Cars in Cuba


      For those of us who remember the big American cars of the late 1940s and then the 1950s, Cuba is like stepping back to that era. Everywhere you go are these great old cars - they must have astounding mileages on them! And in one of history's ironies, these American cars help to date Cuba's political life. The 1st USA trade embargo against Cuba was in 1960, then 1962 and several more layers since. So other than rental cars, it is rare to find USA cars newer than 1960. Most car are used as cabs as I believe Cubans cannot own private autos for pleasure use only.
      This page will feature some pictures of cars we have seen as well as photos taken by others. All the pictures are thumbnails of larger pictures. To see the larger picture, left mouse click and then press the Back button to return. Hint: You will notice that the mouse pointer changes from an arrow to a hand when moved over any picture that can be enlarged.

Latest update is November 5, 2008

Way Back When Big American Cars Were "In"

   1948 Ford? Don't see many of these any more and in the USA and Canada, many have been converted into hotrods.   1950 Dodge? I can remember a friend of mine painting his car with house paint and paintbrush. Funny, it looked just like a car painted with house paint and a paintbrush... But then if you don't have a lot of money and your car needs painting!

  1953 Buick, perhaps a Dynamic model. This particular car, which I photographed in Varadero, was in quite good condition.


   1954 Chevrolet. Many older cars park in front of the (former?) legislative building in Havana where these cars are available as taxis or for tours. You can see other fine examples in the background.
  1955 Buick Special. Again in front of the legislative building. You can see the '54 Chev in the background.


  1955 Dodge Custom Royal. Two views of this fine example of a "better" Dodge model. The automatic version of this car had the shifter mounted on the dash.

   





  1955 DeSoto convertible. This is a fine example of a rare car. In Canada, these cars were rare even when they were new.
  1956 Chevrolet Belair. In the USA and Canada, the '55 to '57 Chevs remain the most popular of this American standby.


  1955 Mercury. A Varadero car, not in the best condition, but still original.
  1955 Mercury. This example was parked on a side street in Havana.



  Unknown car, I think it's British from the '50s.

  Another unknown car, and again I think it's British from the '50s.
  1957 Buick Super. Very nice example of a great Buick 4 door hardtop. Buick made several models in 1957; Special, Century, Super and Roadmaster. So in its day, this was a fully loaded car.

  A 1920's Ford in great condition.

   1954 Oldsmobile. Don't see many of these fine cars even in Canada.

   1955 Plymouth. This car looks to be in excellent condition. Probably more than 400,000 miles on the odometer...

Above 3 pictures by Gerrit Olthof

Unless otherwise noted, photos by Phil and Denis
Please forward corrections, additions comments or suggestions to   phlatlanders