Nomad on an island


Rare sight: A 1955 Chevrolet Nomad two-door wagon
   SOME TIME back, CARISTAS reader Paul voiced a hope that any Chevrolet Nomad in Cuba had not been irreversibly altered, and I realized that I had never come across one of Chevy's delightful two-door station wagons on the island.
   This was surprising, given the presence in Cuba of late-1950s Corvettes, Continental Mark IIs and other classics produced in far fewer numbers than the 22,000 Nomads built between 1955 and '57.
   Surprising too in that station wagons would appear to have sold well in Cuba in the '50s, though perhaps Cuban wagon buyers, even more than their U.S. counterparts, valued utility over style.
   Then, riding on a bus through Matanzas – one of my favourite car-spotting locales – I glimpsed a gold-over-copper '55 Nomad at a traffic light. My camera was in video mode and I wasted time switching to the photo setting, and as a result didn't get a good shot in either mode.
   Still, the images I did capture suggest the Matanzas Nomad remains largely stock, 60 years after it arrived in Cuba. Paul in particular will be pleased.

Wheels are from the aftermarket, but the rest of the Nomad looks to be original.




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