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Witness History: The Fusca - The Car that Charmed Brazil

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The Fusca - The Car that Charmed Brazil

12/06/2014 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, The Fusca - The Car that Charmed Brazil

How the Brazilian version of the VW Beetle won a special place in the nation's heart

How the Brazilian version of the VW Beetle won a special place in the nation's heart.

Since its launch in the 1950s, the Brazilian version of the VW Beetle has had a special place in the nation's heart. Cheap, charismatic and virtually indestructible, it was many Brazilians' first car and is affectionately known as the Fusca. The Fusca played a key role in the development of Brazil's economically and politically vital national car industry. Witness speaks to two Fusca fans.

(Photo: A Fusca in the colonial town of Paraty. Credit: Getty Images)

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