1959 DeSoto Firesweep 4-door Sedan

"The Firesweep offers features that would cost hundreds extra in many competitive cars . . . features such as Turboflash V8 engines, Torsion-Aire suspension system, Safe-Stop brakes. Its Flair Stream styling is distinctive. And yet the 1959 Firesweep is priced scarcely above the lowest!"

In 1959, DeSoto produced just 9.649 Firesweep 4-door Sedans, and finding one in Cuba took us quite a while. But finally, here it is, nicely promoted by the exclamation mark of the communist propaganda in the background.

Sure, DeSoto's entry level model for 1959 didn't offer the golden anodized exterior trim or the "Fashion-Vogue Interior", trimmed in "textured Nylon Casino Corde fabric", which came standard with the top-level Adventurer models. Neither could you get "Sports Swivel Seats". But regardless, the DeSoto Firesweep was already pretty well-equipped, and, for extra money, even available with the top model's "Adventurer Engine" which sported two 4-barrel carburetors and a special performance "hi-lift" camshaft, and was rated at 350 horsepower, 55 more than the standard Firesweep "Turboflash" V-8 engine.

Perhaps most important for most buyers, the Firesweep flaunted "Flair Stream styling" like every DeSoto for 1959, which was a rather heavy-handed facelift of Virgil Exner's "Forward Look" design. Even DeSoto's entry-level model looked pretty impressive, despite running on a 122-inch wheelbase, four inch shorter ahead of the windshield than the rest of the lineup. The 1959 Firedome rolled off the Dodge assembly line in Hamtramck, and the DeSotos simply shared the shorter front clip with the Dodge models, while the rest of the car was essentially a Chrysler. This early form of badge engineering was possible, because all models of Chrysler Corporation cars shared a similar construction, based on interchangeable parts.

1952 Buick Roadmaster Riviera

"Definitely the fine car for those who want the verve of a Convertible plus the snug comfort of a steel-topped Sedan. Luxury abounds in this six-passenger beauty – from superb fabrics and gleaming chrome crossbows to hydraulic control of windows and front-seat adjustment."

What a side view! Rather bullet than road car, this Buick Roadmaster Riviera hardtop, Model 76R, one of 11.387 built in 1952, really lives up to its name and shows the commanding, yet graceful appearance that Buicks of the early 50s were known and admired for. Already the base model in Buick's lineup for 1952, the Buick Special, was anything but a small car. Yet, the two-door Roadmaster Riviera hardtop easily topped it by a full six inches of additional length, and a five-inch longer wheelbase. The rather short cabin atop the long Roadmaster body makes for truly interesting proportions.

Right at the dawn of the 50s, GM design czar Harley Earl began to promote signature styling elements to make every GM brand instantly recognizable. This became necessary, because all GM divisions shared an increasing amount of parts and technology, to save the expensive tooling costs and benefit from the economies of scale. While engines and outer body panels were distinctive to every division, all GM brands had their cars based on four "bodies" (read: platforms) from 1936 through 1958, and inevitably silhouettes and rooflines looked similar. Thanks to the use of these signature styling elements, however, the cars still appeared pretty different. Cadillac, for example, sported a formal egg-crate grille at front and ultra-modern tailfins astern. Pontiac already had it's "Silver Streak" trim lines since the 30s, and Buick introduced their signature "Venti-Ports" with the 1949 models. Together with vertical front grille bars, the "sweepspear" side trim and the "bombsight" hood ornament, these styling elements should reappear, in variations, on every Buick until 1958.

But it wasn't the styling alone that made Buick's sales jump from one record to the next in the early 50s. Build quality was another reason for success. Back then, Buicks were built like a tank, with thick sheet metal and precisely assembled parts. These Buicks were completely over-engineered and seemingly built for eternity. Thus, it's not surprising that so many vintage Buicks are still alive and kicking in Cuba. Of course, the sheer size of the Buick Roadmaster had its downsides: moving so much metal and dead weight around required quite a bit of power. Albeit the Roadmaster had a mighty 320 cubic-inch V-8 engine, a lot of the power disappeared immediately in the standard "Dynaflow" automatic transmission before it could reach the rear axle, resulting in decent but not exceptional agility. Anyway, such a big Buick was rather bought to cruise and not to be thrown around.

1954-1957 Simca Vedette Régence

"Specially built for the discerning motorist, the Vedette RÉGENCE competes on an equal level with the world's finest luxury automobiles."

If our pictured car, at first glance, looks like a Ford to you, then you are wrong and right at the same moment. You are wrong, because the Simca Vedette was born across the English channel in Poissy near Paris. And you are right, because it was assembled in a former Ford plant that was sold to Simca in July 1954, together with a newly developed car which was ready to be launched for 1955. The new factory owners licensed not just the production rights of the Ford Vedette, but also its name. Incidentally, the Simca was even sold as a Ford though 1956 in some european markets.

The Simca Vedette was powered by a tiny V-8 engine that sported just about two litres of displacement, good for 85 horsepower, and good for a low tax classification in France. Compared to its siblings from America, it didn't have much punch, but in postwar Europe, this was enough to power a "luxury automobile".

Because the Simca Vedette was developed as a Ford, its design came entirely from Detroit. The resemblance to american Fords of the era is most evident in the similar roof treatment. What other Fords didn't have, though, was the sensuously sculpted rear fender kick-up that was further accentuated by a chrome trim piece which originally separated the different hues of the Vedette Régence's two-tone color scheme. Ironically, the Simca Vedette was the most modern looking "Ford" in Europe for about two years, until Ford of England should eventually draw level with the modern styling of the Simca when they presented their similar looking new Ford Zephyr and Zodiac models in 1956. But by then again, soon the facelifted Vedette leaped ahead, and now sported very American looking tailfins...

1959 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer 4-Door

"Behold the Look Of Luxury!"

Unlike its canadian counterpart, this Detroit-born Dodge Custom Royal Lancer 4-Door sports, for the last year, the long tailfins that were a Dodge trademark in the late-50s before they became toned down at the dawn of the new decade. Their "Jet-Trail Tail Lamps" and the nicely integrated turn signal lights make for an even more extreme look of an already extreme looking design. This was garish space-age styling at it's best! And Dodge's catalog poetry followed suit: "New things, great things, reward you in this '59 Dodge. Seats swing out to invite you in. New HC-HE engines - high compression, high economy - whisper their promise of eager performance at substantial savings. Orderly rows of buttons on a gleaming panel welcome you to the first all-push button car with fingertip control of driving and weather. New Level-Flite Torsion-Aire introduces you to three-dimensional comfort - ride control, road control, load control - that keeps you on an even keel at all times. Outside mirrors adjust from the inside. Inside mirrors adjust themselves electronically to banish glare. Even a new Lustre-Bond baked enamel finish, mirror smooth and doubly durable. All this is great. But the final reward is the greatness built into this '59 Dodge. It is deep down, through and through, and thoroughly satisfying."

Cuba is perhaps the only country in the world where numerous export and domestic versions of the same models happily share the road. Florida was close, and importing your own car was easy. Although not being officially sold by cuban dealerships, many "original" Dodges from Detroit found their way to the island by ferry.