Rusted and stripped of their right seat, the cars parked in queues rounding street corners serve as the unofficial taxi in the hillside neighborhoods in Cuautepec in Mexico’s capital. The curvy symbol of the 1960s hippie era is admired — even decorated and named — by residents who say the car represents their resilience and work ethic.

They can be spotted throughout Mexico City, but they swarm the vibrant streets in Cuautepec, where Beetles can be heard climbing steep hills past residents relaxing on their roofs and dogs standing guard on balconies.

One of the Cuautepec’s many mechanics is usually just a couple blocks away. The smell of car exhaust fumes fills the streets as yellow, green, red and purple Beetles buzz by one another at intersections.

“It is not a standard car like any other,” said Yolanda Ocampo, 45, as she admired her graying 1982 Beetle parked outside the pharmacy where she works. The brake peddle can be stiff, but owning the Beetle means “your car is tough.”