MCM looks at Cuba's car culture. (Think *you're* a creative & thrifty mechanic?)

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Xist

CNN had an article about GM pulling out of Venezuela after that government seized their plant, which only made replacement parts, because GM was unable to import them.

I'm not sure if they were actually making replacement parts. It has turned more into an assembly plant than an actual factory anyways.

[ar5boosted]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

I recently saw a picture of a Ford Model A repowered with the entire drivetrain of a Suzuki Vitara in Cuba, that is impressive.

Sensible thinking there.

I'm just going off an a tangent to say that the new Vitara has had an out-of-the-park improvement in mpg-rating.

- Suzuki Vitara MPG - Actual MPG from 58 Suzuki Vitara owners

up to around 30mpg from about 20mpg.

The Suzuki engine to have though is the one from the Baleno engine:

- Suzuki Baleno MPG - Actual MPG from 15 Suzuki Baleno owners

with it's 45.1 mpg average fuel economy !!

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by ar5boosted

I'm just going off an a tangent to say that the new Vitara has had an out-of-the-park improvement in mpg-rating.

It's noticeably more compact and lighter, not to mention the enhanced efficiency of the transverse-engined FWD layout.

Back on topic: many of the old American irons still roaming around in Cuba are currently fitted with a Belarusian MMZ D-245 engine originally meant for trucks.

[Fingie]

simple and good enough.

if you have the tooling, you can make the spares yourself

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Fingie

simple and good enough.

There are more sophisticated versions of this very same basic engine though, including some Euro-5 ones fitted with common-rail injection and SCR that can be integrated with electronic driving assists such as stability control. BTW I know it would seem crazy, but sometimes I think about fitting that into some all-American iron such as a Chevy Suburban...

if you have the tooling, you can make the spares yourself

Cubans often have to resort to homemade replacement parts anyway, even with very precarious tooling.