Car spotting in Cuba
Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 12:32 pm
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:
1957 Pontiac Chieftain:
1951 Pontiac, converted into a truck:
1956 Plymouth Belvedere:
1953 Plymouth:
1959 Oldsmobile Super 88:
another '59 Oldsmobile:
1957 Nash Rambler:
1953 Nash Rambler:
1950 Lincoln Club Coupe:
1954 Mercury Monterey wagon:
late '50s Jeep Station Wagons:
Kaiser Henry J:
Jeep Jeepster:
Jeep CJ5 - also at the Museum of the Revolution:
1957 Imperial:
International pickup, circa 1950:
1955 Dodge Kingsway:
1958 Edsel:
1953 Chevrolet Bel Air:
1959 Chevrolet Bel Air:
1958 Buick:
'59 Cadillac:
1953 Cadillac Eldorado:
1957 Buick Special:
1956 Buick Special:
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'.
1930 Cadillac V16:
1930 LaSalle:
Soviet & Eastern Bloc classics...
Skoda Octavia:
Moskvitch 408:
Moskvitch 2140 - there were a lot of these around:
Moskvitch 2141 Aleko - quite a few of these around too:
IZH 27151 pickup:
GAZ Volga M24:
GAZ Volga M24-02 wagon:
GAZ Volga 310221 wagon:
GAZ Chaika 14:
GAZ Volga M21:
ARO 243:
Now for a few British classics...
Standard Eight:
Hillman Minx:
Ford Consul Mk2:
Austin A40 Somerset:
...and some European classics...
Renault Dauphine and Moskvitch:
SEAT 850:
Opel Rekord P1 Caravan:
Opel Rekord P1:
Opel Kapitan:
Mercedes-Benz 190 'ponton' - this was our taxi on one occasion:
Ford Taunus 17M:
Ford Taunus 12M:
Citroen Traction Avant:
Auto Union 1000SP:
Here are the more random odds and ends that I spotted, including some modern Chinese cars...
Zotye Hunter:
1950s Toyota Land Cruiser:
Mitsubishi Sapporo:
MG 5:
We hired a car for three days, from Cubacar (the cheaper firm). Our ride was this Geely CK:
^ 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:
Dodge 1500:
Chang'an Alsvin:
Emgrand EC8:
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:
and a circa 2004 Lincoln Aviator:
1960 Chevrolet Impala with the roof chopped off:
...Pre-revolution American classics:
1948 Pontiac at the Museum of the Revolution:
1957 Pontiac Chieftain:
1951 Pontiac, converted into a truck:
1956 Plymouth Belvedere:
1953 Plymouth:
1959 Oldsmobile Super 88:
another '59 Oldsmobile:
1957 Nash Rambler:
1953 Nash Rambler:
1950 Lincoln Club Coupe:
1954 Mercury Monterey wagon:
late '50s Jeep Station Wagons:
Kaiser Henry J:
Jeep Jeepster:
Jeep CJ5 - also at the Museum of the Revolution:
1957 Imperial:
International pickup, circa 1950:
1955 Dodge Kingsway:
1958 Edsel:
1953 Chevrolet Bel Air:
1959 Chevrolet Bel Air:
1958 Buick:
'59 Cadillac:
1953 Cadillac Eldorado:
1957 Buick Special:
1956 Buick Special:
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'.
1930 Cadillac V16:
1930 LaSalle:
Soviet & Eastern Bloc classics...
Skoda Octavia:
Moskvitch 408:
Moskvitch 2140 - there were a lot of these around:
Moskvitch 2141 Aleko - quite a few of these around too:
IZH 27151 pickup:
GAZ Volga M24:
GAZ Volga M24-02 wagon:
GAZ Volga 310221 wagon:
GAZ Chaika 14:
GAZ Volga M21:
ARO 243:
Now for a few British classics...
Standard Eight:
Hillman Minx:
Ford Consul Mk2:
Austin A40 Somerset:
...and some European classics...
Renault Dauphine and Moskvitch:
SEAT 850:
Opel Rekord P1 Caravan:
Opel Rekord P1:
Opel Kapitan:
Mercedes-Benz 190 'ponton' - this was our taxi on one occasion:
Ford Taunus 17M:
Ford Taunus 12M:
Citroen Traction Avant:
Auto Union 1000SP:
Here are the more random odds and ends that I spotted, including some modern Chinese cars...
Zotye Hunter:
1950s Toyota Land Cruiser:
Mitsubishi Sapporo:
MG 5:
We hired a car for three days, from Cubacar (the cheaper firm). Our ride was this Geely CK:
^ 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:
Dodge 1500:
Chang'an Alsvin:
Emgrand EC8:
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:
and a circa 2004 Lincoln Aviator:
1960 Chevrolet Impala with the roof chopped off:
I'm impressed! 