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 Post subject: Car spotting in Cuba
PostPosted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 12:32 pm 
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Location: Portsmouth, England
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Had a great time in Cuba, and plenty to see on the road. Couldn't recommend Cuba more as a destination for lovers of old cars. Far too many to photograph them all, but here are a few photos of what I spotted, starting with...

...Pre-revolution American classics:

1948 Pontiac at the Museum of the Revolution:
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1957 Pontiac Chieftain:
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1951 Pontiac, converted into a truck:
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1956 Plymouth Belvedere:
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1953 Plymouth:
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1959 Oldsmobile Super 88:
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another '59 Oldsmobile:
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1957 Nash Rambler:
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1953 Nash Rambler:
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1950 Lincoln Club Coupe:
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1954 Mercury Monterey wagon:
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late '50s Jeep Station Wagons:
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Kaiser Henry J:
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Jeep Jeepster:
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Jeep CJ5 - also at the Museum of the Revolution:
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1957 Imperial:
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International pickup, circa 1950:
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1955 Dodge Kingsway:
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1958 Edsel:
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1953 Chevrolet Bel Air:
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1959 Chevrolet Bel Air:
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1958 Buick:
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'59 Cadillac:
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1953 Cadillac Eldorado:
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1957 Buick Special:
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1956 Buick Special:
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a few from the Havana motor museum...

The curious 1930 Baby Lincoln - looks like a Model A Ford to me, but radiator badge reads 'Baby Lincoln, Detroit'.
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1930 Cadillac V16:
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1930 LaSalle:
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Soviet & Eastern Bloc classics...

Skoda Octavia:
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Moskvitch 408:
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Moskvitch 2140 - there were a lot of these around:
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Moskvitch 2141 Aleko - quite a few of these around too:
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IZH 27151 pickup:
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GAZ Volga M24:
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GAZ Volga M24-02 wagon:
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GAZ Volga 310221 wagon:
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GAZ Chaika 14:
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GAZ Volga M21:
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ARO 243:
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Now for a few British classics...

Standard Eight:
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Hillman Minx:
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Ford Consul Mk2:
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Austin A40 Somerset:
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...and some European classics...

Renault Dauphine and Moskvitch:
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SEAT 850:
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Opel Rekord P1 Caravan:
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Opel Rekord P1:
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Opel Kapitan:
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Mercedes-Benz 190 'ponton' - this was our taxi on one occasion:
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Ford Taunus 17M:
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Ford Taunus 12M:
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Citroen Traction Avant:
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Auto Union 1000SP:
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Here are the more random odds and ends that I spotted, including some modern Chinese cars...

Zotye Hunter:
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1950s Toyota Land Cruiser:
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Mitsubishi Sapporo:
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MG 5:
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We hired a car for three days, from Cubacar (the cheaper firm). Our ride was this Geely CK:
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^ Not great to drive, terrible build quality, and an interesting driving position, but it did the job.

I believe this is an Argentinian-built Ford Falcon - I saw a few of these:
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Dodge 1500:
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Chang'an Alsvin:
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Emgrand EC8:
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The Chinese brands have made great inroads into the Cuban car market, but mostly to the rental fleets. I suspect very few Cuban people get the opportunity to buy brand new cars. The Chang'an looks privately owned though - it's been pimped! Besides the Chinese, most of the other modern cars around seemed to be Korean or French.

Finally, I posed a question when I left, which was whether it was true that there are no American cars in Cuba made after 1959 due to the trade embargo. I can confirm that it is not true. This myth was busted on the first day! While more modern, post '59 American cars aren't that common, I did see quite a few on my travels, including a 1963 Oldsmobile, a 1970 Chevrolet Impala, a 1980 Ford LTD, and newer vehicles including a Chevy Equinox, a 2006-shape Dodge Charger, a Chrysler 200, and a Chevrolet Cobalt SS. Modern GMC Sierra pickups are quite common as they seem to be used as runarounds by the local gas and oil refineries. The oil and gas industry also uses massive American big rigs such as Peterbilts and Kenworths. I also saw Ford E-series ambulances.

Here's a 1970 Chrysler 300 I spotted:
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and a circa 2004 Lincoln Aviator:
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1960 Chevrolet Impala with the roof chopped off:
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 Post subject: Re: Car spotting in Cuba
PostPosted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 1:25 pm 
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Very cool pictures, Simon, thanks for sharing!!! Some of the older cars look interesting with the chosen wheels on them lol

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 Post subject: Re: Car spotting in Cuba
PostPosted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 10:50 pm 
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Wow, it's like a time capsule there! I was scratching my head on your visit to Cuba until I seen you were from England. US citizens cannot get a flight there, we'd have to go to Canada first or something and then go there. And then answer a *fook* ton of questions about a Cuba passport stamp when we came back in the US.

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 Post subject: Re: Car spotting in Cuba
PostPosted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 12:36 pm 
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^ It's a shame US citizens can't fly there, especially as Cuba is only 90 miles from Key West, Florida. The situation may change in the not too distant future though - you never know. It's a strange situation really, as the Cuban missile crisis was over 50 years ago, but I don't know all the reasons for it I guess.

It is a very popular destination with Canadian tourists though. I think that probably 75% of the guests at the hotels we stayed in were Canadian. So much so that the locals tend to assume you are Canadian unless you tell them otherwise.


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 Post subject: Re: Car spotting in Cuba
PostPosted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 12:51 pm 
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Yea it is, looks like a really cool place to visit. I think it has to do with all the Guantanamo BS more than anything.

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'95 Grand Prix SE coupe 'Black Betty' gone but not forgotten- my 1st love
'99 Olds Alero GX Coupe the get me by beater- sold
'03 Bonneville SSEi 'Gina' Feb. '16 COTM | 35% tint | smoked tail lights | boat roller mount | carbon fiber accents | Silverline exhaust tips
Ziebart rust protection & undercoating | CompuStar Accustart | LED interior lighting
Intense shift kit | Intense FWI | 3" ZZP downpipe | RDI headers | 3.4 MPS | Autolite 104s | 180 deg t-stat | custom tune | ZZP high flow fuel filter | alum coolant elbows and LIM gaskets | much more to come…hopefully

'15 Buick Regal 2.0 Turbo AWD 259 HP | 10k miles | 2-way remote start | undercoating and window tint to come
'98 GMC Sierra SLE Z71 4x4 | 112k miles | S&B intake | garage ornament | more to come


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 Post subject: Re: Car spotting in Cuba
PostPosted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 5:21 pm 
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My Co-worker is recently from Cuba. We did a little automotive reminiscing today. Thanks ;)

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 Post subject: Re: Car spotting in Cuba
PostPosted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 6:05 pm 
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BonnieBoy08 wrote:
Yea it is, looks like a really cool place to visit. I think it has to do with all the Guantanamo BS more than anything.


Is has to do with the embargo as well and the mountain of laws that have been passed basically banning trade, tourism and every aspect of business except for some humanitarian efforts by US citizens and companies. Many other countries are involved in it as well.

If you are Jay-Z & Beyonce then there is some wiggle room. HAHA!!

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 Post subject: Re: Car spotting in Cuba
PostPosted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 6:10 pm 
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BonnieBoy08 wrote:
Yea it is, looks like a really cool place to visit. I think it has to do with all the Guantanamo BS more than anything.

It's because we have had an embargo with the Cubans since their revolution and Castro becoming the leader. It's illegal to buy or sell anything to/from Cuba, including flying there from the U.S., and it's very hard to get to/from with a U.S. Passport. JFK signed the embargo in 1962. It takes a very special visa, granted to very few Americans. I know a few people who have visited through various methods. Guantanimo has been there since before the revolution, and is technically U.S. sovereign soil, basically because anyone who would try to take it over would be demolished.

Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Sta ... ainst_Cuba

I wouldn't mind visiting Cuba, seems like an interesting place to visit...

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Last edited by 00Beast on Fri Mar 21, 2014 11:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Car spotting in Cuba
PostPosted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 11:19 am 
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Time capsule indeed...it is amazing.

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 Post subject: Re: Car spotting in Cuba
PostPosted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 12:56 pm 
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00Beast wrote:
BonnieBoy08 wrote:
Yea it is, looks like a really cool place to visit. I think it has to do with all the Guantanamo BS more than anything.

It's because we have had an embargo with the Cubans since their revolution and Castro becoming the leader. It's illegal to buy or sell anything to/from Cuba, including flying there from the U.S., and it's very hard to get to/from with a U.S. Passport. JFK signed the embargo in 1962. It takes a very special visa, granted to very few Americans. I know a few people who have visited through various methods. Guantanimo has been there since before the revolution, and is technically U.S. sovereign soil, basically because anyone who would try to take it over would be demolished.

Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Sta ... ainst_Cuba

I wouldn't mind visiting Cuba, seems like an interesting place to visit...


Interesting article. Good old Wikipedia!

As the rules are so strict I wonder how the modern American vehicles I saw got into Cuba. Amongst others I saw a Chrysler 200, a Dodge Nitro, a new-shape Chevrolet Equinox and lots of GMT900 GMC Sierras. I also wonder how the owners get hold of parts for those cars... maybe via Canada?


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 Post subject: Re: Car spotting in Cuba
PostPosted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 1:02 pm 
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SSEi95 wrote:
My Co-worker is recently from Cuba. We did a little automotive reminiscing today. Thanks ;)


That's cool. If he saw the photos, I suspect your co-worker might have recognised some of the locations too!


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 Post subject: Re: Car spotting in Cuba
PostPosted: Wed May 07, 2014 9:26 am 
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Cool. But how the crap do you know the year/make/model of all those cars? :lol: I'm impressed! :hail:

This one reminds me of a 55-57 T-Bird.
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 Post subject: Re: Car spotting in Cuba
PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2014 11:02 am 
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^ I am a bit of a geek when it comes to old cars. I occasionally have to double-check the years though when they are similar. For example the '53 and '54 Plymouths differ only slightly.


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 Post subject: Re: Car spotting in Cuba
PostPosted: Wed Dec 17, 2014 2:23 pm 
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Saturn Simon wrote:
^ It's a shame US citizens can't fly there, especially as Cuba is only 90 miles from Key West, Florida. The situation may change in the not too distant future though - you never know.


Saw this on the news today:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-30516740

Looks like the day when US citizens can visit Cuba could be getting closer.


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 Post subject: Re: Car spotting in Cuba
PostPosted: Wed Dec 17, 2014 2:33 pm 
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I saw this elsewhere today and immediately thought of this thread...

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 Post subject: Re: Car spotting in Cuba
PostPosted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 7:43 pm 
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I saw this today and thought of this thread...

http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/aban ... 2014-12-18

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