Your optimism reminds me of the story Reagan used to tell about the kid who found a pile of horse dung and was really excited because he just knew a pony must be nearby.
Maybe you can find a story about how the lack of antibiotics in Cuba is ensuring that Cubans are more resistant to superbacterias. David Shemano --- Original Message--- To: [email protected] From: Charles Brown <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: 5/17/2006 5:50AM Subject: [PEN-L] Vintage US cars keep chugging in Cuba but face threat >> Reading this article itself what is striking is the proof that planned >> obsolescence can be overcome, and the resourcefulness of the Cuban >> revolution. The headline mentioning a socalled threat seems designed to put >> a negative spin on what is an example positive vigor in the rev. >> >> Charles >> >> >> >> Reuters.com >> >> Vintage US cars keep chugging in Cuba but face threat >> http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=inDepthNews&storyID=2006 >> -05-12T121400Z_01_N10308286_RTRUKOC_0_US-CUBA-CARS.xml >> >> Fri May 12, 2006 >> >> By Nelson Acosta >> >> HAVANA (Reuters) - "All aboard for Capitolio, via Linea!" cries a jitney cab >> driver looking to fill his shiny black 1947 Chevrolet Fleetmaster. >> >> Eight passengers pack into the car fitted with an extra row of seats, arms >> hanging out of open windows. The motor roars to life, and the vehicle chugs >> off in a cloud of black fumes. >> >> In any other country the Fleetmaster would be on show in a museum or in a >> vintage car collection. But in communist Cuba, more than 60,000 American >> cars made in the 1940s and 1950s are still on the roads in full use. >> >> Foreign visitors feel they have stepped into a time warp at the sight of >> tail-finned convertibles, deluxe Cadillacs and Oldsmobiles, De Soto >> limousines, powerful sporty Buicks, Mercurys, Plymouths and Chevrolet sedans >> and trucks. >> >> Since the collapse of the Soviet Union plunged Cuba into deep economic >> crisis in 1991, the old Americans cars have been pressed into service as >> jitney cabs to fill the void left by a badly deficient public transport >> system. >> >> But the vehicles that have survived pot-holed streets and the lack of spare >> parts due to a four-decade-old U.S. trade embargo on Cuba now face a new >> threat. >> >> Cuban President Fidel Castro has vowed to run the private taxis out of >> business for charging exorbitant fares and stealing fuel and car parts from >> the state. >> >> "No one knows how many of these jalopies are going around with diesel >> motors. Where did they come from? They charge five or six times more than >> the new buses," the Cuban leader complained in a May Day speech at Havana's >> Revolution Square. >> >> Castro announced plans in February to buy 8,000 Chinese buses and trucks, a >> $1 billion investment to modernize the island's transport system. >> >> New air-conditioned Yutong buses have begun arriving and are being used >> initially for tourist tours and inter-city bus services. >> >> MECHANICAL WIZARDRY >> >> The privately owned American cars have been the backbone of Cuba's public >> transport system for over decade. >> >> Ford and Chevrolet trucks from the 1950s provide services between Cuban >> towns, with modified cabins that are packed with passengers who often stand >> for long distances. >> >> Restrictions on private property introduced after Castro came to power in a >> 1959 revolution make it hard for Cubans to buy cars. >> >> Pre-revolutionary vehicles can be bought and sold freely. So Cubans have >> dusted off their grandparents' jalopies in growing numbers and used >> mechanical wizardry to get them going again. Changing the engine is often >> crucial. >> >> Some of the finest models of their day are now powered by Soviet-era diesel >> engines that spew black fumes along Havana's hot streets. >> >> Cubans bypass long lines for the overdue state-run buses and take an >> "almendron" (big almond), as the oldest of the huge gas-guzzlers are >> lovingly called for their rounded shape. >> >> Despite the tropical heat, they have no air conditioning, at most a small >> fan on the dashboard. >> >> The Fleetmaster's only original parts are its body and the chassis. Under >> the hood there is an engine from a GAZ-51 Soviet army truck. The gear box >> and transmission are also Russian. >> >> "You can say what you like about these old cars, but they have resolved our >> transport problem and allow us to get about town," says Carlos Vidal, a >> hotel employee. >> >> PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE? >> >> The sturdy American-made "almendron" remains a vital means of transport for >> many Cubans. >> >> "People need us because of the lack of public transport," says jitney driver >> Roberto Carmenate, proud owner of a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air. >> >> A cottage industry of black-market mechanics has developed to cobble >> together and tool parts needed to keep the vintage cars on the road, from >> homemade piston rings to brake pads. >> >> Their ability to improvise is astounding. >> >> Carlos Castellanos owns an impeccable 1952 Buick Special. But raise the hood >> and you are in for a surprise. The engine is Romanian, the steering is from >> a Citroen, the gear box is Toyota, the pistons are Mercedes, the fuel pump >> Mitsubishi and the starter motor borrowed from a KIA. >> >> A private taxi driver in Cuba, driving 200-250 miles >> a day, cannot do better than a mid-'50s Chevrolet sedan converted to diesel >> to cut his fuel costs. >> >> The Chevy is the car that needs least overhauling, says Roberto Diaz. "A >> 1955 or 1956 Chevrolet is the most durable car. Some even have the original >> factory engine working." >> >> "I never thought these cars could last so long, a whole lifetime," said taxi >> >> driver Reinaldo Armengot. "The makers must have made a mistake." >> >> C Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved. >> >> >> ________________________________ >> >> >>
