A modest proposal


1955 Chevrolet sedan in Havana.

   I have this business idea.
   Round up a bunch of old cars in Canada and the United States, nice cars, but in need of bodywork and paint. Load them on a freighter and ship them to Cuba. There, hire the best panel beaters, upholsterers, painters, etc. to work their magic. Pay them double or triple their usual rates. Ship the cars back to North America and still sell them at a profit.
   Think it might work?

Comments

Paul said…
Interesting idea,Rob..it would probably have a better chance in Canada than in the U.S.--I'm sure quite a few American politicians would have a field day complaining about "taking jobs from our fellow citizens and sending them to a Communist country" and so on--not to mention the Cuban exiles in New Jersey and South Florida (I was born and raised in Miami--I have an idea how mad some of them will get)!!
If you still decide to go through with it start with a few "tri-five" ('55 thru '57) Chevys and maybe throw in a "baby 'Bird" or two--after all,nostalgia sells (most of the time).
March 7, 2012 at 10:09 PM
Caristas said…
Right, Paul, we'd want to use Canadian-registered cars and ship from, say, Montreal. For that nostalgia hook, I might start with cars from the '70s and even '80s: Camaros and Mustangs and the like that are readily available and, if they're rough, pretty cheap. Think I can bank financing for this plan?
March 10, 2012 at 12:02 PM
Caristas said…
Should say, think I can GET ...
March 10, 2012 at 12:04 PM
Paul said…
Hi again Rob, in regards to your question about getting bank financing I really have no experience in that area so I'm not able to give you an answer for that reason.
Anyway, I saw an example of what you meant about "working their magic" when I was on revolico.com last week...there were some photos of a '56 Chevy Bel Air sedan for sale last week..two of the photos showed the interior...it looked like a completely different car inside (dash,door panels,seats and steering column)yet on the outside (except for the side mirrors)it looked like a well-cared-for Chevy (22,000 CUC..it was only listed for a day or so..guess it sold quickly)!!
I just want to finish by saying "good luck" if you decide to go through with it.
March 17, 2012 at 11:21 PM
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