These old cabs have become stuck in time due to a dispute at the courts.
A farm in Xerem in Brazil is home to 60 cars that are parked bumper to bumper and door-to-door. These are mostly 1993 and 1992 Chevrolet Chevette L1.6/S and Chevette Junior 2.0 models. There are also a few examples from the Volkswagen Gol, and a Chevy Corsa. They are located under a shed that also houses the small family of piglets.
This bizarre collection was discovered by our friends at Brazil. Naturally, they had to film, photograph and write about it.
The Chevrolet Chevettes’ angular shapes reinforce the illusion that you are viewing a Tetris game. The visual shock was even more intense until a few weeks back, when there were 96 cars underneath this roof.
All of the cars are ex-combatants or retired cabs, as Rio de Janeiro-speak. These cars were once part of the large fleet that Pascoal da Ressurreicao Afonso Rego owned, which was once known as the Taxi King.
Despite the thick dust layer, you can still see that all cars are Java Yellow. Volkswagen It was launched in 1977 and became the standard shade of taxis in Rio de Janeiro two years later. These vehicles now have the light on their roofs and the Baltic Blue side stripes. Taximeters and cab-specific plates were also removed.
The city’s history was marked by the yellow Chevettes or Gols until the 1990s when the larger VW Santana took over the square.
The majority of the cars in Xerem today date back to 1992 and 1993. Because of the old rules of Rio’s Municipal Transportation Secretariat, they were only on the road for three year. The drivers drove 170 to 200 km (106 to 124 mi) per day through the city’s traffic. This allowed them to accumulate high mileage.
The cars were retired and moved to a warehouse near Pascoal’s Cab Empire headquarters. The vehicles were not sold due to a legal dispute with the state, so they remained in storage for many decades.
Eight years ago Paschoal, who was 92 years old, died. The company then passed to 14 heirs. The cabs were stored in the warehouse until 2020, when an offer was made to rent the space.
“The offer was too good to turn down: we were already experiencing the pandemic with low movement and increased competition from apps.” We had to store the cars at the family farm in Xerem after the tenant arrived,” Carlos Pascoal, one of Pascoal’s sons, explained to Motor1.com Brazil
The justice department approved the sale of the retired taxis.
Patrick, a man from Canada, bought ten cars. He recorded a video of the event and gave it to the Chevette groups. Sales have soared since then. Carlos stated that even though it was stolen, there have been police officers who were present.
The old cabs, even though they are complete, can be sold as scrap. The prices range from R$1,300 to R$2,000 (240 to $370 depending on current exchange rates). According to the seller, it wasn’t worth the hassle of getting them all on the road or going through the tedious process of registering them. Carlos wants buyers to be able to transfer the property and drive a vehicle that is still under their company’s ownership.
“I did not place any ads. It was all word of mouth. All the cars have been reserved. Carlos stated that the shed will be empty by Tuesday.
The Chevette in Brazil and the Chevette available in the USA were both built on the T-Platform by General Motors for small rear-wheel-drive vehicles. Brazil received more body styles than the three- and five door hatchbacks. The European Opel Kadette C was equipped with the same underpinnings as the Vauxhall Chevette.