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'Yank tank', 'má quina' 'cacharro' and 'bartavia' are typically words used to illustrate the American classic cars in Cuba. It is the only place where history and circumstance have combined to enable a whole society to preserve these amazing autos and turn them in to a national treasure.

About 150, 000 classic cars existed when the 1959 Cuban Revolution in the event the U. S. imposed some sort of trade embargo on Cuba. After this, international trade was made very difficult, so the cars that were present at the time have been nurtured and cared for ever since.

In the 60, 000 classic vehicles in Cuba, about half are in the 50s, another 25 percent from the 40s and a similar number from the 30s. Brands include Chevrolet, Ford, Cadillac, Buick, Plymouth, Chrysler, Avoid, Willy's, Oldsmobile and De Soto - vintage models of all of these can be seen on Cuba's roads today.

Nostalgia

For a clash of cultures and ideologies, few experiences compare with that of rounding a corner inside heart of Old Havana using its crumbling baroque buildings and coming face to face with a gleaming 1955 Thunderbird that looks that it had just been driven heli-copter flight lot.

Cubans are increasingly aware of the value of vintage cars, particularly when visiting Americans become nostalgic concerning them. They realise that there is business to be created from hiring them out, and it is therefore possible for those on holiday to Cuba to hire out a classic car for the duration of their stay. Although there are more classic cars the united states overall, an American would have to go to Cuba to check out a concentration of that cars filling the streets being a snapshot of 50s USA become more active.

Cuba holiday makers feel they also have stepped into a time warp compared to that perhaps more innocent age, when Americans sported prim and proper outfits and forced shiny, sparkly-wheeled cars with brilliant colours with fins together with chrome bumpers. The cars made driving feel special. The size of them along with the comfort gave a calm feeling for quite a while when people were able to take their time and enjoy the good things within life.

Treatment & Attention

While classic cars continue to be used for daily transportation, often as taxis, they have also become cherished heirlooms handed down from generation to generation within families, in some cases going all the way back to the 30s.

Most owners of classic cars spend hours applying waxes and polishes and basking inside praise and admiration of passers-by. Some even reminisce about a time when their cars were new, and life itself seemed brighter and as inviting as an open highway.

To own one of these vintages defines who you will be, how you spend your time and how you want to be known, and Cubans goes to incredible lengths to remain their classic cars running. 1950's bumpers and tailpipes are generally recreated and myriad other parts are adapted. Steering wheels carved from wood, hub cabs made from aluminium cans and clear plastic sheets for windows are standard. While such shortcuts may be frowned upon in the united states, classic car lovers admire the Cubans' ingenuity and their capacity keep the cars going. American Classic CarsClassic Plymouth fans know that muscle cars from their favorite auto production company were known right from the start for their fancy-looking vehicles and their sportiness.