When I was there I saw way more ladas and russian cars then I did the old ones

As with translating, often people who know a little about another language, will translate something, often with laughable results.

Instead of finding a native speaker, they will cut corners and use someone who thinks they know the other language.

Thus it is with these cars. It is obvious that the author knows only a little about these vehicles. Why not find someone who lived during the '50's in the U.S. who can positively identify the cars and their years, and lend some credibility to the story?

Shoddy journalism.

Obviously either the photographer or the author of this article knows nothing about American cars from the '50's. Out of 20 pictures, they got maybe 6 correct! Do you want them identified?

Aside from not knowing the cars, the writer seems to know nothing of the restrictions on and appropriations of American cars by the Cuban government. With all the photos coming from stock agencies one has to assume that the writer has never even been to Cuba.

OK, here's how it works with cars in Cuba.
If you were a car owner when the revolution happened it was NOT confiscated. You got to keep it and you could sell it privately. That's why you see thousands of pre 1959 autos running around Cuba. Many of them have been creatively modified ('58 Chevy with a Lada engine, why not?). These cars can be bought and sold with little government interferance, other than the usual red tape (ahem).
You also see many Lada's from the Russian period. These cars all technically belong to the government and, along with any post revolution vehicles, have to be earned by good behaviour and time put in on waiting lists. For example, if you were a doctor and you worked in another country earning hard currency for the Cuban government, you would move up the list.
Finally my fellow readers, should your government allow you the freedom to travel wherever you want and you were to travel to Cuba you might be surprised by the number of late model European vehicles. I'm talking Benz's, BMW's as well as various more mundane makes. But no American cars, natch.
Which brings up a point; the Cuban government may ease restrictions on private car ownership but the fact is the official government wage for everybody is less than the average American cell phone bill.
So it's unlikely that our Cuban comrades will rush out and buy new Peugeot 207's anytime soon; they just don't have the money. If more new cars do appear they'll most likely go to people who can get money from relatives in Florida. Everyone else will just have to wait for the effects of Cuban style trickle down automotive economics.
So those old American cars will be around for a while yet.

That's an Oldsmobile, not a Chevy. It says so right on the grill. Can you read?

And if the other one is a '59 Chevy, I'll eat my hat.

But the Plymouths are correctly identified. We had one of those. Beauty!

I don't know exactly what year the "Chevy on the dump heap" is, but it ain't 1959! My family owned one of these beauties (a Bel Air model to be specific) and the junk on the heap in this photo is NOT a 1959. (It may be, judging from the smoothed fins, a 1949.

Nice-looking photos. Here's my list:

#2: 1956 Buick, I think.

#4: It's a Chevy, but it looks like a 1950 model. May be a '51. Easier to tell from the front.

#5. '53 Buick. A Special, I think.

#8: '57 Olds

#10: Olds, a '54 I think.

#12: Looks more like a Chevy than a Plymouth.

#14: '58 Chevy

#18: Pontiac. '54, I think.

#20 '58 Chevy.

Salvador Allende was deposed and killed on September 11th, not on the 10th, as is written in the caption above.

I along with alot of other posters noted that you should have had someone doing this article that knew makes of American cars. Most were identified wrong. That being said. I worked with several Cubans who got to leave and moved to Kentucky. The things they could do to keep cars on the road was awesome! Make brake fluid out of tree sap, Put a foreign 4 cly. engine into a 56 Chevy Impala. One guy, who was actually a "Doctor" in Cuba, made $25.00 a month! (didn't even qualify as a nurses aide here, and had to go to school for it ) Needed a battery, and adapted a 24 volt Russian tank battery to his 58 Chevy. Said he put it in the trunk. Had to put an extra leafspring or three on the rear to level it. Just imagine what they could if they had access to Duct tape!

I am from cuba, nice cars, thanks for sharing.In Cuba today, one in eight cars is a pre-1960s American brand ­ Ford, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Chrysler, Packard and other classic models.The classic American cars in use on the streets of Cuba have exceeded their Detroit manufacturers’ intended design life by four, five, six, even seven times. In a country where the embargo makes U.S.-made parts nearly impossible to obtain, Cuban mechanics must improvise every tool and hand-make every part, and sheer skill and ingenuity keep the fleet running. The cars are cherished and cared for like an old friend as they pass from generation to generation. From Videos cristianos to Santiago de Cuba, young men cruise with a spectacle to match the showgirls who perform at Havana’s famous night-spots. And on the street corners, the age-old American debate continues ­ which is the better car, Ford or Chevy?

Thanks for sharing, I love Havana - Nice cars, but I like better the motorcycle and the taxi bike. After visiting the place and speaking with people the cars we see in the pictures seem to have no connection to any of the American brands:­ Ford, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Chrysler and any other classic models. Some of them are made of wires and wood and still manage to move.

I am glad you have posted these photos. They are great pictures of Cuba awakening the traveler feelings. I am ready again and will start packing soon after I'll practice my easy Spanish lessons.

I find it interesting how other countries treat U.S. made cars. There is almost a sort of reverence in the style we've abandoned 30 years ago. As if they're stuck in the past, trying to catch up to our standard of life. The juxtaposition of the bike and old used Cadillac truly portray how the country is being run. The new with the old; a weird blend of the past and present. Yet slowly, but surely, the modernized world is making it's impact on the rustic cultures around the globe. Sadly, cherished traditions and these spectacularly unique lifestyles, are being replaced with the bland indifference of modern technology.

60,000 pre-1960 American autos really are roaming Cuba. Around 150,000 existed during the time of the 1959 revolution, soon after which the Detroit automobile titans and all sorts of United States suppliers were made to cease transmitting goods, services, and money transfers to Cuba to abide by the United States' embargo. Motion pictures concerning Cuba such as "Buena Vista Social Club" transform the jalopies into items of nostalgia by panning adoringly on a wheel-less Chrysler here or maybe a Plymouth delayed within vehicular traffic there. But to get dewy-eyed around aged American cars in Cuba is to become fanciful about our trade embargo on the island.

These cars all technically belong to the government and, along with any post revolution vehicles, have to be earned by good behaviour and time put in on waiting lists. For example, if you were a doctor and you worked in another country earning hard currency for the Cuban government, you would move up the list.Finally my fellow readers,Amazon Affiliate should your government allow you the freedom to travel wherever you want and you were to travel to Cuba you might be surprised by the number of late model European vehicles. I'm talking Benz's, BMW's as well as various more mundane makes. But no American cars, natch.