Cuban Steel

Today's image is of a souvenir t-shirt, depicting a 1958 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight 2-door convertible, which I came across when actually looking for something else entirely. My sister bought it when she was lucky enough to visit Cuba a few years ago. So why not use Oldsmobiles and Cuba as subjects for a blip!
Oldsmobile (formally the Oldsmobile division of General Motors) was a brand of American automobiles established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E Olds (brilliant name!) in 1897. 
It produced over 35 million vehicles, including at least 14 million at its Lansing factory in Michigan. Over its history it was noted for several ground breaking technologies and designs but by the 1990's the division faced growing competition from premium export brands, and sales steadily declined. When it was eventually shut down in 2004 Oldsmobile was the oldest surviving American automobile brand, and one of the oldest in the world after Peugeot, Fiat, Renault and Opel.
It was really at the height of its powers in the 1950's and 1960's. It entered the 1950's following a divisional campaign based on its 'rocket' engines (which were considered the fastest on the market), and its cars' appearance followed suit - by the middle of the decade their styling was among the first to offer a wide, "open-maw" grille, suggestive of fighter jet propulsion with twin jet pod-styled taillights as a nod to its "rocket" theme (as exemplified by today's image).
Cuba has never had a car manufacturing industry of its own, so they relied on automotive imports to populate the island's roads and by 1919 Cuba was the largest Latin American importer of US cars and parts and was among the countries with the highest number of vehicles per capita in the world.
This all came to a dramatic halt with the 1959 Cuban revolution and import embargo. The revolution and the beginning of the Cold War saw a change in the island's automotive industry as old friends became foes.
Fidel Castro placed an embargo on the US and foreign imports which meant that American cars where no longer exported to the island. The embargo even extended to include car parts, which had serious implications for Cuba's car owners - they either let the cars rust or use what parts they had available and make repairs themselves.
Finding innovative ways to keep their cars running they were forced to make repairs and restorations using car parts from Russian and Chinese vehicles that were still readily available.
You can still see (as testified by my sister when she retuned from her trip there) the range of patched-up classic cars on display throughout the country, often painted in vivid colours to hide the panel work. However, this rolling vintage car museum in Cuba today is a reminder of the ingenuity and revolutionary spirit that lives on in the country.
Funny what a journey just coming across an accidentally found t-shirt can take you on!