American Cars in Cuba

Photos of Cuba often show pre-1960 American cars, and one is led to believe that a few dozen are kept around Havana for the amusement of visitors. Not so, we discovered. Thousands of old cars are used every day, and the bulk of them are in some stage of disrepair or cannibalization. Below are a few.

I owned a 1956 Mercury like the one seen in the distance from the bus window. Mine was a four-door phaeton, and salmon and white, instead of the green and white of this sedan.

A disproportionate number of the old cars are Chevrolets like this 1950 example; they were the best-sellers of their time, and perhaps later replacement parts were more available .

 

 

 

 

Here is a 1951 Ford

Behind it a 1959 Plymouth

And behind it a 1946 Mercury

 As part of our tour, the twelve members of our group were ferried to a restaurant in four restored Chevrolets.

a 1955 model

one of the two 1956 models

we rode in the 1959 sedan

Most of the cars in better shape are said to have been retrofitted with Toyota engines (one of the restored 1956 Chevrolets even seemed to be powered by a diesel), but some of those in worst repair are followed down the road by plumes of blue smoke, and obviously are making do with the original power plants.