Ten cars you'll see in Cuba


The minuscule Polski Fiat 126p is one of Cuba's most affordable cars, writes Ramey, with solid construction and low operating costs.
   FOR THE the car-watcher with catholic tastes – that's catholic as in universal, not Catholic as in Popemobile – it's the mix of vehicles that makes Cuba so fascinating.
   American classic, Soviet workhorse, Chinese arriviste ... you never know what you'll come across next. Cuba, writes Jay Ramey of Autoweek, is the one place "where, if a modern Geely clips your 1950s Cadillac, the traffic police are bound to arrive in a 1980s Lada."
   In an entertaining car-spotter's guide to Cuba, Ramey and photographer Ramon Rivera profile 10 of the island's most popular vehicles. Some, like the 1955-through-'57 Chevrolet, will be familiar to the American buffs who now have hope of finally seeing Cuba for themselves.
   Others, such as the Beijing BJ212 or Argentine-variant Ford Falcon, could seem wondrously strange.
  Above and below are three of Ramey and Rivera's selections that I've come across: the Polski Fiat a bit strange, perhaps, the others, I'm afraid, rather prosaic. For the full list, including some more exotic entries, see the report at autoweek.com.

Imported in the 1990s, the Peugeot 405 is 'the next best thing to a fully modern car in Cuba on the used car market,' says the author.

In Russia, most Moskvich 2141s have succumbed to rust. In Cuba's friendly climate, they last much longer. 'Barring a sudden change in the political landscape in Cuba, there will be more running 2141s in Havana than in Moscow in a few years,' Ramey predicts.






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