American Cars in Panama??
Dec 21st, 2005 by Don Ray
When it comes to the ability to have a car serviced in Panama, it appears that the Japanese cars are the way to go. The Ricardo Perez, S.A. dealership is the largest and best equipped with parts in Panama.
General Motors appears to be moving into second place as the largest manufacture of cars in the world. In an article to The Sydney Morning Herald says the following,
Toyota will probably be the largest producer in the world at the end of 2006,” said Richard Hilgert, auto analyst at Fitch Ratings, citing GM’s slumping sales of large sport utility vehicles in the fuel-conscious market.
That would mean that Ricardo Perez S.A. would be the dealer for the largest manufacturer in the world.
It is conceivable that the US manufactures could completely stop selling in Panama. It is a very small market and I would think that many people are not going to want to buy a US SUV that gets 13-18 miles to a gallon when you can buy a Japanese or even Korean SUV that runs on diesel and yields around 30 miles to a gallon.
At today’s prices, it probably costs around $10 for a round trip from David to Boquete, if you are in an American gasoline SUV. That will probably make a lot more people avoid the US brands. I understand the new 2006 Toyota RAV4 is getting bigger. I wonder if it is going to have a diesel engine. While I don’t need a car anymore, it is still fun to look.
Boquete to David and return ios closely to $20 or more.
Hmmmm. Perhaps I underestimated, however here was my assumptions. Boquete to David = 40km. Round trip = 80 km. 80km = 50 miles. At 13 mpg that would be 3.8 gallons of gas @ 2.56 per gallon = $9.85. @ $2.75 per gallon it would be $10.45. Maybe you are driving a lot more or you need your car checked.