Havana's classic cars are now mostly used as private taxis to ferry folks to the city's far-flung suburbs. But since 1999, when the French inspection equipment was imported, almost 50 percent of the cars fail the test on their first attempt. The cars are loaded onto vibrating pads that test their suspension. A hose in the tail pipe reads the levels of carbon monoxide, and rotating wheels test the brakes and alignment. Inspections began this month for foreigners and will continue until next April.
Inspectors point to highway safety, a recurring theme in the local media lately.
The government-run Granma newspaper last week reported 3,624 accidents islandwide between January and April, including an average of three fatal crashes a day. Most classic American cars survive Cuba's pot-holed roads on the shear ingenuity and tender affections of their owners. Many of the legendary gas-guzzlers have been converted to run on diesel fuel. Still others get by on kerosene, coughing thick streams of smoke on the highway. But you barely recover from one inspection and you have to get ready for another.