# Could you drive from North America to South America? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 21, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210 "2012-08-21T20:49:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210/41 "2012-08-23T18:39:03Z")
Trade needs are met by cargo ships. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210/42 "2012-08-23T18:50:52Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Make sure when she puts the videos of her bot fly infestation being extracted one by one on YouTube, and then let us know.m if she’s good looking, and she takes a bath before they extract the things, she could make some good money from YouTube viewership. (seems many central American trips, mostly to Belize, result in a video of someone getting a bot fly removed from their bodies. Search “bot fly” on YouTube. It’s a freakshow! Yech. I am never leaving the house ever again. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210/43 "2012-08-23T23:24:29Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Surely that would be an easy border crossing to police, as such things go. _One_ road, with difficult territory to either side? As I said, lots of illegal Colombian immigrants come through this way now, even when there is no road. It would be easier if there was a road and all they had to do was go around the checkpoints (or bribe the guards). > [@](#): > > Is there no incentive for legitimate trade? Not on Panama’s side. Panama doesn’t export all that much. Much of its economy is based on the Canal, banking, service industries, and money laundering. Colombia is the one with an interest in the road, because they want to be able to trade directly with Central America and Mexico. > [@](#): > > I’d think the simple fact that it now _was_ possible to traverse the length of the Americas by road would bump up tourism. I doubt that it would bump tourism all that much. There aren’t that many people interested in driving such long distances, with multiple border crossings and huge amounts of red tape, just to say they’ve done it. Not many people drive to Panama from the US now, and having a road open to South America wouldn’t attract very many more. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210/44 "2012-08-24T00:17:38Z")
Bizarrely Google maps shows a piece of the Trans-America highway disconnected from anything right across the Columbia-Panama border. Somehow I don’t think that’s real. https://maps.google.com/maps?q=panama%2Bdarien%2Bgap&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=7.89722,-77.276115&spn=0.112052,0.170116&sll=8.537981,-80.782127&sspn=7.155111,10.887451&hnear=Dari%C3%A9n%2BGap,%2BPanama&t=m&z=13 If Columbia ever builds a road up to Acandi then it seems you could bridge the gap along the north coast without going through the Darien Parque Nacional. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210/45 "2012-08-24T00:54:19Z")
BTW, does anyone really believe those 2 wheel drive Corvairs actually made it the whole way? The documentary shows them getting to Yaviza, and claims they have gone 3/4 of the way. Then they show them at a border stone with Columbia written on one side and Panama on the other, then it cuts to a montage of South American cities. In the 1960’s there still would have been may 100’s of kms from the Columbian border to any roads. I’m thinking they just bashed through the Jungle to Yaziza to get some dramatic footage, then built a prop stone border post, filmed that, then shipped the cars to South America. Who would know? ---
**Author:** ![pdunderhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4bbf92/32.png) [@pdunderhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pdunderhill)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210/46 "2012-08-24T01:00:00Z")
Thank you, Gods Turban and Tutu, an International (lack of), crisis not blamed on the UK. Retires to big cabinet of War trophy and 2012 medals. Peter ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210/47 "2012-08-24T01:02:52Z")
You know, EmilyG, the forest industry in Québec and Ontario has been taking a beating in the last few years, so there is a lot of equipment out there that can be picked up for a song. Although the gas milage is not too good, and the top speed is pretty slow, once you get to the Gap, a [harvester](http://img.directindustry.com/pdf/repository_di/57004/2510-wheel-harvester-156946_1b.jpg) would get you through without difficulty. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210/48 "2012-08-24T01:05:17Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > BTW, does anyone really believe those 2 wheel drive Corvairs actually made it the whole way? The documentary shows them getting to Yaviza, and claims they have gone 3/4 of the way. Then they show them at a border stone with Columbia written on one side and Panama on the other, then it cuts to a montage of South American cities. > > In the 1960’s there still would have been may 100’s of kms from the Columbian border to any roads. I’m thinking they just bashed through the Jungle to Yaziza to get some dramatic footage, then built a prop stone border post, filmed that, then shipped the cars to South America. Who would know? You mean like the moon landing? Look, they had three 4x4 trucks with winches, and ongoing re-supply. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210/49 "2012-08-24T01:24:31Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Look, they had three 4x4 trucks with winches, and ongoing re-supply. :dubious: I find the you tube films pretty unconvincing when you read about what it took to get other expeditions through that are confirmed to have gone all the way. They claim to have only gone across one river by boat and forded the rest. The only other expedition to do it entirely with no boat crossings took over 700 days. It was an advertising stunt, it wasn’t really necessary for them to really cross the entire gap, just necessary to get footage that makes the cars look rugged. ---
**Author:** ![FuzzyOgre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@FuzzyOgre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuzzyOgre)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210/50 "2012-08-24T02:06:03Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > You know, EmilyG, the forest industry in Québec and Ontario has been taking a beating in the last few years, so there is a lot of equipment out there that can be picked up for a song. Although the gas milage is not too good, and the top speed is pretty slow, once you get to the Gap, a [harvester](http://img.directindustry.com/pdf/repository_di/57004/2510-wheel-harvester-156946_1b.jpg) would get you through without difficulty. That is a pretty cool idea actually. You might need to do some retrofitting though, as the machines arent really ideal for that climate. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210/51 "2012-08-24T02:12:05Z")
Duration would be contingent upon the equipment and workforce available to make a trail for the three 4x4 trucks, not on whether or not three of the six vehicles woud have to have been winched along by those trucks much of the way. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210/52 "2012-08-24T02:13:57Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > :dubious: > > I find the you tube films pretty unconvincing when you read about what it took to get other expeditions through that are confirmed to have gone all the way. They claim to have only gone across one river by boat and forded the rest. > > The only other expedition to do it entirely with no boat crossings took over 700 days. > > It was an advertising stunt, it wasn’t really necessary for them to really cross the entire gap, just necessary to get footage that makes the cars look rugged. You know that trying to prove that something _didn’t_ happen is very difficult, right? Lacking firsthand knowledge of failure of the endeavor leaves us having to rely on the information that exists that indicates they were successful. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210/53 "2012-08-24T02:24:49Z")
While I agree that the Corvairs probably relied on the 4x4’s making trail and heavy winching, I will mention that light rear-engine RWD cars like the VW Beetle or the Corvair are actually quite capable off-road. I would think a stock Corvair would have lots of problems with ground clearance, but probably not with traction. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210/54 "2012-08-24T02:30:03Z")
I remember reading about the British Trans-Americas Expedition in 1972. It may have been in National Geographic. That was what I recalled vaguely until **Colibri** ’s excellent and entertaining post reminded me more fully. I have two lasting impressions that I recollect: how remarkable it is that you could theoretically drive from Barrow Point to Tierra del Fuego, and that Range Rovers are amazingly cool. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210/55 "2012-08-24T02:34:50Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > I remember reading about the British Trans-Americas Expedition in 1972. > It may have been in National Geographic. > > That was what I recalled vaguely until **Colibri** ’s excellent and entertaining post reminded me more fully. > > I have two lasting impressions that I recollect: how remarkable it is that you could theoretically drive from Barrow Point to Tierra del Fuego, and that Range Rovers are amazingly cool. Point Barrow. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210/56 "2012-08-24T02:37:25Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > BTW, does anyone really believe those 2 wheel drive Corvairs actually made it the whole way? The documentary shows them getting to Yaviza, and claims they have gone 3/4 of the way. Then they show them at a border stone with Columbia written on one side and Panama on the other, then it cuts to a montage of South American cities. I just did a little investigating, and it turns out you are correct that they did not make it all the way through the Gap. However, they did make it as far as the Panama/Colombia border post at Palo de las Letras, where at least one of the cars was abandoned. In my copy of _The Hundred Days of Darien_, about the British Trans-America Expedition, is this passage: > [@](#): > > Three hours later they were half a mile from Palo - a journey that had taken the Land Rovers days. In front of them, among the trees, lay the red rusting hulk of a car, stout saplings growing through its engine compartment, vines through its wheels, and ants’ nest in its boot, a coral snake coiled on its decayed back seat and a huge spider at home in its dashboard. Such was the fate of vehicles caught in the Gap by Darien’s rains - as this Chevrolet had been in 1961. The book only mentions one Corvair being found at the border. However, [this account](http://www.range-rover-classic.com/Home/range-rover-darien-gap) implies all three were abandoned there. Actually, it appears to be uncertain what happened to the other two cars. [Here’s a photo](http://www.range-rover-classic.com/Home/range-rover-darien-gap)of the remains of one Corvair taken in Darien about 1990. This account suggests one of the cars was shipped back to the US for promotional purposes. (The same photo appears [here](http://automotivehistorian.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/darien-gap-corvair/) as well.) Even so, just getting from the Bayano River to the Colombian border would have been a remarkable achievement for a 2WD car even if they did not make it all the way. At that time there was not even a primitive road to Yaviza. The current road between the Bayano and Yaviza was built in the mid-1970s, after the British expedition went through. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210/57 "2012-08-24T02:43:49Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > If Columbia ever builds a road up to Acandi then it seems you could bridge the gap along the north coast without going through the Darien Parque Nacional. Just barely, and that would also mean crossing a small mountain range. And the rest of the border in that region is occupied by the Kuna and Embera Comarcas. The Kuna would probably oppose any attempt to build a road through that area. I’m not sure about the Embera. [And once again, it’s Col **O** mbia.] ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210/58 "2012-08-24T02:45:12Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > the information that exists that indicates they were successful. Which is what? Watch this from 7:00 mins on. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7EnZKOu4fV4/hqdefault.jpg "Chevrolet Corvair Daring the Darien part II") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EnZKOu4fV4) The film makes a strange claim that they suddenly exit the Jungle at Colombian border, even though there should have been many miles to go to hit a roadhead. Then cut to the south american montage. It doesn’t even state explicitly that they kept going all the way through. ninjad by Colibri… yep seems they only made it to the border. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210/59 "2012-08-24T03:16:35Z")
Meh. They opened the film questing for South America which was blocked by the Darien Gap. If you define South America by the watershed, then they stopped short. If you define South America by the international boundary, then they finished. Either way, what they did was a very long way from doing only what was “just necessary to get footage that makes the cars look rugged.” Indeed, the astronauts really did land on the moon. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210/60 "2012-08-24T03:34:18Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Point Barrow. You, sir, are a pedant. Well played. And you expect the same from me… Next Time. \ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-drive-from-north-america-to-south-america/632210.md?page=4)