Gurgel SuperCross

The Brazilian-made Gurgel SuperCross is probably not the winter beater I'd be looking for — to start, it's front engined and rear-drive. It was also made for the climate in Brazil…not the climate in North America.

But, like…why not? Fibreglass doesn't rust!

I've been over Brazil's protectionist economy in general and its locked down automotive industry specifically, but to recap: if you wanted a new vehicle, Gurgel was one of the few choices you had. 

Once heavily reliant on technology borrowed from Volkswagen, Gurgel combined innovative production methods and (usually) fibreglass bodywork to produce workhorses well-suited to Brazil.

For the countryside, you could pick up a vehicle I've already featured: the Gurgel X-15. Sort of like a Volkswagen Beetle turned into a Hummer H2, and then devolved into a plastic wheelie bin, it came with asymmetrical windshields and was therefore perfect.

For city slickers, Gurgel offered the BR-800. Designed with assistance from the government in the form of a plan called CENA (Carro Econômico NAcional; National Economical Car) that promised upwardly mobile Brazilians a locally-made choice of city car (a smaller Tupperware bin on wheels, if you will).