Even in Mexico, it's uncommon to see a tripleheader of Volkswagen Beetles waiting at the same traffic light, despite the "Vocho's" assured status as a Mexican icon. I grabbed a photo of these three at an intersection along a Puerto Vallara boulevard during last week's Hemmings Cruise to Mexico. A visual guesstimate on their vintage is around 1980.

The Beetle's evolution into a Mexican-built motorcar began in 1961, when the first CKD kits from Germany were assembled in a local Studebaker-Packard plant. Volkswagen opened its own assembly factory the following year, then began producing Beetles at its new, much larger Puebla plant in 1967. Later Mexican Beetles achieved a sophistication unknown north of the border, acquiring Digifant-injected 1.6-liter power, front disc brakes and retro appearance options.

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