Rarely immaculate. Always fascinating

Not pristine, but this 1954 Chevrolet sedan is certainly a survivor.

   AMERICAN CAR buffs eager to visit Cuba are in for a disappointment, says a countryman who has been to the island.

   "The media has everyone believing that Cuba is some kind of classic car mecca," "Derek911" of Long Island, N.Y., writes on a forum for owners of Porsches and other high-end cars.
  But most of the vehicles he saw were a hodgepodge of parts from all sources, rather than the "immaculate survivors" he expected.
   "You will see better classic cars at a 'cars and coffee' here in the U.S. than you would in Cuba," Derek reports.

  His conclusion? "It's interesting to see so many old cars on the road, but that's about it."

Hillman Minx is a Series IIIa model from 1959.

   Derek's right, of course, about the scarcity of unmolested survivor cars in Cuba.

   Still, it's hard to understand how any auto enthusiast with even a modicum of knowledge about Cuba would have thought otherwise – wide-eyed press reports notwithstanding.
   Unless he truly didn't know that Cuba's old cars, unlike their American counterparts, have never made the transition from daily necessity to weekend hobby.
   Will we see "better" classics at a North American car show? Right again.
   

Another survivor: 1958-60 Mercedes-Benz 220SE.

A hodgepodge Dodge or Ford, perhaps.

   For some of us, though, static rows of pampered, often over-restored Road Runners and Chevelles can be, well, boring.

   Not Cuba, where the streets are an ever-changing mix of automotive decades and origins, and you never know what next – diesel-belching Hudson? Brazilian-built dune buggy? Batista Junior's 1956 Corvette? – will come around the corner.
   Immaculate? Not often.
   Fascinating? Every time.

Chevrolet Styleline Deluxe wagon is a veteran from 1950.