We speak the same language

These photos were taken by Ian Rome this winter at the Rusty Nuts Car Club’s first full-fledged car show in Cuba. Learn more about this joint Cuban-Canadian effort here.


Top photo: 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Four-Door H/T Sport Sedan was a show winner; Above: '51 Chevy Styleline with hot rod paint; Below: 1950 Ford Country Squire 8-passenger wagon was voted Best Truck.

Checkpoint Che

And to make the “ultimate revolutionary fashion statement,” check out The Che Store, headquartered in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, which no doubt is where Che Geuvara would have retired to, had things in Bolivia gone differently. (Ol’ Ernesto would be comforted to know that at The Che Store, “all Che Guevara merchandise is officially licensed.”)

One truck, many makers

Photographed this fine Fiat truck in Santa Cruz del Norte, one of my favourite vehicle-spotting towns.
Except it isn’t a Fiat, is it? It’s a Citroën. No, a Hino.
In fact, this customized camion is a KAMAZ (that “3” in the truck’s true nameplate is, to English-speakers, a Z) from the Kamskiy Avtomobilny Zavod, a manufacturer in Tartarstan, part of the Russian Federation.
KAMAZ, which started production in 1976 and is described as Russia’s largest truck manufacturer, builds a tough machine – its entries have won their category in the Dakar Rally eight times.
For another view, click here.

The Americans are coming! The Americans are coming!

It’s a myth, writes Lisa Monforton of the Calgary Herald in this report, that United States citizens are barred from travelling to Cuba. Certain categories of Americans can and do go, including teachers, charity workers, journalists and, on a restricted basis, Cuban Americans.
And then there are the Americans who slip into Canada to take advantage of cheap package holidays to Varadero or Holguin, secure in that knowledge that Cuba does not stamp tourists’ passports. You’re not fooling us, by the way – we can pick out your Michigan and Ohio speech patterns at the resort buffets as easily as you recognize a Canadian accent.
Soon, however, many more Americans could be making the 90-mile hop (or as we would put it, 145 kilometres, eh?) across the Straits of Florida.
The Freedom to Travel Act now before U.S. legislators would relax restrictions, probably starting with the Cuban Americans who under the terms of a 2004 executive order by George W. Bush are limited to one visit every three years.
We’ve always known that rapprochement must come one day for the U.S. and its Caribbean neighbour. What’s surprising, really, is that a Miami-Havana cold war could persist for five full decades.
And now, with this new act said to have broad support in a Washington basking in Obama moderation, it’s possible to imagine a full resolution of differences extending from the U.S. occupation of Guantanamo Bay to the Castro government’s seizure of U.S. holdings in Cuba.
Forgive our narrow view, but as Canadians and car buffs, we must admit to some misgivings about these developments. While we will rejoice in the improvement in living standards that an American influx will mean for our Cuban friends, we wonder how the island’s famous uniqueness – and not just in its mix of vehicles – could survive in the face of the inevitable onslaught by Middle America.
But while we know that the old cars and the old ways cannot remain forever, we can make a modest proposal. Start, of course, with giving Cuban Americans unfettered access to their homeland.
After that, permit, for 10 years, just one other group – auto hobbyists – to visit Cuba without restriction. We know the U.S. car buffs would jump at a chance to time-travel to a place where ’49 DeSotos and ’58 Buicks are in daily use. And we know that as solid citizens and, in our experience, just good people, they would respect Cuba’s automotive environment and serve as exemplary ambassadors for their own great country.
They might even find a way to stabilize the Cuban carscape, so that after a decade, when all Americans are permitted to visit, the island’s singular blend of U.S. classics and Soviet bloc-mobiles, leavened with a scattering of who-knows-what, can roll on forever.
And when the hordes do descend, they can follow this advice from their car-fan compatriots who paved the way:
Take nothing but JPEGs; leave nothing but spark plugs.

Medical aid delivery report: The urchins stole our homework

(an edited copy)
RE: Not Just Tourists suitcases
Dear Xxx, Xxx and the other NJT volunteers:
I’m pleased to report that we successfully delivered our four cases of medicine and medical supplies to Cuba and have returned with suntans (already faded) and memories (still rosy).
Unfortunately, what we did NOT bring back was our completed NJT forms.
Here’s what happened.
We travelled on Xxx, which, as you know, allows a generous extra baggage allowance to passengers taking part in programs such as NJT. This airline does, however, ask that all humanitarian aid be marked as such, so we printed up some special labels and taped them to our NJT cases.
Whether it was those stickers or something else that raised the curiosity of officials at the airport at Xxx, we found ourselves pulled aside for an examination of three of our cases (the fourth, for some reason, whistled through).
A confused official scrutinized every item in each case, and then called others to review our NJT forms. Finally, the airport doctor was summoned. She checked the contents and with a smile, gave her approval. Much paperwork followed, but after an hour, we were on our way. Next time, we will try to avoid the stickers.
On Xxx XX, we brought three cases to the Hospital Xxx in Xxx, a coastal town east of Xxx. A fair-sized, two-storey hospital, this hospital has received NJT cases before, and the chief nurse and her assistant (photo 1) were pleased to accept our cases and sign the forms.
Again this year, our goal was to provide some of our NJT items to a facility in a non-tourist area that normally would not receive such aid. So two days later we set out with our remaining case for Xxx in the centre of the island, south of Xxx.
Xxx, we discovered, has no hospital, but with some help from a passerby, we found a dilapidated but orderly policlínico (I believe it was the Policlínico Xxx). Here indeed the physician in charge (photo 2, with nurse) was unfamiliar with the program, but she was delighted to open the case and see the items within, and readily put her name to our forms.
From there we pointed our rental car south for some sight-seeing, the signed papers from both the hospital and policlínico tucked in the side pocket on the driver’s door.
Our goal now was a fishing village on the south coast, again in an area removed from Cuba’s major cities and resort regions. After many bumpy roads and a few wrong turns we arrived at the playa, or beach, where our car was instantly surrounded by small boys who clearly don’t see many tourists – they were astonished that we could speak only a little Spanish. The worldliest of the lot (photo 3) then asked us for “mooney, mooney,” but we gave them candy bars instead of coins.
By early evening we were back at our hotel on the north coast, unloading our rental car. The NJT papers were nowhere to be found. The next morning, I remarked to C that I remembered seeing one of the boys at the playa making paper airplanes, and she said: “That’s where they went!”
I think she’s right. Maybe they fell out of the door pocket. Or something.
So that, I’m afraid, is what happened to our homework. Thank you again for the opportunity to part of the NJT program, which we know brings medical supplies to those who truly need them, and which enrichs our travels immensely.
If you give us cases next year, we promise to be more careful with the paperwork.


(Learn more about Not Just Tourists here.)

Your emissions test results are in

Cuba Drive Clean Program
Vehicle Emissions Inspection Report
Test Date/Time: Feb. 17, 2009
Year: 1950
VIN: Unknown
GVWR: 2000 kg
Make: Plymouth
Engine size: 217 CI
Estimated Test Weight: 1531 kg
Model: Special De Luxe
Cylinders: 06

EMISSIONS CONTROL SYSTEMS INSPECTION
Air injection system: N/A
Exhaust Gas Recirculation System: N/A
Positive Crankcase Ventilation System: N/A
Catalytic Converter: N/A
Fuel Evaporative System: N/A
Thermostatic Air Cleaner System: N/A
Gas Cap Pressure Test: PASS
Fuel Filler Integrity Test: PASS

40 KM/H TAILPIPE EMISSIONS INSPECTION
HC ppm Limit 60 Reading 454,732 Result FAIL

CO % Limit 0.33 Reading 1.00 Result FAIL
NO ppm Limit 0862 Reading 7897 Result FAIL

OVERALL TEST RESULT: FAIL MISERABLY

RECOMMENDED REPAIRS: NOTHING MUCH