Wow! Look at that Olds!A vintage 1950s Oldsmobile on the streets is a real headturner--for Americans at least. And now for a few images of one of the things Cuba is most famous for--no not cigars--vintage Amercan cars!  Cars are the one thing I have been asked about more than anything else--especially by American males of a certain age.

I am old enough to remember the great American cars of the 1950s and early 1960s, especially the Chevys with fins, the two-tone roadsters, and the DeSotos with grills that looked like the mustached face of a 1940s male film star. Like most people in the states, I have seen these more recently in movies like "American Grafitti," and at car shows and local rallys.  Current cars certainly have more bells and whistles than the older cars, but the cars of the 1950s and early 1960s were creations that captured the heart of many a young man, including me.

Cadi-Taxi!!This vintage green Cadillac looks like it has its original paint, and is still going strong as a taxi. What a tribute to both American and Cuban ingenuity

Thus seeing them driving around in Cuba was a shocker, even though I was expecting them. Perhaps was really surprised me was 1) seeing so many of them every place I went, because for some strange reason I thought I would only see them in Havana; 2) seeing so many that looked like clunkers, but they are still on the road, working as taxis, or are personal vehicles, in people's yard or garage being work on, painted, or modified.

I have to give the Cubans credit. They have a genius for keeping these cars going. They scavenge or make the parts they need, use whatever paint they can get (sky blue is very popular), and even switch out old gasoline engines for more-available diesel engines.  The Cuban are very proud of their cars--and they deserve to be. It was a strange--but pleasureable--sensation for me to ride around for two hours in a brick red Chevy convertible roadster that was built a year before I was born. Close inspection of the car by an expert would no doubt reveal many inaccurate details on trim, etc.--the radio was, in fact, replaced by a digital one with a thumb drive--but so what? At least it was on the road.

You would think that these cars would be sold off for a fortune to the US, but apparently the Cuban government has declared them to be part of the nation's heritage and not eligible for sale off the island. I do not agree with the Cuban government on much, but I can see their point on this one. If they allowed people to sell their cars to rich Americans and Europeans, they would lose a major tourist attraction at a time when the government is strongly encouraging tourists to visit Cuba. Perhaps the Cuban government has decided that capitalism is not necessarily a bad thing after all.....!   Love that Chevy!!A vintage purple and white Chevrolet captured near the Malecon in Havana, with a lime green Fod next to it.