Travel from Manzanillo to Playa Azul on the coast route

Repeat :)
If teenagers would hide on the floor of a vehicle rather than be seen by their friends in it, consider the vehicle hijack-resistant. A jacked-up candy apple red Hummer with 24" gold plated spoke wheels, and an airbrushed mural of a bull in-action, painted on the sides would not fare well south of the border. Fancy grade four door 4 x 4 pickup trucks are a favorite, as are larger size Hondas, Nissans, BMW's, etc. But hijackers are picky "Me settle for a five year old car?" A plain vanilla 4 x 2 pickup isn't a favorite. But the teenager analogy isn't a joke.

Petty crime has spiraled upward because cops do not patrol anymore. A sarcastic joke goes like this - "Humberto! Look! A carload of sicarios with automatic weapons and grenadas! Turn on the lights and siren! We have to get out of here!"

Steadily increasing amounts of traffic has transformed Mex 200 along Michoacan from a near deserted stretch in the 1980's to steady light traffic today. Cops and the military have gotten better at boxing in suspects. That and a populace thoroughly aroused has made life tough on Mexico 200 banditos in Michoacan.

IMHO Mex 15 East of the butterfly sanctuary and remote roads like Mex 37 from La Mira to Uruapan, and north and south of Patzcuaro are not to be trusted. Rural state operated roads in the state of Guerrero are perilous.

But similar to the Ferrocarriles Nacional Chihuahua Al Pacifico (Copper Canyon Railway) the days of seeing bullet holes in passenger car windows are history. I don't need the excitement and worry about my kids.

I know this is a touchy subject and very soon people who have never been to Mexico start posting. Then the saviors of Mexico post how some burg in Canada or the USA has a higher crime rate. BUT the periodicals have been reporting that petty crime is on the up rise. By petty I mean crimes where no one is injured. Robberies are out of sight. Car thefts as well. BUT I have not heard of any car jackings . These so called petty crimes are not cartel related. Part of this problem is just the time of year. Thievery goes way up at Christmas time. Even in Tucson they have problems this time of year. In addition to car patrols some of the malls have security guards on the roof with binoculars!

Moisheh

100x more robberies have occured since Canadian Rainbirds had their Jeep stolen. Where? Mex 1-D the transpeninsula hwy between Rosarito and the border. There was a robbery early this morning. The natives at the X villages strung up a whole group of ratones a couple of years ago. When the rurales cleared house when Dr Mirales was active more than a hundred scumbags were removed from the face of the earth and several hundred more fled. The rurales went from house to house. The marines now rule this highway.

Regardless do not troll too shiny a lure and never travel at night. This is true anywhere down here.

It's been several years since a legit hijack has been reported.

More than one person has had their vehicle hijacked on that stretch of Hwy, I would not travel it unless in a group. Cartels very active along that coastline.

We did it on a motorcycle a few years ago - an amazingly beautiful road. Not much for gas stations and folks were selling gas roadside in towns.

It's an absolutely beautiful drive, we call it the Big Sur coast of Mexico.
The bypass around Tecoman is a gift-his directions got us onto it when it opened, and we were so grateful! There are/were great sculptures in the center of both traffic circles.
The comment about a flashy tow, is unfortunately true. Although I haven't heard about anything actually happening on this route for 3 years, we still aren't taking it, sigh.
We LOVE Parador Ecoturistico Zapote de Tizupan beach. Absolutely beautiful, actual hookups, and a wonderful beach. I just looked it up and like you said, it's also called Maruata.
Do take at least 2 days for the drive, if you don't stop to play. If you do, take a long time!