Cuba's Car Culture

2016-10 History

Author : Tom Cotter
Release : 2016-10
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 264/5 ( reviews)

Book Synopsis Cuba's Car Culture by : Tom Cotter

Download or read book Cuba's Car Culture written by Tom Cotter. This book was released on 2016-10. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Welcome to Cuba's automotive time capsule, filled with classic cars. The story of how Cuba came to be trapped in automotive time is a fascinating one. For decades, the island country had enjoyed healthy tourism trade and American outpost status, and by the 1950s it had the highest per capita automotive purchasing of any Latin American country - its middle class ensured an interesting variety of vehicles plying the roads. But when Cuba fell to communist rebels in 1959, so ended the inflow of new cars. Since then, trade embargo forced Cuba's car enthusiasts to develop a unique and insular culture, one marked by great creativity, such as: Keeping a car alive with no opportunity to acquire replacement parts; customizing a car with no access to aftermarket parts; drag racing with no drag strip. In many ways, Cuba is an automotive time warp, where the newest car is a 1959 Chevy or perhaps one of the Soviet Ladas. Cuba's Car Culture offers an inside look at a unique car culture, populated with cars that have been cut off from the world so long that they've morphed into something else in the spirit of automotive survival. Authors Tom Cotter and Bill Warner (founder of the Amelia Island Concours) take readers of Cuba's Car Culture on a whirlwind tour of all things automotive, beginning with Cuba's pre-Castro car and racing history and bringing us up to today's lost collector cars, street racing, and the challenges of keeping decades-old cars on the road. The book is illustrated throughout with rare historical photos as well as contemporary photos of Cuba's current car scene. For anyone who enjoys classic cars, from old Chevy Bel-Airs to Studebakers to Ford Fairlanes, a cruise around Cuba will make you feel like a kid in a candy store.

Cuba Cars O/P

2017 Antique and classic cars

Author : Harri Morick
Release : 2017
Genre : Antique and classic cars
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 371/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Cuba Cars O/P by : Harri Morick

Download or read book Cuba Cars O/P written by Harri Morick. This book was released on 2017. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: - A snapshot of Cuban culture, focusing on the amazing classic cars that can be found across the country - Blends the conventional travel guide with a car enthusiast's bible - A must-have for any avid car fan Cuba is worth a visit. Or, as the authors of this book discovered, several. The average package holiday is simply not long enough to visit this country's myriad of sights, all of which are worth seeing. Like so many visitors to Cuba, after their first trip more than fifteen years ago, they returned again and again to trek the sandy beaches shaded by swinging palm fronds, to marvel at the splendid topography of the Vinales Valley, and to admire Cuba's selection of classic cars, which function as part of everyday life on this Caribbean island. As such, this uniquely illustrated book is a product of love. The authors have made it their mission to portray this resplendent nation in all its glory, and to bring Cuba's stunning scenery to your living room. This book represents the "best of" Cuban tours, led by passionate photographer Rainer Floer and his cousin Harri Morick. Morick speaks fluent Spanish, and thus he ensured that the pair were seen as classic car fans rather than regular tourists. They conducted numerous interviews, and in doing so also made friends with the interviewees. Spare parts came from Germany, stories from Cuba. Cars and culture blend in this snapshot of an evolving nation. But this evolution brings with it the threat of change. Who knows how much longer we will find classic cars on Cuba's streets? Includes splendid photos of classic cars dating from before the revloution; American limousines, taxis, and wedding cars; the history of the first Porsche in Cuba; an interview with an artist and his VW Karmann-Ghia, and the Harley Club in Cuba; and amazing scenes of Cuban streets and landscapes.

Che's Chevrolet, Fidel's Oldsmobile

2009-06-01 History

Author : Richard Schweid
Release : 2009-06-01
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 621/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Che's Chevrolet, Fidel's Oldsmobile by : Richard Schweid

Download or read book Che's Chevrolet, Fidel's Oldsmobile written by Richard Schweid. This book was released on 2009-06-01. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vintage U.S.-made cars on the streets of Havana provide a common representation of Cuba. Journalist Richard Schweid, who traveled throughout the island to research the story of motor vehicles in Cuba today and yesterday, gets behind the wheel and behind the stereotype in this colorful chronicle of cars, buses, and trucks. In his captivating, sometimes gritty, voice, Schweid blends previously untapped historical sources with his personal experiences, spinning a car-centered history of life on the island over the past century. Packard, Studebaker, Edsel, De Soto: cars long extinct in the United States can be seen at work every day on Cuba's streets. Havana and Santiago de Cuba today are home to some 60,000 North American cars, all dating back to at least 1959, the year the Cuban Revolution prevailed. Though hardly a new part has arrived in Cuba since 1960, the cars are still on the road, held together with mechanical ingenuity and willpower. Visiting car mechanics, tracking down records in dusty archives, and talking with car-crazy Cubans of all types, Schweid juxtaposes historic moments (Fidel Castro riding to the Bay of Pigs in an Oldsmobile) with the quotidian (a weary mother's two-cent bus ride home after a long day) and composes a rich, engaging picture of the Cuban people and their history. The narrative is complemented by fifty-two historic black-and-white photographs and eight color photographs by contemporary Cuban photographer Adalberto Roque.

Cars in Cuba

2017-07 History

Author : Kim Buddee
Release : 2017-07
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 702/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Cars in Cuba by : Kim Buddee

Download or read book Cars in Cuba written by Kim Buddee. This book was released on 2017-07. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cuba was one of the main importers of early American cars. Thanks to Cuban ingenuity these cars continue as a mainstay of transportation. Buddee's tribute to this 'Jurassic Park' of motor vehicles captures the wide range of imports from pre WWII through the glory days of the 1950s.

Cars of Cuba

2021-05-15

Author : David J. Reimer, Sr.
Release : 2021-05-15
Genre :
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 119/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Cars of Cuba by : David J. Reimer, Sr.

Download or read book Cars of Cuba written by David J. Reimer, Sr.. This book was released on 2021-05-15. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cuba is a paradise for the classic car buff. It is the world's largest rolling car museum of automobiles spanning the 1940s and 1950s. From Chevrolets, Fords, Buicks, and Dodges, to Plymouths, Studebakers, Oldsmobiles and more, these yank tanks run the range from near mint condition to true fixer uppers. Cars of Cuba is filled with more than 200 color photographs that showcase beautiful classic American cars with polished chrome and vivid paint jobs cruising the streets of Old Havana, taking passengers back in time for the ride of their life. Sit back, relax and get ready to be transported back to the 1950s. Before long, you'll be booking your own visit to Cuba, the greatest place on the planet for classic car buffs. This book is dedicated to the people of Cuba who keep these old-school American beauties alive through their resourcefulness and ingenuity. We tip our hats to you.

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