(Updated 12/2/2025) Back in 2017 I was lucky enough to visit Cuba. I have hundreds of photos, so we will split this into three parts to share some of the best of them. First up is the old American iron, as this is what Cuba is perhaps most famous for.
A well worn 1958 Dodge Kingsway in Havana during our day trip to that city.
Classic ’54 Chevy in Varadero, Cuba.
1955 Dodge Custom Royal which is a trim line on the Lancer. A Lada lurks nearby.
A 1955 Buick sedan spotted from the bus. Almost every passenger vehicle is a taxi or for hire car in Cuba especially the classics. Most are re-powered by alternative engines, often a diesel.
1951 Chevrolet four door sedan with roof rack and unique two tone paint.
A 1950s Ford with what looks like a Russian grill, perhaps from a Chaika.
Havana has wonderful old buildings as well as cars.
How about a 1957 Ford with two tone paint? A modern Suzuki Jimny is visible behind it.
A 1956 Buick Special, also with a two tone paint scheme, in Varadero.
Studebaker Champion Starlight coupe in less than perfect shape but still on the road. It is rare to see a two door likely because they make less practical taxis.
A 1956 Ford sedan in good condition.
Bright colors are common, as with this 1947 Chevrolet convertible at the front of a taxi line-up. There were a few Ford Model replicas cars as seen at the end of this line.
A 1954 Chevrolet near the Malecon in Havana.
1956 Oldsmobile sedan.
1955 Pontiac sedan in purple. Cubans certainly prefer the brighter hues.
An older Plymouth in front of a Lada.
Here is a choice of taxis including a 1956 Ford station wagon. The other two are modern Chinese offerings.
A 1952 Chevrolet station wagon likely on an alternative chassis.
Back in Havana, a 1949-1952 Pontiac convertible despite the Oldsmobile badge. Interesting hub caps on this one.
1959 Plymouth in pink.
Modified 1940s Chevrolet?
1955 Mercury convertible.
Beefy underpinnings on this Chevrolet panel van.
Some cars are even painted in traditional taxi yellow.
We hired this 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air and its driver for the day to take us to Havana.
The Chevrolet was in great shape and while it was not noticeable until he turned it on, the mechanical bits were all diesel Toyota Hilux including the manual column shift. The car rode and performed well all day long.
The three part Cuba series:
Thanks for the interesting pictures, my guess that in a few years time most of them will be sold. Or at least not in use as taxis.
Surprised to see a 50s Austin Cambridge taxi next to the pink 58 Plymouth. Did not know British cars were on Cuba as well.
Just wait for part three … there is more like the Cambridge.
The 56 Dodge is my favourite.
Next to that 56 Ford Wagon, the yellow taxi looks an awful lot like a modern Cadillac.
Great shots, great weather! I imagine they get regular rain there, so these cars have held up well.
That yellow taxi is a Geely Emgrand, a 1.8 liter car with a very nice design in my opinion. It’s sold very poorly in Uruguay, so much so that it came as a larger car costing as a mid size car and ended up selling as a small car. And resale is not only at a low price, but also very difficult.
I drove one of them and rode in another. Ride is nice, drive feeling is not, quite noisy and not tight. Nevertheless, Geely bought Volvo and Emgrand current models are very different and seemingly modern and safe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emgrand_EC7
Actually the yellow Geely is an Emgrand EC8, which is a reverse-engineered version of Toyota Camry XV40, equipped with 2.0 or 2.4 L4. The successor of EC8 is Geely Borui whose foreign model name is Emgrand GT which took over the 2.4.
The EC8 sold terribly bad even in its home. It was the flagship of Geely Automobile in 2011-2016, so the managers had to ride on them. The Geely plant I used to work in had a fleet of them in front of the administration building.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emgrand_EC8
Sounds like a lot of higher rank Chinese social elites have to put up with those sedans ( picture in wikipedia seems to suggest it’s for some international conference )
Probably it makes the government more determined to persuade the Chinese automakers to engineer some better ones
We are not that communism though, individuals have the freedom about car brands…
Only the government fleet and taxi, they are recommended to support the local plant, whether a domestic brand or a joint venture.
Wow, very cool, and they (mostly) appear to be in quire good condition, at least cosmetically. Cuba would appear to be quite the David Saunders ultimate automotive garage playground, if only the cars were all smaller and more foreign…You’ve found your people! 🙂
For the smaller and foreign just wait until Thursday …
Cuba was fantastic. I absolutely love it. The old cars and buildings were amazing. The people are friendly and laid back. Probably the safest place in the world.
I visited twice and agree, very safe and amazing people. I want to go more often. The mountains and tobacco farmers are amazing, gorgeous country and very affordable.
Great collection! Cuba is a great place for car buffs to visit, however don’t expect many original drive trains. The US embargo has meant that most repairs are done with eastern European spare parts.
Photos remind me of the book “Cars of Cuba”.
The cars, the architecture–beautiful! If the embargo is lifted, will all the old cars be crushed, and the crumbling but irreplaceable old buildings leveled to make way for casinos, Starbucks, and Walmart?
It would probably open the door to reproduction and salvage parts, and original style drive trains from the US.
Crushed and torn down? Certainly not. These cars (and buildings) are key tourist attractions, and will continue to be so, for a very long time. There might be a Starbucks in a restored building, but they won’t get torn down. Do you think old European city centers tear down their historic buildings?
No, only us stupid Americans do that. If Havana were an American city, it would probably be all steel, glass, and highways (Miami, Houston); or gutted by urban renewal and abandonment (Newark, Detroit). Even Canada’s Toronto used to be quaint and European before the skyscrapers took over.
If anyone can’t make the trip to Cuba, there are lots of other great books on Havana’s splendid architecture and fascinating old cars. Maybe I’ll ask for one this Christmas.
But it’s not an American city. And if the embargo is lifted, that won’t exactly be the same as annexing Cuba, eh?
And urban renewal mostly happened a long time ago. And American cities are celebrating their most historic quarters these days, as they are a draw.
Tourism is by far the #1 industry in Cuba, and its priceless old buildings and cars are a key part of the attraction. Cuba already spends as much as it can afford (very little) to preserve its best architecture.
Neither will go away, I can assure you.
Well, that’s good news!
I gotta stick up for Houston! We do have some classic old buildings, much more than Phoenix, where I also used to live.
Exactly, Cuba will never be like us.
Old buildings are usually much better for taking pictures of than for living in.
I wonder how they get their parts support?
Does anyone know more of the purported Mercedes 300SL that is abandoned in Cuba?
In some cases parts were made locally. Others are shipped in from Mexico.
Very refreshing! That Forward Look Plymouth in particular strikes my fancy. Of all the Latin American countries, for many years now, Cuba has been on my list of places I’d like to visit for the cultural experience.
Wowzers. I know the general vibe is to keep those cars in good shape but I honestly expected more rust and sun damage, considering Havana’s environment. What was the general state of automotive neglect, where seen, if any?
There are several categories of condition. There are top tiers cars for tourists like the ’57 Chevy we rode in are in prime condition then there are a number that are bondo buckets held together with bailing wire and a prayer.
I am not a pink car guy, but that 59 Plymouth Fury was a favorite of mine.
The Studebaker has had some serious hacksaw work done on the B pillar – I wonder of they were trying to accommodate a roll-down rear window for the backseat passengers. Those Starlights with the fixed wrapped glass could not have been the most comfy place to be on a sweltering day.
I was wondering about that and I think you are probably right. Those pre-AC Studebaker Starlights wouldn’t be very good in summer anywhere. Not a well thought out style.
I have childhood back seat experience in a regular Studebaker two door. The windows didn’t roll down all the way but were down as far as they went a lot of the time in Northeast US summers.
Great photographs, thanks for posting for us.
I really wonder how long it is technically POSSIBLE to keep such vintage cars alive as daily driver. Maybe we will never know,but if we get to know it, the answer will come out of Cuba.
A surprising number of Buicks as well as their Pontiac and Olds cousins.
I’ve seen various documentaries on Cuban cars, including “clarkson’s motor world”. The Cubans are bush mechanics par excellence, using whatever is to hand to keep vehicles mobile. Need a new fender? They fashion one by hand with the roof panel of a scrap car. They made their own brake fluid with alcohol, shampoo and brown sugar. Gas is stupidly expensive and parts unavailable so worn out V8s got replaced by much smaller soviet era Lada and Moskvitch engines, then as those wore out, Japanese Diesel engines. They also use industrial diesel generator/irrigation pump engines to power cars if they have to. If an axle breaks, you just modify one from a completely different car to fit, just using whatever is available. It keeps the car mobile, but virtually nothing in Cuba is original.
A heavenly assortment of both cars and buildings. This post checked so many boxes for me… Looking forward to the next installment!
So many interesting things to see .
I wonder if I’ll ever get to travel there .
The ruined Mercedes SL300 has been found and photographed by a guy I know, sadly many others have copied his picture and claimed they found it .
Watermarks are important .
-Nate
It’s quite amazing how the innovative the Cubans have been to keep these vehicles running, and in great shape. Especially something like the ’57 Chevy with the Toyota truck diesel engine and manual column shift. That had to be quite a job to install that drivetrain.
Great post and photos, thanks for that.
Were exports cut off in ’59 or a little later?