New uses for old cars

[Decolliber]

Cubans Try to Reach Fla. in Floating Car
Feb 4, 12:04 PM (ET)
(AP) The U.S. Coast Guard is seen intercepting a group of Cuban migrants sailing towards the Florida...

MIAMI (AP) - Two Cubans who tried to sail to Florida in a truck converted to a pontoon boat last year are making another attempt, this time piloting a seagoing 1950s-era Buick with nine other people, including five children, relatives said.

Marciel Basanta Lopez and Luis Gras Rodriguez, who were sent back to Cuba in July after they failed to reach Florida in a converted 1951 Chevy pickup, were allegedly at the helm of the newest vehicle-boat conversion.

The Coast Guard refused on Wednesday to confirm the status of the tailfinned car or the origin of photos of it in the water that were broadcast on television Tuesday. U.S. policy prevents the disclosure of information on such cases until they are resolved, such as by sending the participants back to their home countries, Petty Officer Sandra Bartlett said.

Under U.S. immigration policy, Cubans who reach U.S. shores are allowed to stay while those caught at sea are usually returned.

The Miami Herald said the 1959 Buick was nearly halfway to Key West by Tuesday evening. Key West is 90 miles from Havana, but it was not immediately clear where on Cuba the group had set out to sea.

Relatives in Cuba told Basanta's cousin, Kiriat Lopez, who lives in Lake Worth, that they knew the men were planning a second escape attempt.

"My cousin isn't crazy. He wants to be free," Lopez told the newspaper. "That's how crazy he is."

He said the group left Cuba on Monday night. "They've been waiting the past two weeks for good weather," he said.
The Chevy pickup they used then was kept afloat by empty 55-gallon drums attached to the bottom as pontoons. A propeller attached to the drive shaft pushed it along at about 8 mph.

After the Coast Guard intercepted them about 40 miles off Key West, the pickup was sunk to keep it from becoming a hazard to other vessels.

[lendaddy]

I am confused, are you saying people want to come TO America? Don't they realize how llittle opportunity there is here? Not to mention a system that keeps the poor well....poor. Hmmm I gotta do some research I guess.

[vash]

i think freedom was the goal, and poor is relative.

[lendaddy]

No fair making sense unfixed

[vash]

Originally posted by lendaddy
No fair making sense unfixed

haha, your gonna get me fired laughing out loud!

[RickM]

Too bad they dont have an old Amphicar...they'd be here in no time.

[rammstein]

Originally posted by lendaddy
Don't they realize how llittle opportunity there is here?

I think many don't realize how MUCH opportunity is here, as illustrated by Cubans risking it to get here by any means. (were you being sarcastic?)

[smoak]

I just spit coffee on my puter... thanks len

[Moneyguy1]

I think they were actually trying to get to Calgary where the real freedom is.......

[on-ramp]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/cpress/cubans_car_boat

here's a pic

[widebody911]

Whatever floats your boat...

[Overpaid Slacker]

Rick - If there were any Amphicars in Cuba, they'd have been used as escape pods long ago.
In fact, I doubt they'd have been let in for just that reason.

JP