I've been looking all over for one of these!

I've been looking all over for one of these and what do you know, a bunch of Cubans got the last one. DANG!

Talk about guts!





Cubans' drive to get to U.S. comes up short again


HAVANA — Three Cuban families' hopes of puttering to Florida in a green, propeller-powered 1959 Buick were dashed yesterday when the tail-finned, floating car was sunk, just like their first ingeniously engineered amphibious vessel, a 1951 Chevy truck rigged to a pontoon of 55-gallon drums, an exile source said.
The Coast Guard declined to comment on the fates of 11 migrants who were intercepted Tuesday aboard the sealed Buick 10 miles off Marathon, about 90 miles southwest of Miami. But Cuban exile sources speculated they likely will be repatriated, just as some had been during the Chevy crossing in July.

"I'm hearing it from a government source," Cuban American National Foundation executive director Joe Garcia said. "They would probably be repatriated ... but who knows?"

Cuban-American activist Arturo Cobo, of Key West, Fla., said he tried to get his hands on the Buick-boat for a planned museum of exile memorabilia. Cobo, however, said the Coast Guard sank the Buick. The Coast Guard refused to confirm the floating car's status, but it used machine-gun fire to sink the 1951 pickup.

The attempt was the second at crossing the 90-mile Florida Straits aboard a 1950s vessel for Marcial Basante and Luis Gras, both 35. They were joined by Basante's wife, the couple's two children, Gras' wife and their 4-year-old son, and another couple and their two children.

Before attempting their first trip in the Chevy, Basante and Gras had made a living using the truck to haul construction materials and merchandise. Making ends meet had gotten tougher since the truck was sunk.

"He is young, he has a wife and two kids and wants to get ahead," said Basante's stepfather, Adan de la Torre.

Sisters of Luis Gras hoped the migrants' efforts would be rewarded, even if they did not meet the "dry foot" requirement that allows Cuban migrants to stay in the United States if they reach shore.

"I know the laws, their feet were wet. But I still have hope," said Lourdes Gras Rodriguez, 44.

Details on the sinking of the Chevy were provided by The Associated


There was a picture in the article but I was unable to reproduce it here at work. The car is a nice 'Sea Foam Green'.

DJ

 

There is a car in the UK that performs similarly but hasn't enjoyed much success.
DJ

 

Here is a picture. Notice the hydrodynamic streamlining on the front.
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I heard it was left over paint used on the Scuderia Cuba Grand Prix car they ran in 59.

DJ

 

I've seen monster trucks power across water on their big tires but this is a first! Especially driven by Robodog.
DJ