Time Capsules on Wheels

American classic cars in Cuba are like time capsules on wheels, taking you back to when Cuba had a passion for American cars. Cuba’s love affair with the American automobile dates back to 1919 as the top Latin importer of U.S. made cars. American brands such as Ford, Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Dodge and Chrysler were the most popular. Usually cars were taken to U.S. southern ports and then shipped to the Port of Havana.

But in 1959 all that changed when the United States embargo against Cuba was imposed and all imports from America stopped. Cuban streets were frozen in time with their “Carros Classicos Americanos.” Cuba became a living museum for classic American cars – the kind the grandparents of millennials used to drive. 

These cars have become essential means of transportation for the residents. You’ll find taxi drivers/owners in a 1954 Chevrolet Bel-Air; in the United States a Chevy like this one in mint restored condition could fetch upwards to $80,000. In 1954 a middle-class Cuban might have purchased this car for $2,000 or even less.

Most of the younger taxi drivers are now second-generation and driving vintage American classic cars as a taxi service. It’s what brings in the family income and most likely their biggest asset so they need to keep it in tip-top shape. 

Carros Classicos Americanos are perhaps the strongest example of Cuban resilience. Car parts cannot be imported from the United States so drivers have become very ingenious in keeping these iconic beauties running. Today there are an estimated 60,000 Carros Classicos Americanos left in Cuba and they are kept running with parts from old Russian or Chinese engines.

The Famous American writer, Ernest Hemingway, lived in Havana for twenty years and had seven cars; a gray 1940 Buick Sedan Coupe convertible; a black 1941 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet; a gray 1941 Plymouth Deluxe Special Wagon, and a blue 1947 Buick Super RoadMaster convertible. He also had a 1950 Buick Super Station Wagon, a yellow 1953 Plymouth Cranbrook convertible, and a luxurious red and white 1955 Chrysler New Yorker. All were left behind.

In 2011, his last car, 1955 Chrysler was found in near-derelict condition in Cuba. According to Car Talk, it is getting restored and since the U.S. still maintains its embargo on Cuba, it will be a long and tough job to pull this off.

Even if you are not a fan of classic cars, Cuba might be the place to travel back in time and be driven around Havana in a restored American “1950s old clunker.”  

Photographer and Marco resident, Jim Robellard, who traveled to Havana and shared these photos, expressed concern for these classic cars. Now that Cuba is opening up and more efficient cars are being imported from other countries – many fear that these classic automobile icons might slowly fade from Cuba’s landscape.