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Want to take a trip back into the golden era of the automobiles? Book a flight for Cuba and you'll find yourself among thousands of still good looking 50s Chevys, Cadillacs, Fords and even some East European imports, all going down the streets each day. Want to take on home? Better think again...
On February 16th, 1959 Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba and stopped all foreign goods imports into the country. This means the whole car population there froze until 2013, when the ban has been lifted after 55 years.
Although the economy in Cuba is still sluggish and new cars there cost a liver and an arm for most buyers, things are slowly moving on and people are starting to buy second hand imported cars.
This means most of the old gems could be for sale, a thing that can get attention from classic car collectors. Well, if you're one of them, let us burst your bubble and tell you most of them are only shiny shells of the true cars of the past.
Some also ditched the old V8s under their hoods in favor of four-cylinder diesel engines that proven to be more reliable and efficient. For example, according to an Automotive News report, Alejandro Torres bought a '57 Chevy with only 74,000 miles on the clock from its original owner about 10 years ago and “converted” it to Cuban-mode using a Mitsubishi diesel engine.
He said he could sell it if he could buy a modern diesel car at that price and probably most of the owners are thinking the same. So you should better study your choices carefully there. Although the '57 Chevy Bel Air is the most coveted in Cuba, there are only three units that still retain their factory specifications and could sell for over $80,000.
Although the economy in Cuba is still sluggish and new cars there cost a liver and an arm for most buyers, things are slowly moving on and people are starting to buy second hand imported cars.
This means most of the old gems could be for sale, a thing that can get attention from classic car collectors. Well, if you're one of them, let us burst your bubble and tell you most of them are only shiny shells of the true cars of the past.
Diesel-swapped classics
That happens because the locals had to live with the same cars for half a century and drive them daily. Duct tape, self-fabricated parts and even pieces taken from different models can usually be found on these cars, which needed a lot of patching to work for that amount of time.Some also ditched the old V8s under their hoods in favor of four-cylinder diesel engines that proven to be more reliable and efficient. For example, according to an Automotive News report, Alejandro Torres bought a '57 Chevy with only 74,000 miles on the clock from its original owner about 10 years ago and “converted” it to Cuban-mode using a Mitsubishi diesel engine.
He said he could sell it if he could buy a modern diesel car at that price and probably most of the owners are thinking the same. So you should better study your choices carefully there. Although the '57 Chevy Bel Air is the most coveted in Cuba, there are only three units that still retain their factory specifications and could sell for over $80,000.
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