Love those 50’s Cars!

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Cuba’s Raul Castro has outlined hundreds of reform measures in preparation for the big Communist Party Congress that starts this weekend, the first since 1997. Among these, Cuba’s cars and homes will go on sale soon as part of sweeping economic changes. These major changes include Cuba’s property laws. The reforms could lead to a real estate boom, but could also mark the beginning of the end for many of Cuba’s classic American cars.

Questions:

1. What was the most unusual modification to one of the vintage cars described in the article?

2. What did you find to be the best result of these reforms, if any, mentioned in both the video and the article?

3. What types of cars now make up most of the vehicles on Cuba’s roads?

4. From an economic and accounting standpoint, do you think that the cars have a greater profit advantage to remain in Cuba or to be sold to the highest bidder and be exported? Discuss.

Sources:

CNN.com video. (2011) Cuba’s Cars and Homes Up for Sale? April 19 (Retrievable online at www. cnn.com/video/)

Miroff, N. Real Estate, Auto Markets Drive Reform Talk In Cuba, April 15 (Retrievable online at http://www.npr.org/2011/04/15/135406369/real-estate-auto-markets-drive-reform-talk-in-cuba)