I understand that there used to be a brisk trade in selling used cars from
the US in Mexico. I think the term Jalopy is a corruption of the name of
the Mexican city Jalapa, which was a center for refurbishing these cars.
Some kind of distinctive mark appeared on them, and those which reappeared
in the US could be readily identified.
I believe that this is still going on today. Recently the Mexican
government had plans to charge tourists either $400 or $800 as a deposit to
ensure that their cars came back out of Mexico with them. They scuttled the
plan at the last minute, probably figuring the loss of tourist dollars would
outweigh the duty charges they are losing from black market imports.
Regards,
Grant S.
54 3100 (mostly all there)
54 3100 (mostly not there)
55 1st 3100 (mostly rust)
Los Angeles, CA
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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