1.5 billion people use the Internet. One of you must know what kind of car this is



  Matanzas has been called the Athens of Cuba, for its poets, and the Venice of Cuba, for its bridges (there is, no doubt, a connection).
   But to me, Matanzas is the City of Secrets.
   What treasures lie locked beneath the dark waters of its harbour, the deepest in all of Cuba and long a refuge of pirates?
   What experiences prompt such delight to spread across the grey-stubbled, dark-skinned face of Fausto when I agree to pay him to watch my car at the Parque de la Libertad?
   What artist carved the serpents and satyrs and armoured Spanish soldiers on a pair of 12-foot doors that stand firmly closed against an otherwise drab downtown street?
   And, just a few steps beyond those doors, what red sedan is this, parked shining in the rain? At the time I snap a few shots and move on, but later, studying those photos (Matanzas, 2008), I am perplexed.
   Its badges look like those of an Oldsmobile, but are not. Its curved fenders imply Plymouth, but again this is a lie. Ignore the lately added bucket seats, wind-cheating mirrors and chrome grille; this is a car from the mid-1950s, if it is American, or even the early 1960s, if, as I now wonder, it arrived from England or the Soviet Union.
   But what is it? I need to know.
   Matanzas can keep her other secrets.
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Comments

alongthemalecon said…
what the heck kind of car is that?
December 9, 2008 at 11:24 AM
Anonymous said…
Opel Rekord
March 29, 2009 at 11:00 PM
Caristas said…
Thanks for, er, setting the Rekord straight, Anon. I see now it's a 1959 or 1960 Opel Rekord from the P1 series. The Rekord was a big seller in Europe, and was also sold in the U.S., through Buick dealers. Here's a great site about the Opel P1. And here's a Rekord I would be proud to hold.
March 30, 2009 at 12:00 AM
Caristas said…
Since I left my earlier comment:
1. I've determined that this Opel is a Kapitän, not a Rekord.
2. The second link (to a drag race Rekord) is, unfortunately, defunct.
3. Another half billion or so users have joined the Internet. To each and every one of you: Howdy.
March 10, 2012 at 12:13 PM
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