Los Planetas

[Schmo]

That's pretty sweet man. Looks like you guys had a blast . . . looks like an area that you'd better be prepared and have an idea of what's coming . . . as nasty as some of that was, I can't imagine if you got caught out there in a bad storm.

[headhunter]

Cool videos!

It did give us a better feel for what it was like.

Christian

[Roberto Miranda]

this video is from Sao Paulo, Brazil...

you'll see what a floaded city looks like...

That is a Troller, a Brazilean Jeep...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXBGh6gpf2w

[inVERt'D]

While I think it is wonderful that you speak Spanish and can write it as well, the OP as Hispanic as he is, posted in English.

If you like to post in Spanish, please translate it into English for the rest of us.


Roberto, I apologize for doing this in your thread.

Great post... Keep bringing this info to us!

Sorry I just got excited and forgot myself.

[inVERt'D]

this video is from Sao Paulo, Brazil...

you'll see what a floaded city looks like...

That is a Troller, a Brazilean Jeep...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXBGh6gpf2w

My brother and sister-in-law (she's Brazilian) have told me about those Trawlers. I couldn't see one in the video, but I figure that Trawler must have had a snorkel. They make a lot more of sense down there than they do in dusty, rocky SoCal. I can imagine the guy in the Trawler with his wife telling her "I told you it was practical!"

I would love to do some wheeling on a trail like that Los Planetas--that's my kind of mud: deep enough to be sloppy and challenging, but not coming in over my doors (although I imagine that could be found there too). Not only that, but the jungle is so much different to the dry environs I'm used to. When I was in the Philippines I saw all kinds of cool Jeeps, Land Cruisers, Nissan Patrols, etc. I didn't get to do any wheeling, but next time I just might.

Regarding your argument about the cost of shipping oil to China and India vs the U.S., you make perfect sense. The thing that may change that is the precarious position of the U.S. dollar--it could very easily go the way the Mexican peso did in the late '80s and early '90s (especially if China stops buying U.S. securities). The Chinese yuan, however, can really only go up--a lot.

[headhunter]

this video is from Sao Paulo, Brazil...

you'll see what a floaded city looks like...

That is a Troller, a Brazilean Jeep...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXBGh6gpf2w

That was cool! (The Jeep part, not the tragic event.)

Christian

[Roberto Miranda]

I agree, the tragedy is one thing, and the driving skills or cojones are a totally separate issue here 

The Trollers are using diesels engines, 2.8L Turbo Diesel

More details here
http://www.troller.com.br/novo/pages..._a_troller.php


Back to the oil concerns, let’s imagine the following scenario:

USA = Corona del Mar
Venezuela = Balboa Peninsula
Venezuela’s Oil = automobile traffic
China = Catalina Island
Ferries = PDVSA Marina

What is going to happen is the guy that owns the ferries, decide to change the route a little bit, and do a service to Catalina Island instead of Corona del Mar?

The ferries will be full of cars, no doubt about it, but the cash that he will receive is going to be nothing compare to wherever he is having now… even that the price per car still the same…

[headhunter]

The Trollers are using diesels engines, 2.8L Turbo Diesel

More details here
http://www.troller.com.br/novo/pages..._a_troller.php

That's very interesting history.

I was under the impression that the Troller was a rebadged version of another make.

However, it appears that the Troller is an original make from Brasil starting in 1997.

Ford decided to aquire the company in 2007 and re-tooled the factory in 2008.

I wonder if this means that we'll be seeing a Ford Troller in the U.S. sometime in the future.

I found one site that gave a lot of specs on the military version at:

http://www.warwheels.net/images/WFVBrazilHAUGH.pdf

Apparently, it's got a wheelbase of 95" and a tread width of 78". So, it's about the same size as a newer Jeep. At first, I thought it might be smaller like a Samurai or Tracker.

Christian

[inVERt'D]

Funny--I consistently misspelled it "Trawler." I guess watching that thing go through water reminded me of a boat.

I was just talking to my sister-in-law, and she says Sao Paolo floods quite frequently (her brother lives there) due to the river that goes through it. Must make life interesting, considering it's such a large city.

Regarding the oil thing, again, you make perfect sense. However, consider that China's number one importer is the U.S. As you pointed out, we're a very long way away. The reason the U.S is China's best customer, despite the distance is because we've given China "most favored nation" trading status, and because of our buying power. As for proximity, China's own citizens are much closer, and there are over a billion of them, yet they can't buy many of their own goods.

Now consider what would happen if China and a few other countries stopped buying U.S. securities because they began to see them as less viable (it's already happening). Due to the money that's already in circulation and our huge national debt (they're related), massive inflation would catch up with us. U.S. buying power would plummet (as would our standard of living). China and India, by contrast, are positioned to rise because instead of massive debt, they have massive savings and assets behind their money. For China to import oil from across the Pacific would be no different from what goes on today between nations with outbalanced buying power. True, China has positioned itself to be a player in the Middle Eastern oil market, but there is a lot of potential competition for that, and it may not satisfy China's and India's consumption for long. Anyway, here's hoping that nothing I've suggested comes to pass and we never find out if my arguments are true. I hope you're right.

[Roberto Miranda]

I got the information from somewhere, but I don’t remember from where…maybe I read about it, but I’m not sure… anyways…

They said that the a little percentage of just smart kids of China it is way bigger that the entire population of ALL kids of the USA…

If that is true, or just half of it, we better learn Chinese soon, more soon than later…

Also, they had a tendency to keep males only… so will be a shortage of females…

If that is also true, you daughter will become more priceless that she already is now…
Or we will have a rainbow movement growing up with no brakes…

[inVERt'D]

Yet more reasons why China could make the world a more interesting place in the near future.