Castro pits U.S. jalopies vs. Chinese buses

[Judi Lynn]

Castro pits U.S. jalopies vs. Chinese buses

Sunday, May 14, 2006; Posted: 9:50 a.m. EDT (13:50 GMT)
HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) -- "All aboard for Capitolio, via Linea!" cries a jitney cab driver looking to fill his shiny black 1947 Chevrolet Fleetmaster.

Eight passengers pack into the car fitted with an extra row of seats, arms hanging out of open windows. The motor roars to life, and the vehicle chugs off in a cloud of black fumes.

In any other country the Fleetmaster would be on show in a museum or in a vintage car collection. But in communist Cuba, more than 60,000 American cars made in the 1940s and 1950s are still on the roads in full use.

Foreign visitors feel they have stepped into a time warp at the sight of tail-finned convertibles, deluxe Cadillacs and Oldsmobiles, De Soto limousines, powerful sporty Buicks, Mercurys, Plymouths and Chevrolet sedans and trucks.
(snip/...)

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/05/14/cuba.cars.reut/index.html

[madrchsod]

1. dam...no wonder the us won`t normalize trade

there would be a flood of 50-60`s cars on the world market. a ruff estimate of 2000-3000 per car..tops out at 180,000,000 us dollars...

[SteveG]

2. I think you are seriously underestimating prices

Here is a snip from a recent auction in Arizona

"a 1948 Tucker Sedan was purchased for $333,900; a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle LS-6 convertible went for $111,300; and a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible brought $86,920. The top-selling automobile of the 29th annual event was a 1968 Ford GT 40 Mark I, which sold for $429,300."

[uncle ray]

3. i don't think very many of THOSE cars are in Cuba.

a four door 55-57 chevy, like many pictured, is worth a few of grand. the prices you see at those auctions are usually some of the best examples of a very rare car.

[Tempest]

4. From the pictures I've seen from Cuba

Cubans keep their vehicles in better condition than most Americans.

Many of the cars in the pictures I've seen look in pristine condition.

[IndianaGreen]

7. Considering that there are no parts available for these cars

and that the Cubans have to manufacture their own parts.

[Drum]

5. Those are some beautiful cars!! nt

How smart that people have held onto them.

[54anickel]

8. From the article it seems only the body and chassis are original - they

sure are beautiful looking though.

[IndianaGreen]

6. We sure made cars to last back in the 1940s and 50s

and Cuba is proof of that!

[happydreams]

9. Hopefully US car companies and the industrial

sector in general will wake up to the fact that Bush's harsh stance against Cuba and other Latin American countries is depriving the US of these markets.

Mr. Bush: "Tear down this wall"!

[Mika]

10. The embargo will stay, because..

There's just too much campaign money to be made by both sides on the issue.

Interestingly, there's a mixed bag of Dems and repugs both pro and con on Cuba sanctions & trade.

One side reaps large campaign dollars from the anti Castro/pro embargo factions, and the other side reaps dollars from big AG companies/ pro trade factions.

If US Cuba relations (trade) were to be normalized then much of that campaign money would dry up. The status quo pays for both sides. So, US/Cuba politics is mired in quicksand.

This issue is a perfect example of why we need campaign funding "reform" in US political campaigns.

[happydreams]

11. Interesting take on this. Smells like

neo-liberalism to me.

[Mika]

12. Smells undemocratic also. Poll: Americans don't support sanctions on Cuba

Our government continuing the embargo on Cuba 47 years after the Cuban Revolution certainly isn't representational government in action..


Poll: Americans don't support Cuban Sanctions


-----

.. and the Cuban-American community isn't all fixated on Cuba anymore.

Majority demographic are the younger offspring of the exiles, or the younger Cuban immigrants that have come to the US for economic reasons - after living their entire lives post revolution. Neither group has an all consuming hatred of the Revolution.

Their focus is more local.


Cuban-Americans focus is local, not on Cuba or Castro

The survey, aimed at gauging Cuban American views on a range of topics, also found that most of those polled want their elected officials to focus more on local issues rather
than on international concerns, such as the much-debated U.S. trade and travel embargo
against Cuba.

[onager]

13. Similar in Egypt

I'm working in Egypt right now. My job is way out in the Nile Delta, about 50 miles from Alexandria. The daily 90-minute commute (one way) takes me thru a bunch of little farm villages where life hasn't changed much in the past millenium.

Except for stuff like electrictity (for a few people) and cars.

There must about 25 or 30 1955 Chevies still running in these villages. They are all 4-door models, generally the lower-end 150s/210s but I do see a few Bel Airs.

Occasionally I'll see one completely stripped, half-sanded down to the metal, with dents being puttied or primered. Then a few days later it's back on the road.

Amazing.

Other sightings: a pink-and-white 55 Ford station wagon, a gold 53 Chevy station wagon, and a couple of 1949 Chevies and 1955 Fords.

I do not know why time stopped in 1955. I'd make a guess that the 1956 Suez Crisis had something to do with the timeline, but I don't really know.

Most of these cars are like the ones in Cuba. They're running with engines, or parts of engines, out of Russian trucks or other handy substitutes.

For a great documentary on the Cuban cars, check out Yank Tanks. I think it originally ran on HBO, but should be available for rental.