Car Collectors Have Been Waiting Decades for Cuban Trade Restrictions to Ease Alexandre Grosbois - Agence France-Presse
go to original December 25, 2014

Enter Mechanic David Bordo's garage in Havana and you will find a history of Cuba. American classic cars, called "Yank Tanks," from the 1950s give way to boxy Soviet era cars like his pimped out 1970 Lada. He took us went for a ride. (Vocativ)

HAVANA - Cuba's iconic stock of refurbished vintage American sedans from the 1950s may be facing their last trips to the garage soon, following the historic thawing of ties between Havana and Washington.

Flashy Pontiacs, Plymouths, Dodges and Chevrolets, as well as crudely patched and rickety classics make up the Communist island's 70,000 "almendrones," cars affectionately called large almonds for their rounded shape.

Fancier classic models are rented for special occasions while their more rundown counterparts are driven as taxis and by families.

But they all have one thing in common: they survived the Cuban Revolution, the Cold War, and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The almendrones owe their lasting nature to the master skills of local mechanics, as well as to the American embargo and Cuban authorities who put the brakes on replenishing the the island's stock of cars.

Purchasing and selling the vehicles, which has only been allowed for the past three years, is only permitted for Cubans.

Read the rest at Business Insider

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