Traveling to Cuba, we had pre-conceived ideas that the cars would be old (i.e. 1950's vintage or older) partly because of the U.S. imposed embargo. Prior to the 1959 Revolution, there were many American made cars on the island. Following the Revolution, a law was imposed that Cubans could neither officially buy nor sell cars, only "rent" them long term. With the imposition of the U.S. Embargo, getting parts to keep these cars running became almost impossible. Almost! The clever Cubans began to use Russian and/or Chinese parts, anything that "...fit the hole", to keep them on the road. And it seemed to work. There are many cars from the 1950's, 1940's , and even the 1920's, still driving the streets. They have American model shells ( after creating colorfull paint schemes) with foreign engines. While there are some truly authentic convertibles, most were made by chopping off the hard top. Other vehicles had their appearance changed totally by adding pieces to make them longer, or by scavenging parts from several makers to create what locals called "Frankenstein cars." And are the Cubans ever proud of their vehicles! They beam each time someone admires what they have, often generously inviting them to sit in the cars and have their pictures taken.
We were amazed at the impeccable condition of both the exterior and the interior of the vehicles. They were spotless. Rust on cars was few and far between. Most were in perfect looking condition. Intellectually, we were prepared to see old cars. Yet, we were still thrilled to see them, and better yet, ride in them!
One of the "Frankenstein" cars that had a piece added to it in order to create a third seat row. A 1957 Ford Fairlane 500. A 1952 Ford This 1928 Ricola Ford is in amazing condition. Notice that most of these old cars are being used as taxis. In just as amazing condition was this 1948 Mercury. This 1920 Ford looks like it just came off of the assembly line. My father had a 1959 Cadillac like this, only it was not pink! This 1957 Chevy was unbelievably pristine One of the few 1956 Dodges we saw. Notice the fold-down spare tire on the back. None of these came standard. They were all add-ons by the Cubans. This 1956 Chevy did not start out life as a convertible. this is one of those that had its hard top chopped off in order to make it look like a convertible. On our last night in Cuba, members of our tour group helped to celebrate our 49th wedding anniversary by arranging for us to tour the city of Camaquey in this decorated 1920 Ford. Notice the crank starter on the front. What a perfect way to end this chapter of our adventure! And what a delightful ride!
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Carl and Lorraine Aveni are two retirees planning on traveling through Europe for at least one year.
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