A living museum of Motown golden oldies.

We're talking Cuba, of course, where Raul Castro's regime has just lifted the decades' old ban on the sale of cars. Cuba was the largest importer of U.S. cars prior to the 1959 revolution, after which Motown was prevented by a continuing U.S. blockade from selling vehicles there.

 

Newlyweds pose in a 1958 Edsel on the Havana waterfront, February 2008.

There remain about 150,000 pre-1960 Caddies, Chevies, Plymouths, Buicks, Packards and other U.S.-made cars in Cuba, ownership of which is restricted to VIPs including doctors, artists and athletes who've worked abroad. For all the famed ingenuity of Cuban mechanics in keeping these vehicles roadworthy, Cubans would like to someday drive cars made in this century.

Foreign Policy's photo gallery of Cuba's U.S. clunkers is here.

 

A 1950s Buick cruising downtown Havana, May 2004.

A 1953 Buick passes a billboard featuring former Chilean president Salvador Allende. The sign reads, "Salvador Allende, present in today's struggle," marking the 30th anniversary of his death, Sept. 10, 2003.  

 

A late-1950s Buick travels the Havana coastline, Nov. 16, 2008.  

 

(Photos: Getty Images)

 

 

Comments

[Wascally Wabbit]

It's a funny coincidence David - in this part of the world - many of my neighbours have real old cars - of that kind of vintage - lovingly restored by the same auto mechanic - and his brother who help keep my old vehicle running.
My next door neighbour has an old Buick pretty much the same year and model as the one in your last photo.

[dolive]

And there's a reason: Those vehicles are gorgeous. They're also of historic importance - this is part of the evolution of a central part of the way of life in N.A.
You look at these '56 Chevies with their super-abundance of steel, their stadium-sized back seats, all that chrome, and you can readily see how impractical they'd be today, especially in built-up areas with small parking spaces, and all the energy consumed in the steel versus today's composites.
Still, they evoke a more carefree time (largely imagined) and an exuberance of style. And, who knows, someone from the movies may call on you to rent them for film set in the 50s to defray your restoration expenses.