The odd circumstances of Cuba’s relationship with the United States before the Revolution and the embargo after have left Cuba with a large number of fairly well-kept American dream cars of the mid -to-late 1950s.
Mostly in use as taxis, especially now in tourist areas, and often with bizarre modifications and newer Russian and Chinese engines under the hood, they are the ones that appear in all the articles and ads.
But, they are not alone. A significant number of even older cars are on the road, some of them in stunningly beautiful shape, and others, well… Here are some of the ones I’ve collected on two recent trips.
Near Plaza Dolores in the heart of Santiago, a 1939 Willys waits for customers. A make that disappeared long ago in the U.S. (but not without being the first post-war manufacturer of civilian Jeeps), it still has a few survivors. This one’s in Havana.
Other vanished American makes live on in Cuba, sometimes in truly odd configurations. Here’s a Studebaker, showing the early streamlined design by Raymond Loewy—but the Frankencar red station wagon certainly didn’t start out that way!
While most of the cars try to stay true to the original bodywork, there are a lot of strange modifications, using parts and panels that nearly fit, or are just made to, even if they come from another make. Any attempt to properly date this Ford is likely to fail; it contains parts from several years and makes.
For general comparison, here’s more Ford of the same period.
And here are a few more ‘turn-of-the-midcentury’ models that are mixed in with the flashier later ones. It was hard to keep from picking too many!
Slightly older, but one of the handsomest: a ’46 Chevy waiting on the docks at Santiago; it was keeping company with two somewhat newer and flashier cars, but they couldn’t compete.
And now for a few exotics: A long, lean Citroen from the 1930s
A Ford Model A of uncertain vintage (and stunning color)
And a Ford Prefect, an English model. This one may be from 1950, the first year the headlights were integrated into the front fenders. The grille, obviously, is home-made.
