Cars in Cuba

[tranquilized]

This is my first post here in a while as I've been travelling around South America for the last 6 months. As part of the trip we managed to spend two weeks in Cuba. Of the 8 countries we visited Cuba was the most amazing, the most different - it really does have a fascinating history.

And then there's the cars. At a guess I would say half the cars on the road are pre-1959 American classics. A quarter would be soviet garbage from the 70's and 80's, and the remaining quarter - the new cars, are ALL Chinese - Geely mainly.

This post wouldn't be much good without pictures...

When you hear pre-59 American classics you may have thought of beautifully restored daily drivers. Ummm no, most of them look to be held together with sticky-tape. (Many of the buildings haven't been touched since 1959 either)



Saw a couple of these getting around, I doubt there would be many left even in the USA. Anyone recognise it?



Yep, it was a Ford Edsel getting about Havana as a taxi. Here's another one I found in Trinidad;





One night as we were walking home ignoring all the taxi touts one got my attention when he said "you can drive". So a few seconds later I was behind the wheel of this beat up 1952 Chev dodging bici-taxis and horse & carts;



Just your average run-about in Havana;



But not all the cars are so classy;



This was our taxi to the airport, it was a fitting way to wrap up our time in Cuba. It's a 1948 Chrysler, one of the few cars that had been restored, complete with a sticker of Che and (unfortunately) a Toyota 4 cylinder engine and auto;






All in all an amazing trip. Cuba was clearly the most interesting when it came to the cars on the road. I did see quite a lot of Fords on the road in Colombian cities - the new Fusion/Mondeo really do look stunning in the flesh. There were a few Fords around in Brazil as well. Still quite a lot of first generation Falcons with ugly 80's style front and rear ends getting about in Argentina.

So yeah, Latin America = Loads of fun. Hopefully a few here have found this interesting. And anyone interested in visiting Cuba you better do it real soon cause things are changing fast.