Cuba classics
August 5, 2004 6:49 AM   Subscribe

Cuba Classics: A Celebration of Vintage American Automobiles. An homage to Cuba's astonishing wealth of antique cars, revealing the time-worn splendor of classic American automobiles spanning eight decades.
posted by ZippityBuddha (6 comments total)
 
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: when the trade barriers come down between the U.S. and Cuba, the antique car market is going to be like a kid in a candy store. Nice stuff, Zippity. Gah! It's like the 50's never ended!
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 7:49 AM on August 5, 2004


oh god.

i clicked on the link, and almost creamed my pants when i saw that beautiful purple trinidad just taunting me.
posted by oog at 8:51 AM on August 5, 2004


Wonderful! Just gorgeous...thanks so much.
posted by cookie-k at 9:22 AM on August 5, 2004


WASHINGTON - The crew members of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter could not believe their eyes.

Chugging along at a steady 13 kilometres per hour in the Straits of Florida was a bright-green 1951 Chevrolet truck with 12 Cuban migrants aboard.

The ingenious craft was kept afloat by 12 250-litre drums strapped to its sides. The wheels were still in place and the engine was running, turning a propeller attached to the drive shaft.

There was even a captain at the wheel.

"We've seen surfboards, pieces of Styrofoam, bathtubs, refrigerators. But never an automobile," Petty Officer Ryan Doss of the U.S. Coast Guard said yesterday. "

HAVANA - (KRT) - Three Cuban families' hopes of puttering to South Florida in a green, 1959 propeller-powered Buick were dashed Wednesday when the tail-finned, floating car was sunk, just like their first ingeniously engineered amphibious vessel, a 1951 Chevy truck rigged to a pontoon of 55-gallon drums, an exile source said.

The U.S. Coast Guard declined to comment on the fates of the 11 migrants who were intercepted aboard the sealed Buick 10 miles off Marathon on Tuesday. But Cuban exile sources speculated they will likely be repatriated, just as some had been during the Chevy crossing last July.


Discussed, also, on Metafilter 31198 (amphibious Cuban '50s era cars)
posted by troutfishing at 9:38 AM on August 5, 2004


I know the author (we write for the same company) - he sure knows his stuff when it comes to Cuba. His guide to the country is a bible.

The country is an automotive gold mine. Half the pictures I shot (a few are on my site) - and it's a gorgeous place, with gorgeous people - were of the cars. Hell, half of those were of hood ornaments.

If you're into this you should try and catch Yank Tanks. Amazing what they go through to keep them running with no new parts - mixing up asbestos brake pads in the kitchen, etc.
posted by gottabefunky at 9:47 AM on August 5, 2004


second Yank Tanks
posted by thomcatspike at 10:14 AM on August 5, 2004


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