Pages

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Cubans may finally get to buy new cars

Aug 29, 2011

Cubans may finally get to buy new cars
By Chris Woodyard, USA

After decades of having to try to keep 1950s American cars running,
Cubans may finally get to a chance to buy new cars.

Early next year, Cuban authorities plan to loosen restrictions and make
it easier for private citizens to buy or sell modern cars, the Detroit
Free Press reports.

CAPTION
By Ellen Creager, GANNETT
The change may open the trade door to more Chinese, Korean and European
vehicles, those built in countries that have a trade relationship with
Cuba, unlike the U.S. Already, relatively new Chinese-made buses and
Chinese Geely taxicabs prowl Havana.

But as welcoming as the new Cuban policy may sound, the average citizen
will still have trouble getting a new car. There will be no private car
dealerships, the government will control how many cars are imported and
even if it didn't, most Cubans are so poor, they never could afford a
new car anyway.

That means they will continue to try to keep their mid-1950s American
cars running, whether it's with wire and tape, or with new engines under
the hood.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/08/cubans-may-finally-get-to-buy-new-cars/1

No comments: