vintage cars

Now you can fly to Cuba from the west coast

There have been celebrations galore as U.S. airlines have begun flying to Havana and other Cuban cities from various cities in the east.

But on Thursday, January 5, Alaska Airlines rounded out the renewed schedule of commercial routes from the US-to-Cuba with a flight that starts at Seattle -Tacoma International Airport, stops at Los Angeles International Airport and then continues on to Havana.

I was fortunate to be able to go along for the inaugural ride.

 

The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the flight took place at LAX and, once on board, passengers found little flags and an inaugural flight certificate at their seats.

Among the passengers onboard the inaugural flight were 50 political, business and cultural leaders from California and Washington state and ‘regular’ customers taking advantage of the new service – and good fares.

While Alaska Airlines’ inaugural flight to Havana was a “first,” it actually wasn’t the first time the airline has flown to Cuba.

30_cuba_1000

According to an airline blog post,  in the early 1970s, Alaska Airlines flew U.S. Military Airlift Command charter flights to the base at Guantanamo Bay.

The the modern route is being served by a Boeing 737-900ER with this daily schedule:

Start date City pair Departs Arrives Frequency
Jan. 5 Seattle-Los Angeles 5 a.m. 7:39 a.m. Daily
Jan. 5 Los Angeles-Havana 8:50 a.m. 4:55 p.m. Daily
Jan. 5 Havana-Los Angeles 5:55 p.m. 8:45 p.m. Daily
Jan. 5/6 Los Angeles-Seattle 11:45 p.m. 2:35 a.m. Daily
Flight times based on local times zones.

Here are some pics of the cool vintage cars you’ve heard that still exist in Cuba. More details about other sights tomorrow.

Cool, classic ground transportation

Sure, some people fly to Detroit. But if you’re on the highway between now and January 8, keep an eye out for these three classic red cars from the collection of LeMay – America’s Car Museum, in Tacoma.

LEMAY RED CARS WIDE

The vintage red cars – a 1957 Chevrolet Nomad, a 1966 Ford Mustang and a 1961 Chrysler 300G – are traveling as a pack on a 2,400-mile road trip from Tacoma, Washington back “home” to Detroit for the opening of the North American International Auto Show.

The Drive Home, as the event is called, is making stops along the way for rallies with local car enthusiasts in Boise, Salt Lake City, Grand Juction, CO., and various cities in Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Michigan.

Check the schedule so you can be sure to get an up close visit with these cool cars – or drive your vintage car along.

Vintage Volkswagens displayed at LeMay – ACM

1963 Beetle Herbie_Courtesy_LeMay-America's Car Museum

“Herbie the Love Bug” – made from a 1963 VW Beetle. Courtesy LeMay-America’s Car Museum

At one of the world’s largest and newest car museums, the Corvettes have been cleared out to make way for vintage Volkswagens.

“The irony was not lost on us of that some great cars with big engines were going out so that we could bring in the little Bugs,” said Renee Crist, collection manager at LeMay—America’s Car Museum, in Tacoma, Wash.

The museum, which opened in 2012, can display up to 350 cars at a time. It draws its rotating exhibits from private owners, corporations and the LeMay Collection, which in the mid-’90s had amassed a Guinness record of more than 3,500 vehicles.

The museum’s newest exhibit, “VeeDub—Bohemian Beauties,” includes 25 unique Volkswagens, including rare early Beetles, a 1966 Westphalia Full Camper and a Thing.

The show, which includes Volkswagen buses, dune buggies, kit cars, and Formula Vee racers, will likely bring back fond memories for several generations of Americans. It also celebrates “a car brand that has defined a culture of customization and entrepreneurship,” said museum President and CEO David Madeira.

The exhibit does not gloss over the fact that the original concept for what became the Volkswagen Beetle can be traced to Nazi Germany.

“But we also talk about what the vision of that car was—economical transportation for the masses,” said museum chief curator Scot Keller. “That’s also a theme we tell elsewhere at the museum that dates back to Henry Ford’s vision for the Model T. Germany intended to do the same thing with the car that became the Beetle, although the Beetle we know today is obviously post-World War II,” he said.

KdF Wagen_Sean Maynard_Volkswagen of America

Kdf Wagen – courtesy Sean Maynard/Volkswagen of America

Volkswagen of America contributed several cars to the exhibit, including a fully restored KdF-Wagen from 1943 that is the eighth-oldest Beetle known to exist in the world. The company also contributed an ornate Wedding Car model inspired by a converted wrought iron-bodied Beetle created in Mexico in the 1960s. The company also loaned a Panel Delivery Type 2.

Wedding Car Beetle_6_credit_   Sean Maynard_ Volkswagen of America, Inc.

Wedding Car – courtesy Sean Maynard_ Volkswagen of America, Inc.

The three vehicles loaned by VW of America for the show are worth a worth a combined $400,000.

Other cars on loan for the exhibition are unique in their own ways and come with a personal story that underscores what the museum describes as “America’s love affair with the automobile.”

Dave Barrett’s family bought a 1963 VW beetle six years ago when their son, Joey, a “Herbie the Love Bug” film fan, was 6 years old. “We decided it would be great fun to have our own Herbie, and we had a good time as father and son fixing some things here and truly making him our own,” said Barrett. The pair take their recreated Herbie to car shows. Barrett said just driving around town is an adventure “as drivers’ eyes light up when they recognize the little car.”

1978 VW Superbeetle - Courtesy Brenda Patnode

Courtesy Brenda Patnode

 

The red 1978 Karmann Super Beetle convertible that Brenda Patnode and her husband loaned for the exhibition is the one they bought shortly before they got married in 1983. The military couple went to extreme lengths to take the car with them to duty stations in Puerto Rico, San Diego and Washington, D.C. After settling in Lacy, Wash., they had “Miss VW” completely restored in 2002.

“She was a daily driver until 2010, and then we decided to drive her only on nice days, and keep her warm and dry in our garage,” said Patnode. “I didn’t think it was possible to have such a deep love for a car, but then again, she is not just a car; she is a piece of us.”

VeeDub –Bohemian Beauties” will be at LeMay – America’s Car Museum in Tacoma through April 5. After the vintage Volkswagens are returned to their owners, the museum will make way for an exhibit of Mustangs.

(My story about the exhibit of Vintage Volkswagens first appeared on CNBC Road Warrior)