Cuban Cars

Cuba is perhaps most well-known for the vintage 50's American cars spluttering along the streets. They look beautiful but are well-beyond repair with crumbling interiors and refitted engines. There's still about 60,000 of those cars still there, and by the looks of it, it's probably going to stay the same. Sure, the government has opened up and allowed new cars to be imported, but the prices are sky-high.  A car worth about $25,000 in the U.S. costs about $85,000 on average in Cuba. Kind of makes it hard to buy a car when the average income per month is less than a $100. Even though the government has loosed restrictions on buying cars, it's still inadequate. The cheapest way is to continue refitting and patching up these old cars. There are numerous kinds of old cars, from American to European, along with newer Asian cars. There's also the occasional Mercedes S-Class, but obviously it's for a government official or some foreign dignitary.

The classic cars you see are not what they used to be. The engines in them are usually refitted Korean engines that are significantly cheaper and more fuel-efficient (an island communist nation no doubt has expensive gas prices). You don't get to hear the rumble of old Bel-Air engines. As some describe, the car culture is similar to the Galapagos islands. The cars have been morphed so much that only the exteriors are the same. The most important original parts are long replaces or broken.

Americans will probably not be buying these cars back. They look pretty, but have no real value because it gets too complicated with the restoration process. But these cars will continue to die out, so the government needs to either make it easier to buy new cars or make it easier for Cubans to fix their classics again. 

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/is-this-the-end-of-the-road-for-cubas-classic-cars-a7570636.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/03/antique-cuban-cars-why-auto-collectors-are-holding-off.html
http://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article185625723.html
https://jalopnik.com/heres-what-cubas-car-scene-looks-like-in-2017-1791963244
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/classic/cuban-classic-cars-a-dying-breed/