Say Oi To Marcelo De Vasconcellos
[Ed: According to Google Analytics: 90% of TTAC’s readers come from the US and Canada. India accounts for .28%; China .27%; Brazil .24%]
According to Alexa, about half of TTAC’s readers come from the U.S.A., the other half comes from the rest of the world. An amazing 12 percent come from India, must be Sajeev’s extended family. We have a sizable contingent of readers in South America, despite the dearth of articles about the booming auto industry down south. This is about to change …
Please welcome longtime commentator FromBrazil as TTAC’s new Southern Hemisphere correspondent. In the process, he had to reveal his true identity: Marcelo de Vasconcellos (actually, it’s Marcelo Rodrigues de Vasconcellos, but we cut him down to size.) Marcelo will inform and hopefully entertain you with stories from the first of the BIC countries, from Brazil.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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Bienvenido Marcelo. Desde Chile te saludo. Good to have someone from the neighborhood reporting to the world. Carlos
Bem Vindo, Marcelo! Beautiful place you are from...went there for my honeymoon. I'm definitely into the internationalization of TTAC, loving the foreign car reviews, it allows me to daydream of renting these vehicles in their far off locations. Driving in foreign countries is one of my favorite pastimes...the freedom of the open road beckons even more when you are in an unfamiliar land.
Hello Marcelo! Great to have you aboard! Seriously, 12% of our traffic comes from India? I think I'll demand the government provide me a Hindustan Contessa next time I go back.
Please give us a taste of Brazilian Curbside Classics. I'd love an article on the Rural (Willys) Station Wagon. Many vehicle platforms find second and third lives in countries that have economic incentives to promote local manufacturing/assembly with high local content (like glass, interior fabrics, etc.) Most TTAC readers probably know how VW continued making old bugs/beetles in Mexico for decades after Stuttgart pulled the plug, but I'm sure Brazil has as many or more interesting stories. The Willys Jeep (think WWII) and station wagon were produced in variant forms not only in Brazil and Argentina but also in various countries in Asia as well (with Mitsubishi badges and diesel engines) for decades. I'm looking forward to seeing some of these.