Brazil sees rise in bulletproof cars
By Gary Duffy
BBC News, Sao Paulo

Aluizio Coelho recalls in vivid detail the incident which persuaded him to buy a bulletproof car. He was driving with his wife into the centre of Sao Paulo when a motorbike pulled up alongside his vehicle.

Brazil has an estimated 50,000 bulletproof vehicles on its roads
"Two guys were on the motorbike, and the guy behind had a gun. He asked for everything we had, and of course we said to him we will give you everything. But the problem was that the guy had such a nervous attitude, and it looked like he was using drugs. The risk of the situation was not only if we wanted to give away whatever we had, but if the guy was sure in his mind that he didn't need to shoot us. That was really what brought me to have a bulletproof car."

Aluizio, a former Formula 1 driver who now drives stock cars, bought his bulletproof vehicle second hand, and says it has brought peace of mind for him and his family.

"You have of course to keep in mind not to go where you shouldn't be going, but in a normal situation you are always feeling safer. It brings you comfort."

Growing market
A few miles outside Sao Paulo, at a factory producing bulletproof windows, you have to wear headphones to block out the deafening sound of gunshots. Day after day, in carefully controlled tests, bullets are fired at the glass produced here to ensure that it is up to the required standard.

There is a continuing sense of insecurity, this urban violence in big cities. So once you are using a bulletproof car, you are much safer stopping at driving lights, driving at night. The impact is enormous, but in the tests we watched, the glass, just over 2cm thick, does its job. There are large and distinctive marks, but the bullets are stopped. The tests are meant to reassure prospective buyers worried about the more sinister threats on the streets outside, such as kidnappings or armed robbery.

There are now estimated to be more than 50,000 bulletproof cars - blindados - on Brazilian roads. The business has been growing, almost without interruption, over the last decade, with an increase of around 20% per year. Traders say a market that was once the exclusive preserve of Brazil's elite is opening up to wealthier sections of the middle class, due to easier credit arrangements and a growing second-hand market.

more at (incl vids & pics): http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7495987.stm

Interesting, you hear these Brazilians complain all the time about crime. The Brazilians I've met in the US talk of crime back home. Most of the Brazilians in Portugal say they left Brazil because of crime. Most of the Brazilian plastic surgeons and dentists in Portugal who are so popular with the Portuguese say they left their country because of crime.

http://www.bmwdrivertraining.com.br/sec/loscursos/automoviles/protection/automoviles.htm



Tschau...Obrigado

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巧言令色, 鲜矣仁!

Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue. ---Confucius

I like that - a "tropicalized" version of BMW's offensive driving program.

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1984 300TD