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TG57Roadmaster

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TG57Roadmaster last won the day on January 4 2016

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  1. Cool. Just following what I found over at Coachbuild . com. The Schutte-bodied Roadster below appeared n the July-August 1920 issue of CARTELES, noting its "Liberty Motor". I'm wondering if the reference is to the Duesenberg motors built in Elizabeth, NJ, and somehow is reported incorrectly in the Cuban magazine - I have no idea what this car is. Duesenberg "Power of the Hour" insert in the Jaunary 16, 1919 Automotive Industrries magazine... TG
  2. 1921 Duesenberg Model A by the Charles Schutte Body Company, built for Charles E. Schutte. From the March 1922 issue of CARTELES - "During the "dance of the millions" there were a lot of Creoles who paid considerable sums for cars with ordinary bodies. None of them had the good taste of having a car with a special body, even though almost all Cuban motorists know that there are several American and European companies that specialize in this type of work. CARTELES, thanks to the courtesy of Schutte, has the opportunity to offer its readers in this edition, a beautiful wedge with a special body that was made for a Yankee millionaire. CARTELES gladly offers to submit models on a whim for any motorist who wants to have something that doesn't "look like anything else", available through this well-known coachbuilding house." The '21 Duesenberg Model A built for Charles E. Schutte. TG
  3. The plot thickens! Apparently that 1920 Packard by Fleetwood seen poised at the Havana dealership survives, and was just sold at B-J for $110K. From longterm ownership in the Blackhawk Collection, then sold in 2022. https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1920-PACKARD-TWIN-6-TRANSFORMABLE-TOWN-CAR-272827 The present owner took a hit, considering the Fleetwood sold for $145,600 at RM Monterey in 2022... https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mo22/monterey/lots/p0046-1920-packard-3-35-twin-six-transformable-town-car-by-fleetwood/1253033 TG
  4. This is the stuff that really floats my boat - a Fleetwood custom in front of the Packard Dealership in Havana, posted on a Cuban Facebook page, from an article in Carteles magazine which states the car was shown in and purchased from the 1920 New York Salon. Most of the Carteles issues are digitized in Havana, so knowing the Salon's dates should make it fairly easy to find the image. Over at Coachbuild .com, here's one of two images of the Packard, this one on the Fleetwood Stand in the 1920 Salon. The Henry Ford has a copy of the 1920 program, and I'm hoping there will be an image of the Fleetwood there, too. I bet Walt G. has the program, too. https://www.coachbuild.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2423 TG
  5. Incredible 1911 American Underslung Traveler fielded by Inman Gray of Atlanta in the 1911 Glidden Tour. That's the 25-year-old Inman Gray behind the wheel - I believe the picture was taken in New York City not long after the tour's start. After the tour, press photos were purchased by a participant from my town who drove a new Mitchell Four in the 1911 Glidden, later assembled in a scrapbook. This image is also in the Detroit NAHC collection, but comes from that private source. The Traveler is one of the cars that will be featured in my seminar at the 2024 AACA Annual Convention next month - Friday, February 9, 4-5pm. Inman Gray's father, James R. Gray, Sr. was the president of the Atlanta Journal at the time of, and a motivator for, the 1909 New York Herald - Atlanta Journal and the 1910 Atlanta Journal - New York Herald Good Roads Tours. The younger Gray, who was in official cars on the 1909 and 1910 tours and campaigned his American Traveler in the 1911 Glidden, assumed the Atlanta Journal's presidency in 1935 at age 49. It's a fascinating period of automotive history (captured by the legendary photographer Nathan Lazarnick) that is all but lost to those in the cities and towns through which the pioneering autoists traveled. https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,883481,00.html TG
  6. Incredible 1911 American Underslung Traveler fielded by Inman Gray of Atlanta in the 1911 Glidden Tour. Press photos were purchased by a tour participant from my town who drove a new Mitchell Four in the 1911 Glidden, later assembled in a scrapbook. The Traveler is one of the cars that will be featured in my seminar at the 2024 AACA Annual Convention next month - Friday, February 9, 4-5pm. TG
  7. 1929 Locomobile Model 88 All-Weather Cabriolet, 7-Passenger, 140-inch wheelbase, Lycoming 298.6cid Eight, $7,200 list price. The image is from the September 21, 1929 issue of Automobile Topics, my collection. TG
  8. 1929 Locomobile Model 88 All-Weather Cabriolet, 7-Passenger, 140-inch wheelbase, Lycoming 298.6cid Eight, $7,200 list price. The image is from the September 21, 1929 issue of Automobile Topics, my collection. TG
  9. Henry Fleetwood, Esq. (c. 1667-1746), Member of Parliament 1708-22. An insert in the September 21, 1929 issue of Automobile Topics, during the time of the construction of Fisher Body's new Fleetwood plant in Detroit. This is why it's okay to use Wiki as a tool, but it should never be a crutch... http://fleetwood.cadillaclasalleclub.org/index.php/history-of-fleetwood/ TG
  10. Wow, what a great find, full of information! Likely a payment envelope, the sender lived in the Edificio López Serrano, a 1932 Art Deco landmark in tony Vedado that was Cuba's tallest residential building until 1956. Seen here at left in a 1944 US Army Reconaissance photo, the López Serrano's lobby and exterior retains its original design. Lawrence B. Ross was Cuba's GM distributor at the time - a New Yorker and one of the earliest Americans in the Cuban auto business, he made a fortune selling Model T's before switching to GM, selling all brands, and was known (and popular) for giving lavish banquets at the Oriental Park Jockey Club. Thanks for sharing that Terry, and tell your son he scored a great little piece of history. I'd have snapped it up in a New York Minute! TG
  11. Craig, The tourist advisory sounds like what's used for just about all Caribbean or Asian countries - any travel for that matter. Use caution, be aware and vigilant, don't be stupid and get taken advantage of. I recall similar gloom and doom warnings when travelling to Thailand and the DR on vintage car business. Knock on wood, nothing bad has happened before and I find Cuba the safest place I've ever been, though I am cautious and don't let my guard down. Our casa is like a second home and it would be unthinkable for anything bad to happen there. Thanks for sharing that info though, it's good to be reminded. The young director of El Garaje, Havana's old car museum is a good friend and will be in Miami for four months taking an English-language course, although he's great at it now. I'll get him up to the April 2024 AACA dual National and Grand National shows, held during Charlotte AutoFair, so he can get a taste of a large swap meet and restored American iron. We'll have the AACA Zenith cars there, too, so he'll see the best the AACA has to offer and, happily, he soaks stuff up like a sponge. TG
  12. Walt, Thanks (again) for your encouraging words, they are greatly appreciated. Check out this dealership list in the April 1927 issue of El Automóvil de Cuba, the most popular car magazine there - I know you have some issues of that publication (in fact, your article linked below was the first I found when I began this quest back in 2015). It's not by any means a complete listing but, as you noted, we see European and American marques of all price classes that were mostly clustered in Old and Central Havana, though some had already moved to the growing and wealthy areas outside the city center. https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/el-automovil-de-cuba Just as here and elsewhere, as the city grew and the population moved to suburbs the dealers moved with them, though one holdout, J. Ulloa & Cía. maintained a showroom on the Paseo de Martí, aka the Prado. After moving the Packard deal out to Rancho Boyeros around 1955, they kept the Prado store and sold Volkswagens and Porsches there. Just left of center we see the Packard sign at #3-5 Prado - Ulloa later bought the 3-storey Hotel Biscuit next door, renamed it the Hotel Packard and used Packard script on its letterhead and a Packard grille shell (with Packard script) on luggage labels! After years of neglect and disuse a new, luxurious Hotel Packard was built using the facade of the original (the building to its left was demolished about 1930) that has amazing views of the Castillo del Morro and harbor entrance. We can have drinks in the bar of the new Hotel Packard (Iberostar Grand Hotel Packard), but can't stay there. And so it goes...thanks for the inspiration and your friendship. TG
  13. Craig, The whole world has been travelling to Cuba (even during the Russian era, but it was ill-advised, restrictive and difficult) - their 1990 departure led to an economic chaos called the Special Period, and the regime began encouraging tourism from Canada, Europe, South America, Asia, etc. Canadians have been going there since the '70's, and the music of the Buena Vista Social Club (and others) really opened it up in the '90's. Americans can freely travel there under one of 12 OFAC official categories of travel - and have been able to do so since at least 2016. All we have to do is prepare a loose itinerary of daily activities, stay in private homes (casas particulares) and dine in private restaurants (paladares). Most go under Support for the Cuban People but the activities you can do are typical - visit musems, art galleries, historic sites and cigar factories, take cooking, salsa and other dance lessons, do theater, opera or live performances, cruise around in vintage cars, etc., - all these activities support the people. Staying at the large, government-owned beach resorts and hotels is forbidden, and understandably so. It's an odd and bewildering set up, because the activities are touristic, but you can't go as a "tourist" and swill Mojitos at the beach. The previous administration added restrictions, some of which have been lifted, but the American public perceived it as an outright travel ban, which it was not. I go as a journalist, researching a book project (writing about the subject and giving seminars in the interim) on their auto history, and no one on my return has ever asked to see an itinerary. Given that it's Cuba it would be hard to follow, anyway. We learned nada in school about the country, and on each trip I learn more about its auto history, people, culture, archictecture and more - a fascinating subject that is a pleasure to share. Just after the 2024 AACA Annual Convention I'll make my 17th trip (since 2016) and look forward to making new discoveries - it's an area of study that few here know much about. You buy an airline ticket, choose the category of travel and get your visa (no Embassy contact required) at the departing airport. It's really pretty simple but, bear in mind that no US credit or debit cards work there and you need cash for everything. Many casas are on Air BnB or other booking sites and you can prepay those - plan on $100 per day as a comfortable cushion. Here are the OFAC travel categories... https://cu.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/traveling-to-cuba/ I wanted to get this down for others, so sorry for the mini manifesto - thanks for asking the question. TG
  14. Craig, You'll enjoy the entire issue, I'm sure! As for travel around Havana and the rest of the country, you're not restricted except for a few areas - government or military buildings, for example. I've only been shooed away once - trying to take a shortcut, I unknowingly entered the grounds of a government building on the Plaza de la Revolución. As with anywhere post-9/11, if you walk into a building where you're not supposed to be, there's usually a security guard to tell you no. Only Americans are prohibited from staying in the large hotels and beach resorts owned by the government, which suits me fine - I'd much rather stay in a casa particular in a private room (with bath and shower) for $25/night. You meet real people that way. I stay in the green casa particular (on the right) facing the Universidad de La Habana in the section called Vedado. TG
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