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A Mexico City neighborhood keeps the iconic Volkswagen Beetle alive

Janette Navarro drives her 1996 Volkswagen Beetle up a steep hill in the Cuautepec neighborhood of Mexico City, Friday, June 21, 2024. Taxi drivers like Navarro say they continue to use the Beetles because the cars are historically inexpensive and the engine located in the back of the vehicle gives it more power to climb the neighborhood's steep hills. (AP Photo/Aurea Del Rosario) Janette Navarro drives her 1996 Volkswagen Beetle up a steep hill in the Cuautepec neighborhood of Mexico City, Friday, June 21, 2024. Taxi drivers like Navarro say they continue to use the Beetles because the cars are historically inexpensive and the engine located in the back of the vehicle gives it more power to climb the neighborhood's steep hills. (AP Photo/Aurea Del Rosario)

By MEGAN JANETSKY / Associated Press June 24, 2024 4 min read

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Janette Navarro’s 1996 Volkswagen Beetle roars as it barrels up a steep hill overlooking concrete houses stacked like boxes on the outskirts of Mexico City.

She presses her foot on the pedal, passes a lime green Beetle like hers, then one marked with red and yellow, then another painted a bright sea blue.

“No other car gets up here,” she said. “Just the vocho.”

The Volkswagen Beetle, or “vocho” as it’s known in Mexico, may have been born in Germany, but in this hilly neighborhood on the fringes of Mexico City, there’s no doubt about it: The “Bug” is king.