs in Mexico City, among other places.
Also, the Beetle works well because the whole body can be removed from the chassis very easily, allowing the Pulomina custom fiberglass bodies to pretty much just be plopped onto the pan and bolted down. These bodies appear to be pretty much one-piece, with fenders and seat benches just molded right in.
I wonder how well those air scoops work? Also, I wonder how many people can fit in these? They’re four-door, and that back bench looks fairly wide; I bet cramming six or so in these is not uncommon, because, you know, vacation rules and all.
There looks to be a few different styles of Pulmonia bodies, some with more Beetle-like front ends, some with a more boxy design, some having what looks like engine lids from a VW Type 181 (the Thing), some with maybe VW Type 2 bus engine lids, and, as David shows in this video, no two seem to have the same kind of taillights:
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Just from that little clip I saw Chevy S-10 taillights, 1972-1978 or so VW Bus lights, Escalade lights, round aftermarket “flat” ’73-and up Beetle taillights, the ubiquitous “box” taillight seen on Jeeps, maybe some Daewoo lights, and more. See what you can spot!
I’m so delighted by these things, for a number of reasons; first, they’re what a bigshot executive at Nissan once described as a “Galapagos” car – something that, like a Galapagos Tortoise, can only really exist in one part of the world. The Nissan exec was talking about Japanese Kei cars, but these Pulmonias definitely qualify, too.
I’m also thrilled because they’re yet another example of how the old air-cooled Beetle refuses to die off or at least just retire into a comfortable, undemanding status of collector car. Long after they were phased out as Mexico City cabs, there’s hundreds of old Beetles, now in disguise, doing real taxi work in this one city, and, it seems, thriving. These drivetrains and chassis are all likely decades old, but, since Mexico made old-school Beetles until 2003, there’s still likely some fresh, barely 21-year-old VW pans out there, if needed. The resiliency and unstoppable character of the old Beetle never fails to thrill me.
Of course, these are getting old and rough, and I’m sure at some point they’ll get phased out for something else for safety reasons, but I doubt they’ll have the ramshackle charm of these.
The city of Mazatlán does at least seem to appreciate the little Beetles-in-work-clothes that have become their unofficial mascots, and have even erected a bronze statue on the oceanfront to commemorate these hard-working machines:
So, no matter what the future brings, the Pulmonias will be remembered, as they deserve.
Is that a set of Opel Vectra C taillights I spotted on one of those?
How entirely amazing, practical and democratic would be if we could still buy beetles pan kits, then go nuts. Entire micro-coach industries would sprout, filling unmet demand across the world
I once got pneumonia just from driving with my windows down!
I once got pneumonia just from driving with my windows down!
I saw these in Mazatlan and wondered what they were. Now I know!
I saw these in Mazatlan and wondered what they were. Now I know!
Nice! These are awesome…it’s so hilarious and great that they all have different taillights. I wonder if there are any taillight bars there? Cerveza time! I wonder what kind of taillights the statue has?!
They serve a mean Margarita at la luz frenado del centro alto (known to locals as luz fre).
Nice! These are awesome…it’s so hilarious and great that they all have different taillights. I wonder if there are any taillight bars there? Cerveza time! I wonder what kind of taillights the statue has?!
Just skimmed article at work. here’s gist I got out of this:
David was kidnapped and shipped to an island called Pulmonia where he met a guy named Darwin. He soon found some diverse looking white carriages that only exist here because they transmorphed out of millions of old beetles. They use them only for hauling humans as money-spilling cargo.
Hmm…none of this makes sense and I need to reread this when I get home.
No, you got it pretty much right.
Just skimmed article at work. here’s gist I got out of this:
David was kidnapped and shipped to an island called Pulmonia where he met a guy named Darwin. He soon found some diverse looking white carriages that only exist here because they transmorphed out of millions of old beetles. They use them only for hauling humans as money-spilling cargo.
Hmm…none of this makes sense and I need to reread this when I get home.
No, you got it pretty much right.
I’ve ridden in one! It’s a fun time. Mazatlan is a beautiful city and a nice place to visit.
I’ve ridden in one! It’s a fun time. Mazatlan is a beautiful city and a nice place to visit.
Taillight porn for Torch.
Taillight porn for Torch.
Geez, what is that Thing??
Geez, what is that Thing??
I’ll be shocked if David doesn’t get a tour of the ship’s mechanicals. Or at least ask for one. It’s pretty fascinating stuff on a stunningly large scale.
Yeah, I REALLY wanted to see the engine room, etc on the couple cruises to Mexico my wife & I have been on (especially after watching Deadliest Catch and how they fix things) You have to pay extra for a “behind the scenes” tour which doesn’t even include it & they say because it’s “noisy & dangerous”…such bullshit. They could at least offer it when in port when engines are off or at least slower so all the people who would be fascinated by it could see it (they would make a lot of $) I would be REALLY surprised if he was even willing to pay for the tour; especially since it doesn’t even include that- it’s mainly worker areas, the bridge etc
We at least have been to U.S.S. Lexington, U.S.S. Alabama and U.S.S. Stewart/Cavalla (ship/sub) which were both completely amazing & of course you can see the engine room & SO much more including torpedoes! (It’s all self guided)
Back in the 90’s on a Costa cruise we got tours of the engine/mechanical spaces as well as the kitchens. Free of charge, just asked at the desk. I was in tech geek heaven.
Awesome!
Also got a tour of the bridge. It might have been my geeky charm and enthusiasm that won them over.
I’ll be shocked if David doesn’t get a tour of the ship’s mechanicals. Or at least ask for one. It’s pretty fascinating stuff on a stunningly large scale.
Yeah, I REALLY wanted to see the engine room, etc on the couple cruises to Mexico my wife & I have been on (especially after watching Deadliest Catch and how they fix things) You have to pay extra for a “behind the scenes” tour which doesn’t even include it & they say because it’s “noisy & dangerous”…such bullshit. They could at least offer it when in port when engines are off or at least slower so all the people who would be fascinated by it could see it (they would make a lot of $) I would be REALLY surprised if he was even willing to pay for the tour; especially since it doesn’t even include that- it’s mainly worker areas, the bridge etc
We at least have been to U.S.S. Lexington, U.S.S. Alabama and U.S.S. Stewart/Cavalla (ship/sub) which were both completely amazing & of course you can see the engine room & SO much more including torpedoes! (It’s all self guided)
I tried to read the whole article but my brain locked when I read David is on a cruise.
I tried to read the whole article but my brain locked when I read David is on a cruise.
Neat I see Carnival Cruise lines offers shower spaghetti now
The Cruise ship has been so confused the whole time with David there, constantly asking for the shower spaghetti to be repaired.
Now? Hasn’t that been part of their menu since 1972?