cubataxi

A collector's cars, inspired by Cuba

cubataxi is a small classic-car hire and chauffeur business in Gossau ZH, in the Zürcher Oberland east of Zurich, run by Christian Giesen from his address at Langfuhrstrasse 31. The site calls itself "Ihr Anbieter für Oldtimervermietung und Chauffeurservice in der Schweiz" (your provider of classic-car hire and chauffeur service in Switzerland), for "Hochzeit, Party, Auftritt oder Event" (a wedding, party, performance or event). The fleet is four cars from his own collection, and weddings are one of the main occasions they are booked for.

The name explains itself on the homepage. In Cuba, the site says, anyone can ride every day in beautiful, aged classic cars, and cubataxi wants to offer the same in Switzerland. On the about page Giesen tells the story in the first person: cars have been on his mind since childhood; he became an optician by profession, but "nach wie vor ist mir die Optik unserer Fahrzeuge sehr viel wichtiger" (the look of our cars still matters far more to me), a pun on his trade. With his partner he has collected old cars for 10 years, and they like to take them on long trips through Europe, from Wales to Greece. On several trips to Cuba, without their own cars, he saw how many old cars were still in everyday traffic, and decided to found cubataxi.

The four cars

The homepage introduces each car with a line of its own:

• Chevrolet Delray, 1958. The site notes that this Delray was built only in 1958 and is therefore very rare. It is the big American V8 of the group; the homepage suggests simply cruising around with a V8 as one reason to book.
• Volvo Amazon 122 S, 1962. As with the Beetle and the bus, the site says, people very often react to the Volvo with „oh wie schön der ist , so einen hatte ich auch mal“ (oh, how lovely it is, I used to have one of those).
• VW Käfer 1200, 1971. Described as the total opposite of the Delray: built around 22 million times worldwide, and so for many people it was once a member of the family.
• VW Bus T2a, 1971. "Wer kennt ihn nicht, den Hippiebus" (who doesn't know it, the hippie bus).

Each has its own detail page. The site does not publish seat counts, so a couple should check how many people each car carries; the Delray and the bus are the obvious choices for more than two passengers, but that is a question to confirm, not a given.

What cubataxi offers for a wedding

The homepage lists what the cars can do: a shuttle service with all the vehicles, planning a themed drive ("Erlebnisfahrt"), or completing an event or wedding. The cars can also be booked for a photo shoot or a video shoot. The site's own list of occasions includes team events, wedding drives, birthday rounds, a marriage proposal or just a cruise in the V8, and it ends with "...und alles was Euch einfällt..." (and anything else you can think of). For each, the business promises "ein individuelles Angebot" (an individual offer).

The wording "Oldtimervermietung und Chauffeurservice" covers both hire and chauffeured drives, but the site does not say which cars can be driven by the customer, or on what conditions. For a wedding the chauffeured drive is the natural choice, and a couple who would like to drive should ask directly.

The gallery on the about page shows the cars at real weddings over several years: a wedding convoy ("Hochzeitskonvoi"), a wedding drive in the Beetle in 2017 (with an interior view), a wedding drive in the Chevy, weddings in 2018 and 2020, a wedding photo shoot in 2020, a wedding shoot with the Volvo Amazon, and the Beetle decorated for a wedding. Other photos show camping in Ticino in 2017, the top of the Nufenen pass in 2017 under the caption "Alpenglühn mit 34 PS" (alpenglow with 34 horsepower), a US car meeting in Hinwil in 2018 and the cars at a drive-in cinema.

Partners

A partner page lists other suppliers, several of them in the wedding trade. They include the aperolino food truck for birthdays, weddings and company events; the bridal and formalwear shops Chez Janine and Gina's Sposa; DJ Tomahawk; the film production company NETZWERKFILMS; Würzers Blumendeko for flowers; the Photobus, a photo booth in a VW bus; a wedding photographer network and a wedding venue platform; Nostalgie Messerli; and Oldie-Tours Zürisee AG, which also takes people to their destination in period style. These are links to separate businesses, not services cubataxi provides itself, but they show a business that is part of the local wedding scene.

Booking and contact

Contact is by phone on +41 (0)78 77 87 944, by an email address that the site hides from spam robots, or by the contact form. The form asks for the start and end date of the event and the type of event, with options including Hochzeit (wedding), Shuttle Service, Fotoshooting, Videodreh, Eventfahrt, Geburtstag, Gutschein (a gift voucher), Oldtimertreffen (classic-car meeting) and Anderes (other). Vouchers can be requested through the form too, which makes a drive a possible wedding gift from friends. The footer links to the company's AGB (general terms).

What the site does not settle

The site publishes no prices, no minimum hire period, and no terms for fuel, insurance, deposits or cancellation on its main pages; the AGB may cover some of this. It does not state seat counts or say how far from Gossau the cars travel. It is written in German, in a friendly informal tone, and does not say whether English is spoken. For a couple planning from abroad, a short email or form message in simple German or English, giving the date, the places and the number of passengers, is the way to start.

Who it suits

cubataxi suits a couple marrying in the Zurich Oberland or around Zurich who want character rather than a formal limousine: an American fifties car, a Swedish sixties classic, or one of the two VWs many guests will remember from childhood. With four cars, it can also run a small convoy or a shuttle for the wedding party. It suits less well a couple who want published prices and fixed packages, or who need guaranteed modern comfort on a long drive. Those who like the idea of a car with a story, owned by someone who clearly loves it, will find that is exactly what cubataxi is.