Malestar en Cuba por los altos precios fijados por el régimen en la venta de vehículos

ABC.es

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La venta libre de vehículos comenzó oficialmente este viernes en Cuba, después de medio siglo de restricciones por parte del régimen comunista, pero a precios astronómicos que han provocado malestar, incredulidad y desesperación entre los posibles compradores, según han constatado periodistas de France Presse. Por ejemplo, el precio de un Peugeot 4008 estaba fijado en 176.00 euros (239.500 dólares) en el concesionario Sasa de La Havane, mientras la marca francesa ofrece un precio base sobre catálogo de 34.150 euros (46.000 dólares).

Estas ventas se anunciaron el pasado diciembre como un nuevo paso para eliminar prohibiciones y avanzar en las reformas del Gobierno del presidente, Raúl Castro, para «actualizar» la economía socialista. En 2011 el Gobierno ya autorizó las transacciones de vehículos entre particulares, pero mantuvo las limitaciones para su venta a personas naturales en las entidades comercializadoras estatales, las únicas que operan en el país.

En La Habana, esas entidades publicaron este viernes en su sedes los listados de automóviles disponibles y sus precios, mientras decenas de curiosos o compradores potenciales se lamentaban por las tarifas y muy pocos entraban a comprar, según constató Efe.

Las tarifas de coches de segunda mano, divulgadas este viernes, oscilan entre los 20.000 y los 110.000 dólares. Sólo dos modelos con más de una década de uso están alrededor de los 15.000. Una agencia del municipio habanero de Playa, por ejemplo, ofrece un Peugeot de 2008 a más de 85.000 dólares, automóviles Kia de 2008 y 2011 por entre 28.000 y 41.000 dólares y un VW de 2007 a 25.000 dólares. Las ofertas de coches de 2013 de la comercializadora Peugeot incluye precios de más de 90.000 y hasta 262.000 dólares.

«Es una falta de respeto»

«Excesivamente caros. Más caros que los de la calle, es una falta de respeto», dijo a Efe un habanero que se identificó como Lázaro. «Es una locura, pero ya por lo menos no puedes decir que no te quieren vender un carro», opinó otro ciudadano que prefirió el anonimato y que recordó que sólo el Estado puede importar coches en Cuba.

Según explicaron medios oficiales, los nuevos precios minoristas han sido fijados de modo «semejante» a los del mercado entre particulares, que en los últimos años se ha movido con abultadas tarifas precisamente por las restricciones que existían.

Uno de los consultados por Efe, que también prefirió el anonimato, observó que, en la misma agencia habanera, hace unos meses un Hyundai modelo ATOS de 2007 costaba unos 4.000 dólares, y a partir de ahora se vende a más de 21.000.

Solo funcionarios

Hasta ahora, los principales clientes de esas agencias eran exclusivamente funcionarios y profesionales de la cultura, el deporte o la salud, a los que el Gobierno había otorgado «cartas de autorización» para adquirir coches porque sus ingresos en misiones de trabajo justificaban la compra. Pero el pasado diciembre, el Estado indicó que ese permiso era un mecanismo ya «inadecuado» y «obsoleto», que se convirtió en una fuente de «especulación y enriquecimiento».

En ese sentido, el Gobierno reveló que un 30% de las ventas mediante ese mecanismo en agencias estatales en 2012 terminó con cambios de propietario, lo que ponía en evidencia negocios de reventa de coches e incluso un mercado negro con las autorizaciones.

Con el dinero recaudado, el Gobierno quiere mejorar el deprimido transporte público

La nueva medida especifica que los cubanos que ya tenían «cartas de autorización tendrán prioridad ahora para comprar coches, pero según confirmaron a Efe empleados de una agencia, tendrán que pagar los nuevos precios.

Tania, una trabajadora del sector de la cultura que obtuvo una autorización para un coche de hasta 6.000 dólares hace dos años, explicó a Efe que durante todo ese tiempo intentó cinco veces comprarlo, pero las agencias sólo le ofrecían automóviles de 2.000 dólares y en mal estado. «La agencia pasó meses cerrada y ahora reabre con nuevas ofertas, pero a estos precios que no sé quién podrá comprar», señaló Tania.

Con el dinero recaudado por la venta minorista de coches, el Gobierno ha anunciado que creará un Fondo para el Desarrollo del Transporte Público destinado al desarrollo de ese deprimido sector en el país.

Cuba: La venta 'liberada' de autos comienza con precios exorbitantes

Diario de Cuba

Lista de precios para vehículos PEUGEOT de 2013. (YUSNABY PÉREZ)

La venta "liberada" de autos comienza este viernes en la Isla con precios exorbitantes en pesos convertibles (CUC). Según montos establecidos por la corporación CIMEX, comprar un vehículo nuevo en la Isla será tan o más caro que adquirir una casa.

En las listas publicadas por las entidades que se encargarán de las ventas, los precios superan varias veces los de los mismos vehículos en otras partes del mundo.

En la agencia PEUGEOT, casi todos los vehículos de 2013 en venta sobrepasan los 100.000 CUC.

Un 4008 cuesta 239.250 —en España, el precio de este vehículo, nuevo, es de unos 32.000 euros (44.160 CUC)—. Un EXPERT TEPEE se vende 212.940 CUC; el precio de un 508 es de 262.185 CUC —ocho veces más de lo que cuesta en el Reino Unido, dice la BBC—, y un 5008, cuesta 232.193.

Lo más barato de 2013 en esa agencia es el PEUGEOT 206+, que se vende a 91.113 CUC. Un 301 cuesta entre 108.084 y 109.699 CUC.

Los autos de uso también salen a precios astronómicos. VW JETTA de 2010 cuesta 51.000 CUC, un SEAT ALTEA de 2008, 45.000 CUC, al igual que un HYUNDAI ACCENT de 2011.

Un KIA RIO de 2011 cuesta 42.000 CUC, y un auto chino GEELY FC de 2009, 37.500, según informó América TeVé.

El salario medio mensual de los cubanos no supera los 20 CUC. Además de que los precios son imposibles para la mayoría, en la Isla no existen facilidades de pago o créditos para este tipo de transacciones.

La Gaceta Oficial publicó el martes pasado el decreto, firmado por Raúl Castro, que autorizó la venta a cubanos y extranjeros residentes en la Isla de "ciclomotores de combustión interna, motocicletas, autos, autos rurales, paneles, camionetas y microbuses".

El decreto, acompañado por resoluciones de los ministerios de Transporte, Finanzas y Precios, así como de Economía, entra en vigor este viernes. Las disposiciones establecen que la importación de vehículos estará a cargo de comercializadoras autorizadas estatales, que impondrán un recargo hasta del 20% a los autos nuevos.

Los vehículos serán vendidos a la población en agencias, también estatales, que a su vez impondrán un recargo del 8%, un impuesto del 10%, más los costos de operación dentro del país.

La Habana, que equipara su CUC al dólar, dice que las ganancias "incluidos los impuestos, que se obtengan por la venta liberada de vehículos", serán entregadas a un Fondo de Financiamiento del Transporte Público. Pero con los precios establecidos, es poco problable que los beneficios sean altos.

La venta de autos en Cuba estuvo restringida por el Estado durante décadas, y la posibilidad de comprar autos nuevos era autorizada por entidades guernamentales a artistas y deportistas, y a determinados trabajadores, como premio por su desempeño.

El Gobierno dijo en diciembre que las "trabas administrativas" a la compraventa de vehículos dejaban espacio a la "ilegalidad" y que la "carta de autorización" ha resultado "inadecuada y obsoleta".

El decreto de Raúl Castro señala que las personas que actualmente tenían carta de autorización gubernamental para comprar un auto, tendrán prioridad para adquirirlo.

Las disposiciones fueron publicadas en la edición extraordinaria Nº46 de la Gaceta Oficial.

En 2011 el Gobierno había autorizado la compraventa de autos de uso entre personas naturales.

Otros precios
Según la BBC, estos son otros precios publicados por las agencias estatales:
—VW PASSAT de 2010: 67.500 CUC
—PEUGEOT 206 de 2008: 85.228 CUC
—JEEP SUZUKI JIMNY de 2008: 69.195 CUC
—VW POLO de 2007: 25.000 CUC
—TOYOTA COROLA de 2006: 39.225 CUC
—RENAULT CLIO de 2005: 25.000 CUC
—TOYOTA YARIS de 2003: 25.000 CUC
AmericaTeVeCanal41

Chinese automaker Geely planning assembly in Cuba

Cuba Standard

Geely stand at the International Havana Fair (FIHAV)

CUBA STANDARD — As the Cuban government is gradually freeing new-car sales for individuals, Chinese automaker Geely, already the No. 1 auto seller on the island, is positioning itself for growth in Cuba and the wider region.

The company is planning to establish a semi-knock down (SKD) assembly plant in Cuba, Shanghai Geely International Corporation, Geely’s international arm, announced in a press release republished by Global Times. The company didn’t provide any specifics.

In an ambitious global expansion plan, Geely set a target of opening 15 assembly plants overseas by 2015, according to an article by Automotive Logistics magazine.

In semi-knock down assembly, a manufacturer typically exports a kit with complete car body, usually coated or already painted, to then add engine and transmission, tires, wheels, seats, headlights, glass, batteries, interior plastics, or other components in final assembly, some of them locally sourced.

“At the request of several ministries in Cuba, including the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment, the Ministry of Communications, and the Ministry of Metallurgy Industry, Geely International is now preparing to launch the SKD project in a local place,” the company said in the press release.

The announcement comes as the Cuban government is seeking manufacturers to open shop at its new Mariel Special Development Zone, an export-oriented zone around a deepwater port 30 miles west of Havana.

Cuba is the company’s largest market in the Caribbean, Central America and northern part of South America. Geely sold at least 3,200 vehicles to Cuba in 2013, in two batches; the Geely CK has held the spot of most-sold new car model in Cuba since 2009. The company is also selling vehicles in Costa Rica, Colombia and Venezuela.

In 2012, the company opened a contract assembly plant in Uruguay in a joint venture with a local partner, making it Geely’s first in the Western hemisphere. The plant, with a capacity of 20,000 cars per year, is supplying primarily Mercosur markets Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, as well as Chile. Forty percent of the components in Uruguay are locally sourced, with a goal of reaching 60 percent by the third year.

All Geely vehicles sold to Cuba in 2013 were made at the Uruguayan plant.

“Geely International actively takes measures in relevant areas and has achieved essential progress,” the company said in a  recent statement about the Cuban market.

On Dec. 19, official media announced that for the first time since 1959, individuals will be allowed to purchase new cars without a permit. The state will retain its monopoly over new-car sales.

“Geely is continuously improving the storage structure of its bonded warehouse and is adopting multi-channel supply methods” for spare parts, the company said. Geely’s warehouse in Cuba now is at 80 percent of capacity, up from 34 percent last year.  The company has also signed agreements with SASA, a local auto service provider operated by the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, to jointly open standard service stations and spare-part sales stores.

Nearly 10,000 Geely-brand cars and trucks are already circulating on Cuban roads, the company said. Government agencies, such as the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Tourism, have been the only buyers of new cars until now. Geely’s CK models are used as senior government officials’ cars; most police cars in Havana are Geely CK models as well.  At present, 80 percent of rental cars in Cuba are Geely CK, EC7 and EC8 models; all rental agencies are state-owned.

La Nueva Estafa del Gobierno Cubano: La venta minorista de vehículos

llevan razon los redactores de  diario de cuba  cuando califican de parche la reciente medida

Toyota Yaris 2006

del regimen del general de hojalata de "liberalizar" la compra-venta de vehiculos automotores nuevos y usados al estado por parte de personas naturales cubanas y extranjeras residentes en el pais y  para las personas juridicas extranjeras y el cuerpo diplomatico.

y es que la dinamica del underground market como es de esperar en cualquier mercado altamente monopolico y cautivo, condujo al fracaso y al posterior suicidio de una de las medidas gubernamentales "reformistas" el decreto 292. mas alla del intento de justificar que estaba previsto en los lineamientos ["Específicamente en el Lineamiento 286 se precisó: "establecer la compraventa de medios automotores entre particulares"; sin embargo, no se previeron entonces cambios en la política de venta por el Estado a las personas naturales"-Granma]; el hecho constituye una derrota ante la fuerza inexorable del mercado, porque no se puede coquetear con la cola del leon si no se esta dispuesto a que este le de al menos un buen zarpazo. 

entonces mueven la talanquera totalitaria un cordel mas alla y disenan un espurio esquema de negocios donde el estado conserva el monopolio absoluto sobre la importacion de autos y la fijacion de los precios que seran similares a los del mercado negro. convertir "el reves en victoria" es comportamiento habitual de esta elite corrupta y degenerada que reconoce del mercado negro lo que le conviene y refuerza el control sobre las filtraciones al esquema. sin embargo, mas temprano que tarde se veran obligados a reconocer que la actual "reforma" se resquebraja y la sustituiran por otra donde a la vez que se incrementen sus beneficios conceda mayores espacios al mercado.

hoy por ejemplo el sitio digital revolico cuelga un anuncio de un Hyundai Accent SE en 21,000 cuc -   o  un   Toyota Yaris 2006 en 29,000 cuc, que es un carro que hoy se mueve en torno a los $3,500 dolares,  por lo que esta sobrevaluado mas de 8 veces de su valor real. luego el corrupto gobierno cubano comprara a precios mayoristas lotes de cientos de carros y luego revendera los mismos a precios 10+ veces con beneficiosos inigualables en una economia globalizada.

que la medida acentuara la inequidad social cubana no es asunto de preocupacion de los gobernantes, asi como tampoco la pesima infraestructura vial y de mantenimiento al incremento del transito automotor, ni el impacto medio ambiental en la ya muy contaminada finca de biran.  

las fuentes de ingresos tensaran las remesas familiares y estimularan la obtencion de cash contante y sonante a como de lugar, luego la zarina anticorrupcion y todos los organos de inspeccion y control veran multiplicar su trabajo notablemente.  

comenzaran a cobrar notable presencia reglas del mercado entre ellas la elasticidad precio de la demanda y ello contribuira a la necesidad parchear nuevamente el negocio del trapo neocastrista.   

permita la libre importacion y venta de vehiculos y ocupese de recaudar los aranceles e impuestos para el desarrollo de la infraestructura vial y un eficiente y moderno sistema de transporte publico y asunto resuelto. no le de mas vueltas, es ciencia constituida.

Leer version oficial en el Granma >>

Cuba: Accidentes tomados por cámaras de vigilancia

72pantalla2

U.S. reports $9.7 billion loss on General Motors bailout

NBC News

conservativefiringline.com

DETROIT — The U.S. government has booked a loss of $9.7 billion on the nearly $50 billion bailout of U.S. automaker General Motors Co., according to a quarterly report to Congress on Tuesday.

In 2009, the U.S. Treasury extended $49.5 billion in loans to GM in exchange for $2.1 billion in preferred stock and a 60.8 percent equity stake. 

Treasury has since whittled down its stake in GM through a series of stock sales. Those sales have all taken place below the price Treasury needed to break even on its GM investment, resulting in the loss, according to Tuesday's report from the Special Inspector General overseeing the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. 

Treasury has sold its preferred stock and reduced its equity stake to 7.3 percent. Treasury owns 101.3 million GM shares as of Sept. 26, the most recent date available. 

The U.S. government has said it plans to sell its remaining GM shares by April 2014. Some analysts said Treasury could even unwind its position by year end. 

The exit of Treasury will eliminate the stigma of government ownership that has hovered over the automaker since the bailout, which prompted some critics to dub the company "Government Motors."

Canadian tourist detained in Cuba for months following a car accident

therecord

ByChris Clay/Metroland Media Group

MISSISSAUGA — Friends and family of a Mississauga man are calling on the Canadian government to take further action to ensure he's brought home after being detained in Cuba for months following a car accident.

Damian Buksa, 34, headed down to the island nation by himself in July for a two-week holiday in the Holguin area.

According to his friend Peter Zawadzki, Buksa rented a car and enlisted a Cuban man to act as a guide and driver to show him the country.

About six days into his trip, the pair got into a bad car crash. The man was killed and a young woman was injured but reportedly has since recovered. Buksa himself was hurt in the crash with Zawadzki saying he suffered a serious head injury and injuries to his face and legs.

The engineer was taken to hospital where Zawadzki said Cuban authorities informed his friend he had to pay more than $9,000 for the vehicle that was destroyed along with medical costs for the girl who was injured before he would be allowed to leave the country. Buksa's mother, Boguslawa Pec, said Buksa paid the bills on his credit card but that's when the story from officials changed.

Pec said Buksa was told he wouldn't be able to leave until an investigation was completed. He's currently still in Cuba.

"There's a big issue about Damian's health because he didn't receive proper medical care," said Zawadzki. "He's lost a lot of weight and apparently he keeps passing out. Our biggest concern is his health."

Family and friends are saying Buksa's situation is eerily similar to that of fellow Canadian Cody LeCompte, a teenager who was detained in Cuba for over three months in 2010 after being involved in a car accident.

"It seems like the (Canadian) government doesn't want to do anything," said Pec, who spoke with her son Wednesday. "I want them to push the Cuban authorities to finish this as soon as possible. This is devastating and my heart is broken."

Ian Trites, a spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada, told The News they're providing aid to Buksa but couldn't go into specifics due to privacy concerns.

"Canadian consular officials in Guardalavaca, Cuba are in contact with local authorities to gather additional information and are providing consular assistance to the affected Canadian citizen as required," said Trites in an e-mail.

In travel advice for Cuba, the federal government warns that traffic accidents are a "frequent" reason for Canadians in Cuba to be arrested and detained.

"Accidents resulting in death or injury are treated as crimes and the onus is on the driver to prove innocence," reads the advisory. "Regardless of the nature of the accident, it can take five months to a year for a case to go to trial. In most cases, the driver will not be allowed to leave Cuba until the trial has taken place."

However, waiting isn't what Buksa's friends and family want to do.

"He goes on vacation, has this thing happen to him and now he's stuck in a foreign country by himself," said Zawadzki. "The government should get him out of the country or (pressure) the Cuban government (to let him return to Canada)."

Pec said she has reached out to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird's office for help and has also been in contact with officials with the Consulate General of Cuba.

She said her son is living on credit cards, is in extremely poor health and doesn't speak the language.

"He's very upset and he's scared," said Pec.

Couple caught having sex on highway

Read at Toronto Sun >>

Desfilan autos antiguos en Cuba

By Por ANNE MARIE GARCIA

The Associated Press

El ex piloto de Fórmula 1 David Coulthard manejó un Pontiac 1955 convertible

LA HABANA, Cuba -- El ex piloto de Fórmula Uno escocés David Coulthard manejó un Pontiac 1955 convertible por las calles de La Habana, como parte del Noveno Rally de Autos Clásicos realizado por un club de coleccionistas de la isla, que exhibió unos 60 automóviles incluido un Ford de 1930 y un Buick de 1939.
"Esto no es solo una celebración por la pasión que sienten todos por el deporte automovilístico y los carros en general, sino también es algo que está hecho al estilo cubano" expresó Coulthard, subcampeón mundial de Fórmula Uno en el año 2001 detrás del aleman Michael Schumacher.
Disfrutar el festivo ambiente cubano es el objetivo de Coulthard en su primera visita a la isla y de los demás concursantes del Club de Automóviles Antiguos A lo Cubano, con casi diez años de existencia y con 102 automóviles afiliado en toda la isla.
Los sesenta autos, Ford, Buick, Chevrolet, Dodge, Pontiac, Willys, Mercury, de los cuarenta o cincuenta del siglo pasado, entre otros también de marcas como Fiat, Peugeot, Lada o Moscovich, se reunieron el domingo en la mañana en el parque de Kasalta, en el municipio Playa, bajo un sol abrasador para el arranque de una carrera en la que recorrerán a velocidad moderada varios barrios capitalinos.
Lázaro Ruiz, de 53 años, es el propietario del Buick de 1939 de color beige y blanco, modelo único en la isla, según dijo a la AP. Contó que lleva solo un año integrando el club en el que satisface una pasión de toda la vida, "desde muy pequeño me gustaban los autos, hoy aquí estoy contento, disfrutando mucho".
Omar Gonzalez, diseñador de oficio y dueño de un restaurante en la capital, espera la arrancada de su octava carrera a bordo de un Dodge del año 1958 del que es dueño desde hace 12 años.
"La velocidad me encanta pero a este recorrido vengo para compartir, disfrutar, pasear por la ciudad porque este auto no es fácil maniobrarlo por estas calles porque además se calienta un poco" explicó González, quien no para de sacarle brillo a la pintura gris metalizada de su auto.
Orgulloso, al lado de su Ford del año 30 color malva, Javier Zuloara, un español fanático de autos y miembro del Club de la isla, donde vive, también tuvo como objetivo "pasar una buena jornada entre amigos" en un ambiente bien caribeño y cubano.
Alberto Gutiérrez, el presidente del Club, comentó a la AP que todos estos automóviles son considerados patrimonio del país y aseguró que en el recorrido todos deben respetar las leyes del tránsito en la ciudad, en un recorrido de unos 70 kilómetros por sietes municipios capitalinos.

Read more here: http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2013/08/18/1546570/desfilan-autos-antiguos-en-cuba.html#storylink=cpy

The most expensive Merecedes-Benz ever sold at auction

ITN

 

Most expensive car ever sold at auction fetches $29 million

Robert Frank CNBC

NBC News

LUKE MACGREGOR / Reuters

The Mercedes-Benz W196 einsitzer is pictured ahead of its auction by Bonhams at the Goodwood Festival of Speed at Goodwood near Chichester in southern England July 11, 2013.

A 1954 Mercedes Benz Formula One racer just became the most expensive car ever sold at auction.

Bonham's, the auctioneer, confirms that it brought the hammer down on the Mercedes Benz W196R at $26.45 million—with the buyer's premium the total price is $29.6 million. That tops the previous record for the most expensive car sold at auction, a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa Prototype, sold for $16.39 million at Gooding & Company's 2011 Pebble Beach Auction.

The sale, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed Auction in the U.K., shows that the collectible car boom is continuing to rage on —especially for rare cars with strong racing histories. The famous race car driver Juan Manuel Fangio drove the Mercedes W196 to victory in two Formula One races— the 1954 German and Swiss Grands Prix.

The single-seat racing car car also had a great history, with well-documented ownership over the past half-century and very few major changes or modifications to the car.

"It's highly original," said Jonathan Klinger of Hagerty, the collectible-car insurance firm. He said that for a buyer "you're really looking at a club of one. It's not like another one will come down the road for sale."

Klinger, who attended the auction, said there were bidders from four continents for the car. That shows just how global the collectible car market has become, with new millionaire and billionaire collectors coming out of Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

The identity of the buyer was not disclosed, although many attendees said the buyer was a phone bidder.

The Mercedes raced in five World Championship-qualifying Grand Prix races before it was retired from the Mercedes racing team at the end of 1955. The car was then prepped to full race standard and consigned to the Daimler-Benz Museum on Dec. 22, 1955.

In June 1965, it was exhibited in Munich, and during 1966 it was shown at both Le Mans in France and Hockenheim in Germany. It then appeared at the 1967 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, before being run in a test at the Untertürkheim factory test-track, and displayed in Berlin. In November 1967, it was exhibited at Stuttgart University.

On May 22, 1973, Mercedes-Benz officially presented it to the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, Hampshire, England. But in the 1980s, the car was sold into private hands and preserved for years in a warehouse.

2-Year-Old Drives Truck Into Neighbor's House

breitbart

By Jon David Kahn 

Georgia - A Georgia couple returned home recently only to find that a neighbor's pick truck had crashed into their house after it was put in gear by a toddler who was waiting for Dad to unload the truck.  

The 2-year-old who was sitting in the cab, managed to put the truck in gear, and then drove across the street and into the home of George and Kathleen Williams. Although there was significant damage to the house, no injuries were reported. 

The toddler had its license suspended.

Canadian government advises against driving in Cuba

ottawacitizen/ By Hugh Adami

Ottawa contractor Elie Raffoul’s Cuban vacation turned into an expensive ordeal after he was involved in a minor traffic accident.

Photograph by: Wayne Cuddington , Ottawa Citizen

OTTAWA — Elie Raffoul found out the hard way why driving in Cuba isn’t such a good idea.
The Ottawa man was in an accident last March 23, involving a motorcyclist who suffered relatively minor injuries, and was forced by Cuban authorities to remain in the country for almost two weeks. He was planning to return to Ottawa on March 24.
Raffoul, who was on his fifth vacation in Cuba when the accident occurred, says he was left so shaken by the ordeal that he is never setting foot there again. Though he was cleared in the end, he says he doesn’t trust the Cuban system any more to want to return. There are other countries to visit, he says.
“I was scared. I was so scared.”
Fayza Youssef, an Ottawa woman who was vacationing at the same resort in Santa Maria, says Raffoul was very shaken by his predicament.
“Imagine being in a foreign country that won’t let you leave,” she says. “He was going through a very hard time.”
The Public Citizen could not contact anyone at the Cuban Embassy in Ottawa for comment. The Canadian government, meanwhile, advises against driving in Cuba as “traffic accidents are a frequent cause for arrest and detention of Canadians in Cuba. Accidents resulting in death or injury are treated as crimes, and the onus is on the driver to prove innocence.
“Regardless of the nature of the accident, it can take five months to a year for a case to go to trial. In most cases, the driver will not be allowed to leave Cuba until the trial has taken place. In some cases, the driver will be imprisoned during this delay.”
The Foreign Affairs website also recommends against driving in Cuba due to hazardous road conditions. As well, it warns that car-rental contracts can be shady when it comes to insurance.
Ottawa police say foreign visitors charged under Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act are normally allowed to leave Canada. Those facing criminal charges such as impaired driving appear before a provincial court judge who decides if the accused can be released and await a pending court case from abroad.
Raffoul says he can’t believe how many horror stories he has since heard about other Canadians being detained in Cuba as a result of car accidents. “I must be the only one in Canada who didn’t know (about the warnings).”
Yet, Raffoul, 41, counts his blessings he wasn’t detained as long as Cody LeCompte was in 2010. Then 19, LeCompte, of Norfolk, Ont., remained at a Santa Lucia resort for three months following a car crash that resulted in injuries to himself, two family members and a friend. Charges were never laid, but it cost LeCompte’s parents about $30,000 in lawyer’s fees, hotel rooms and flights.
Charges were never laid against Raffoul, either, but he was ordered to remain in Cuba while police investigated the accident and doctors determined how serious the injuries were to the motorcycle rider — in case he required compensation. Raffoul remained at the Santa Maria resort. Two Winnipeg friends, Alexis Reynolds and Monique MacPhearson, extended their trip to provide moral support. Reynolds says it wasn’t any big deal. Both women like Cuba so much and neither had to get back to work right away, so they had a good excuse to stay. They crashed in Raffoul’s room.

The self-employed general contractor says the delay in getting home cost him $3,500. Besides the additional resort bill, he says, he spent quite a bit of money on several return trips by taxi between the resort in Santa Maria and the police station in Santa Clara, where the accident occurred. It is a two-hour drive.
Raffoul can’t understand why police demanded he remain in Cuba. He says they were pretty gruff with him at times. He says the motorcyclist, Leonid Aquila Leon, was released from hospital a few hours after he was treated, though for a while police maintained he had been hospitalized. Raffoul says he accompanied police to the hospital and later “saw him walk out with a bandage on his head.”
When Raffoul went to Leon’s home on March 25, he says, the man was appreciative of the visit. He had cuts and bruises on his face and an arm, says Raffoul. Leon said he would be back to normal in a couple of weeks. “I’m not taking you to court. I don’t want anything,’” Raffoul recalls Leon telling him. Raffoul says he still gave Leon $450 Cdn.
Raffoul says he was driving a rental car to Santa Clara when the accident occurred. He says he had just passed a donkey pulling a carriage and was about to overtake the motorcycle when he spotted a car coming in the opposite direction. He says he got partially back into his lane as Leon moved to the right to give him room. He says he was travelling about 50 kilometres an hour when Leon’s motorcycle clipped the side view mirror on the car’s passenger door and went down.
Sunwing Vacations representatives approached him in the resort lobby the next day, telling him they were aware of the “severity of my situation” and that they were doing everything they could to get him home. Raffoul says he phoned the Canadian Embassy in Havana. There was nothing it could do, given Cuba’s laws.
He finally returned to Canada on April 5. Police actually cleared him on April 2 but didn’t notify Cuban airport authorities for a few days. The next Sunwing flight to Ottawa was on April 7. So Raffoul got on a Toronto flight, then paid $300 to fly to Ottawa.
“I said, ‘I don’t care where (the flight ends up). You can take me to Beijing. Just get me out of Cuba.’”

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Hugh+Adami+Vacationer+minor+traffic+accident+Cuba+costly+ordeal/8549648/story.html#ixzz2WqmAIfPJ

Man, 105 and still driving: 'I don't think I'm old'

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Fidel and Miss Green, till death do they part

Photographers Blog

Sagua La Grande, Cuba

By Desmond Boylan

I know a Cuban man named Fidel who is tall, well-built and hardworking. He is known to have had several wives and many girlfriends during his life, and now has a pregnant daughter who will soon make him a grandfather, but those details of his life are diffuse. What he does admit is that the undisputed love of his life is Señorita Verde, or Miss Green.

Fidel gets on well with his neighbors, likes telling jokes, and is always in a good mood. At times he looks a bit nostalgic or sad as his house badly needs repair, and he worries the whole house will fall down on him and Miss Green during the heavy rains and strong winds of the new hurricane season.

People have offered to buy Miss Green from him so he can repair his crumbling 100-year-old wooden house, but he remains defiant. “I will never sell Miss Green. Just the idea of selling her makes me shiver,” he said. “People have no feelings.”

Miss Green is Fidel’s 1952 green Chevy, parked in his living room for the last 23 years.

Fidel, now 53 years old, bought the car in 1990 when the Cuban economy was heavily dependent on the USSR. The Berlin Wall had fallen a few months before and little did he know what would happen next – the Soviet Union disintegrated and as a consequence, Cuba plunged into the “special period,” a ten-year era of extreme lack of everything. Life for Cubans became a real struggle, but even so Fidel never budged when potential buyers would make an offer.

Fidel´s current salary as a driver for the Cuban public health system is extremely low, around 220 Cuban pesos, just under 10 dollars per month, so he has more than enough trouble to make ends meet every month. “I could easily get around 7,000 dollars for her right now, but the problem is I like eating well and I would eat what I made from her in no time, and the result is I would put on even more weight and I would then be very sad without her. I can’t conceive of life without Miss Green.”

Fidel lives with Miss Green inside his house as he does not have a garage, so she occupies the greater part of his living room. She is the first thing you see when you step inside.

Things are gradually changing in Cuba. The economic situation is far better than the “special period” times of the 90’s but there are still two stinging issues that many Cubans have to endure – poor housing conditions and precarious transportation. Fidel is struggling with both of these issues the best he can.

To get around he has a Soviet-era bicycle from the 1970’s, bought when he was 20. It is another of his well-guarded possessions, and his main means of day-to-day transport. Miss Green is only for special occasions or longer distances, petrol permitting of course.

“I have had this bicycle for 33 years. It was in the first shipment of bikes that came to Cuba from the Soviet Union. It is rock solid. Imagine, the front tire lasted until last year when I had to replace it. I could not manage without my bicycle,” he explained proudly.

I asked Fidel if it would not be better to have the car in the street near his door, so then he would have more space in his living room. “No way would I leave Miss Green outside in the street. Someone could crash into her, kids playing could break one of her windows, or a thief could steal her. There are too many chances of something terrible happening. I would not be able to sleep at night with the worry, so she is inside the house with me at all times.”

Fidel can see the car parked in the living room as he lies in bed watching TV in his bedroom.

He keeps Miss Green clean and in working condition, caresses her curves, speaks to her, keeps her polished and never stops looking at her.

“I am planning to put a diesel engine in her. She already has a Soviet Lada carburetor, which reduces her petrol consumption so I could drive her more and even make a living from her doing trips to Havana and all over Cuba,” he explained.”Petrol costs one dollar for a liter, and I can do around eight kilometers per liter, so I cannot take her out her so often.”

As I was there a friend of Fidel’s gave him a present of a couple of gallons of gasoline, so he was excited to be able to take Miss Green for a ride. With the petrol tank rusted and in repair, Fidel attached the engine’s gasoline tube to the plastic jug containing the precious fuel. He drove first to buy a few more liters worth $6.80, to be on the safe side.

I rode with him as he drove to visit friends 18 kms (11 miles) away in Sagua La Grande, central Cuba, during which he got Miss Green up to 80 kms (50 miles) per hour without a problem. He was overjoyed. “It’s very good for her to go for a spin now and then, otherwise the engine could suffer and the pistons clog up. Sometimes I turn on the engine in the living room for a few minutes, and other times I just ride around the block once or twice. When I have petrol then I go for a spin, but not too far.

When asked about politics Fidel made faces and tried to change the subject, but when I insisted he said, “I like my country a lot and I’m very proud to be Cuban, but let’s face it, things are bad now, but they have been much worse and other countries are suffering a lot due to the global economic crisis. We aren’t as much since we are used to surviving, and we notice there is a gradual improvement. I feel safe and happy here and people always help each other, and even though my salary is low this country is not as bad as foreigners portray it.”

He continued by saying, “But I prefer to talk about things that interest me more. I heard soon they are going to change the license plates of all cars in Cuba…”

Girl, Car & Red Bull

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sorry baby Doesn't work that way

[Video] Dramatic helicopter shootout and car chase in Rio de Janeiro

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Cuba cancela licencia a poderosa corporación canadiense [Tokmakjian Group]

Cafefuerte

Por Wilfredo Cancio Isla

El gobierno cubano canceló oficialmente las operaciones del poderoso Grupo Tokmakjian, una de las mayores empresas extranjeras que operó por los últimos 25 años en la isla.

Una resolución del Ministerio del Comercio Exterior y la Inversión Extranjera -publicada en la Gaceta Oficial- indicó que decidió revocar la licencia del conglomerado canadiense por ser presentada extemporáneamente la renovación, el pasado 8 de marzo, y por violaciones incurridas en sus actividades comerciales en territorio cubano.

"En el proceso de análisis de la solicitud formulada por la citada entidad se ha concluido desestimar la misma, al haberse comprobado la realización, en el territorio nacional por la sucursal de esta y sus directivos, de actividades que no se corresponden con las autorizadas por la Licencia que oportunamente le fuera otorgada, las que resultan contrarias a los principios y ética que deben caracterizar la actividad comercial y contravienen el ordenamiento jurídico cubano", indica el decreto ministerial, divulgado el pasado 18 de abril.

El documento es la primera declaración oficial del gobierno cubano sobre el escándalo de corrupción que desembocó en el cierre de las oficinas de la compañía en La Habana, así como en el arresto de su principal ejecutivo, el empresario canadiense Cy Tokmakjian, a finales del 2011.

Enmarañada trama de corrupción

En septiembre del 2011, agentes de la Seguridad del Estado ocuparon y sellaron los locales de la firma en el cuarto piso del edificio Barcelona del Miramar Trade Center de la Habana. Tokmakjian fue detenido y permanece desde entonces bajo cuestodia de las autoridades cubanas mientras se investiga una enmarañada trama de corrupción y actividades ilícitas. 

La medida fue acompañada entonces por una comunicación del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y el Consejo de Estado, enviada a las empresas cubanas, para que detuvieran todas sus operaciones comerciales con el Grupo Tokmakjian.

Pero hasta el momento no se había hecho un anuncio oficial sobre el asunto por parte de las autoridades cubanas. Tokmakjian, de 71 años, permanece aún bajo arresto, sin que se le hayan formulado cargos.

Inicialmente estuvo detenido en una casa de seguridad en La Habana, pero a comienzos del pasado año fue trasladado a la prisión de La Condesa, destinada a extranjeros.

A mediados del pasado año, un alto ejecutivo de la compañía reveló que el gobierno cubano les había permitido reiniciar ciertas operaciones en Cuba. El Grupo Tokmakjian había renovado su licencia ante los registros de la Cámara de Comercio de Cuba en mayo del 2010, un año antes de estallar la investigación gubernamental sobre sus transacciones.

Pero el decreto firmado a comienzos de este mes por Rodrigo Malmierca, ministro del Comercio Exterior y la Inversión Extranjera, marca el portazo final a la presencia de la corporación canadiense en la isla.

Millonarias operaciones

Radicado en Ontario, el Grupo Takmakjian era la segunda empresa extranjera con mayores operaciones comerciales en Cuba después de Sherritt International. Facturaba anualmente unos $80 millones de dólares en ventas de equipamiento para la construcción y la minería.

La compañía era además la distribuidora exclusiva de Hyundai en Cuba y estaba asociada con otras dos empresas para el remplazo de motores de equipos de transporte de la era soviética.

Las autoridades cubanas tienen también bajo arresto a un segundo empresario canadiense, Sarkis Yacoubian, presidente de Tri-Star Caribbean, desde julio del 2011. La firma de Yacoubian era considerada la competencia más fuerte del Grupo Tokmakjian, y realizaba negocios con numerosos organismos y empresas estatales cubanas en los sectores de la construcción, la minería y la salud pública.

Ambos empresarios -de origen armenio- comenzaron juntos sus negocios en Cuba y luego decidieron seperarse. Tokmakjian firmó su primer contrato con el gobierno cubano en 1988.

El Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores de Canadá señaló que conoce la situación de los dos emporesarios retenidos en Cuba y que sus respectivos casos están siendo monitoreados.

Versiones extraoficiales consideran que la investigación sobre las empresas canadienses es de gran envergadura, pues vinculó a numerosos ministros y funcionarios de alto nivel, así como a un tercer empresario británico de origen libanés, Amado Fakhre, ejecutivo de la firma Coral Capital Group Ltd, todos aparentemente asociados a  transacciones ilegales en la expansión de la industria de níquel y cobalto en el oriente de Cuba.

Cuba cambia la chapa de los vehiculos automotores

la chapa como otro de los "subsistemas" de control y coercion social. invocando razones economicas por parte del suministrador aleman, ahora lo perfeccionan en un muy europeo estilo. leer en Juventud Rebelde >>

America's engine of the future to get 'Made in China' label

mazautolv 

Fox News

Thanks to generous support from a foreign backer, there is renewed hope for an American attempt to revolutionize, modernize and sanitize the automobile engine.

The catch?  The finished product will be stamped “Made in China.”

EcoMotors, a startup engineering company based in Allen Park, Mich., plans to produce up to 150,000 of its opposed-piston, opposed-cylinder (OPOC) two-stroke engines annually in a factory funded by Zhongding Power. The facility will be located in China’s Anhui Province, west of Shanghai.

EcoMotors CEO Don Runkle told FoxNews.com that Zhongding has committed to building a plant for the engines with the hope of supplying generator companies and builders of medium-duty trucks.

“We have talked to a number of automobile manufacturers in the United States, as well as in China,” Runkle said.  He added that EcoMotors has “a letter of intent with Generac,” an American manufacturer of generators that currently buys engines from John Deere and Iveco.

Although Chinese-built generators and motorcycles are becoming more common in the United States, engines produced there have rarely seen duty in American automobiles. The first was when General Motors dropped a Chinese-made 3.4-liter V-6 into its 2005 Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent crossovers.

In 2010, when Zhongding agreed to invest up to $18 million toward engineering costs for the OPOC engine, Runkle announced that “this initiative will create a range of high-skill R&D jobs here in southeast Michigan, further underscoring the region's critical role as the incubator of tomorrow’s high-efficiency powertrain solutions.”

The OPOC two-stroke engine is a markedly different concept than the four-stroke engines fitted to most modern automobiles. While two-strokes are generally lighter, have fewer moving parts and a higher power density than comparable four-strokes, they are often not as durable and burn a lot of oil, resulting in worse emissions. EcoMotors claims to have overcome these hurdles with its new technology.

The EcoMotors-designed power plant does without valves and cylinder heads, and places two pistons facing one another in each cylinder like boxers' gloves, with the pistons in turn connected to identical counterparts in an adjacent cylinder. The expansion stroke on one side creates a compression stroke in the other.

“Our innovation is an unusual engine architecture,” Runkle said.

The company says the motors can be configured to run on a variety of fuels, including gasoline and diesel, and will be cheaper to build while delivering between 20 and 50 percent better fuel economy than conventional internal combustion engines, depending on their application.

Production of the OPOC is set to begin in 2014.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/04/24/america-new-engine-future-to-be-made-in-china/#ixzz2RPLVRI4O