CARISTAS

  Tony Robertson came across this Havana survivor on San Lázaro near the Prado. It’s a ’59, I believe, though it might be a ’60. (Don’t try to identify the year by the ringed-globe emblem on the trunk. The emblem is from an Oldsmobile.)  Tony has been travelling to Cuba since 1995 and has assembled a fine collection of car pictures that includes, below, a bullet-nosed 1951 Studebaker and a circa-1970 Alfa Romeo wearing the licence plate of a government official.

  A FEW MORE shots of the Mercedes-Benz 300SL and associated parts, as provided by Michael E. Ware. He notes that the Gullwing’s owner had amassed a “sizeable pile” of aluminum SL body panels, including hoods and decklids (or “boots and bonnets” to Mr. Ware), probably from 300SL roadsters.

Rolls-Royce Phantom 1 on display in Havana.      THE 300SL coupe was far from the only highlight of Michael E. Ware’s visit to Cuba in 2005. The author of Automobiles Lost & Found also came across the remains of a 1952 Chrysler Special show car, one of three Ghia-styled fastbacks built on shortened New Yorker chassis that debuted at the Paris Motor Show.   “ ... (W)hen I lifted the bonnet there was a dog asleep where the engine should have been,” Mr. Ware relates. “This car had not run since the early 1980s. How did a ‘dream car’ get to Cuba?”    Other sightings: a sweet Abarth “double bubble” coupe, a Mercedes 300SL roadster, a 1954 Buick Skylark two-door hardtop and a 1951 Maserati A6 GLS sport with Spyder body by Frua, thought to be a one-of-a-kind.    A natural stop during the author’s busy fortnight also was Havana’s small Depósito del Automóvil , “one of the more unusual motor museums in the world as almost everything in it is ...

(December 2012 note: See update link, below.)     GUESS I'LL have to set aside my search for the younger Batista’s 1956 Corvette. An even tastier trophy has emerged – a Mercedes-Benz 300SL, better known as the Gullwing.    Even on the Island of Surprises, I’d be astounded to come across one of these rare beauties. But in a brief section on Cuba in Automobiles Lost & Found (Haynes Publishing, 2008), I see a photo of a battered 300SL observed by author Michael E. Ware outside a private garage near Havana.    The Gullwing, unmistakable lift-up doors in place, is dented and rusting and missing its engine, yet still would be prized by collectors the world over . . . if only they could extract it from Cuba. Restored, the Silver Metallic example with Lipstick Red interior might be worth more than $700,000 U.S.    Reached in England, Mr. Ware tells me he was holidaying in Cuba when an acquaintance brought him to an unnamed communit...

   Has it already been 12 months? Time does fly (unless you live in Cuba).    Given, however, that CARISTAS has already survived longer than most of these Internet efforts – can’t bring myself to use the B-word, Blogspot web address or not – I must confess to a modest measure of pride.    And to a modest measure of readers, according to the analytics software that tells me how many people are visiting, where they live, what pages they are looking at, what their search terms are, and so on. But traffic, if not stunning, has been steady, and it’s fun to learn where visitors are coming from and what they’re looking for .    So guy (girl? company?) in Peru who downloads every photo I post – I’m glad you like them. (But if I find out you’re using them for some commercial purpose, I’m telling the ’net cops.)    U.S. State Department? Haven’t seen you since the administration changed.       Coincidence?   Coco ta...

    DON'T DO it, some sites warn. The roads are terrible. You’ll hit a cow and be forced to remain on the island – in a beachfront room? – until you pay the government thousands of dollars. ( Update : Yes, in a beachfront room, it turns out, but you'll have to pay for it). Stick to resort buses and licensed taxis, advises the Canadian Foreign Affairs department. “Avoid driving in Cuba, as driving conditions can be hazardous,” it declares here .    I say, if you’ve driven in Vancouver or Sudbury or Montreal – let alone Europe or Asia  –   you’ll do fine in Cuba. The pace is relaxed, your fellow road-users are courteous, and traffic ranges from moderately busy (Havana) to where-is-everyone? light (most other places).    Plus, in your rental car, you can set your own route and timetable, and you’ll meet interesting people along the way.    Of course, in a country like nowhere else, some aspects of driving are bound to be different. So...

   NOT ALL  Cuban classics hide Soviet engines or European differentials under their picturesque body lines. Some owners manage to keep their old rides near-original – an amazing achievement, considering the challenges of car maintenance in Cuba. Here are two largely unmolested examples from the revolico.com site.    This “impeccable” 1934 Ford sedan is available only because of the death of its long-time owner, the seller asserts. Apart from wheels and tires that are obvious later additions, this could be a twin to the ’34 Ford in which Bonnie and Clyde’s bank-robbing careers came to a sudden end. Billed as 95-per-cent original, the Cuban Ford comes with extra piston rings and other parts. The listed price is 15,000 CUC ($ 17,356 Cdn.), but “we can negotiate if you are really interested.” In the U.S., a cherished old Harley-Davidson like this 1946overhead-valve Knucklehead could bring $30,000 or more, its owner says. He’s asking 13,000 CUC ($15,051 Cd...