Chariots of Chrome: Classic American Cars of Cuba [Hardcover]

Simon Bell (Author, Photographer), George Fischer (Author, Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 7, 2004

A photographic cruise of Cuba's vintage cars.

Cuba is a vintage car lover's paradise. Until the 1960s, Cuba was the world's leading importer of American automobiles. As many as ten thousand of these mid-century American cars are still used in Cuba, making it the world's largest living automotive museum.

Vintage Cadillacs, Chevrolets, Fords, Pontiacs, Ramblers, Packards, Studebakers and Hudsons are common on Cuban streets and coastal highways, with hot primary colors, dazzlingly ornate chrome, sinfully luxurious interiors, and defiantly large girths. Some cars have been restored to their former glory. Others have been kept in working condition by using Russian truck engines and hand-forged parts.

Chariots of Chrome is an eye-popping pictorial tribute to those generously proportioned American automobiles, once loved and now lost, that still enjoy a vibrant old age in Cuba. Dazzling color photographs capture these beauties against the backdrop of the island's picturesque villages and Old Havana's many landmarks.

This pictorial tribute of historic cars is sure to light any auto aficionado's cigar.

(20050416)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A beautifully photographed volume... eye candy for many enjoyable times to come. (Annette McLeod Toronto Sun 20040905)

Captures [vintage cars'] dazzling beauty in page after page of beautiful photographs sure to light any auto aficionado's cigar. (Kitchener Record 20040918)

While Bell and Fisher's photos are wonderful, it is the story they tell that makes Chariots of Chrome coffee-table worthy. (Ken Simmons St John's Telegram 20041219)

A glorious compilation of photos. (Vancouver Sun 20041008)

Artistically photographed pages are of unfamiliar but compelling beauty... a visual treasure trove. (Candy Nall Road and Track 200412)

144 pages of eye-catching photography interwoven with information and anecdotes about the island's people and their treasured cars. (Max Wickens Toronto Star )

Cubans love old American cars -- maybe more than Americans do. (Ron Berthel Associated Press )

About the Author

Simon Bell's work has been featured in National Geographic, and other prominent magazines, as well as books, including Birds of Prey, Wild Cats, Snakes and Lizards, Insects and Spiders, and Night Creatures. He is known worldwide for his stereographic (3-D) photography.

George Fischer is the author of several photographic collections including Malta: A Journey Across Time, Costa Rica: A Rainbow of Colors and The Magdalens: Islands of Sand.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Boston Mills Press (August 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550463942
• ISBN-13: 978-1550463941
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,588,403 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book will rev your motor, August 18, 2004

By 

Robert Busko (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Chariots of Chrome: Classic American Cars of Cuba (Hardcover)

If you're an antique car lover then Chariots of Chrome by Simon Bell and George Fischer is the book for you. Lavishly done with rich, full color, well done photographs, Chariots is a feast for the eyes. Cubans, it seems, have maintained hundreds of vintage American cars while most of the world has "moved on." Cut off from the American car market, Cubans, once the largest importer of Detroit automobiles, have been forced to nurse along what they have. Whether equipping these cars with Russian truck engines, hand forging their own replace parts, or taking parts from cars no longer able to keep rolling, the Cubans of the last half of the twentieth century have proven themselves very adept at improving. This book is as much a tribute to their resourcefulness as it is to the cars pictured between the covers.

If you're a lover of things old and wonderful photography then Chariots of Chrome is the book for you. You'll also come to respect the mechanical genius of the Cuban car owner and mechanic.