CARISTAS

    CARISTAS   FRIEND  Tony Robertson shares this image of an MGA in Havana. On behalf of fans the world over of the graceful roadster produced by the British Motor Corp. from 1955 to 1962, we thank him. Photo by Tony Robertson. Used by permission. See also: Sports car sightings

Inboard headlamps are just one of the '56 Rambler's distinctive styling cues.    The owner of this 1956 Rambler Custom spends most of his day driving a a more modern Skoda Octavia Combi taxi cab.    But that doesn't diminish his affection for the great grey-blue tank that carries him to and from his job.    "That's mine – good car!" he announces after seeing me photographing the Rambler outside Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport near Matanzas.    He opens the hood to reveal a four-cylinder Volga gasolina engine in place of the Rambler's original 200-cubic-inch Nash inline six-cylinder. At a steady 60 km/h, he says, the Volga-equipped Custom delivers seven or eight kilometres per litre – that's 17 to 19 miles per U.S. gallon or 20 to 23 per Imperial gallon.    With its flat flanks, "basket handle" rear roof treatment and inboard-mounted headlamps, a cue from its Nash predecessor, the Rambler is distinctive. Not pretty, but distinctive...

Three more shots from Ren Bostelaar. He does seem drawn to Chrysler products! Sky-themed Dodge is an export model from 1955. This 1954 Chrysler is missing the chrome that would allow us to identify it by model. A 1949 or '50 export Dodge or Plymouth, and no, that won't buff out.  

Two Americans jailed, five others cannot leave island, U.S. government says.    It's not just Canadian visitors finding themselves in trouble with Cuban authorities because of traffic accidents on the island.   According to the United States diplomatic mission in Havana, accidents involving U.S. citizens are on the rise. Two Americans were jailed recently because of driving offences, two others are under house arrest and three have been told they cannot leave Cuba, presumably while investigations continue.    “We urge you to take extra safety precautions when driving to avoid problems during your stay in Cuba,” the mission warned Friday. See a Miami Herald report here and read this traffic and road safety advisory from the U.S. State Department.    Canada remains the largest source of visitors to Cuba, but an increasing number of Americans are taking advantage of relaxed restrictions on travel to the island. Many are Cuban-American who would...

   Though a regular visitor to Cuba, Elie Raffoul says he was unaware of the risks of driving on the island. He's certainly aware of them now (see previous post ).    Canada's Foreign Affairs department has long advised its citizens not to drive in Cuba. Conditions there can be hazardous, it warns . Road signs are scarce, few routes are lit and "bicycles, pedestrians and horse-drawn carts use the middle of the road and do not readily give way to oncoming vehicles."    All this can be true. But the Foreign Affairs website errs when it states that "the onus is on the driver (charged after an accident) to prove innocence" As I've written here before , Cuba is no different than many other countries in requiring that the burden of proof rest with the prosecution, not the defendant.    How well this is applied in the Cuban court system (or indeed, the courts of other countries) could be another matter. Still, any discussion about the risks of foreig...

In Cuba, prepare to encounter a broad variety of fellow road-users.       ELIE RAFFOUL , a 41-year-old from Canada, appears to be the latest visitor to to learn about the potentially severe consequences of getting into a car accident in Cuba.    The building contractor from Ottawa says authorities prevented him from leaving the island for nearly two weeks after his rental car collided with a motorcycle March 23 near the Cayo Santa Maria resort area on Cuba's north coast.    Two weeks may not sound long compared with the three-month detainment of another Canadian, Cody LeCompte, in 2010, or the full year a woman identified only as "Anne," also from Canada, says she was forced to spend in Cuba after a February 2008 accident.    But as Raffoul told Ottawa Citizen columnist Hugh Adami , the uncertainty about what was happening and how long he would have to remain on the island left him shaken.    "I was scared. I was so scar...

   Where I grew up, grabbing the bumper of a passing car and hitching a ride along a snow-packed street was considered great, if rather risky, sport. Not half as risky, however, as a Havana hobby reported by Along the Malecón . No snow? Cubans will still find a way.