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555329_110415_cubacarsPA12.jpg

Buena Vista Auto Club

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555329_110415_cubacarsPA12.jpg

Cubans love American cars. And they have lots of them -- Cadillacs and Chevys, Edsels and Packard. Following the 1959 revolution, all American manufacturers had to stop sending their cars to Cuba as part of the U.S. embargo. Before the revolution, Cuba was the largest importer of American cars. To this day, only cars bought before the revolution can be freely bought and sold in Cuba. Today, there are about 150,000 pre-1960 American cars on Cuban roads. And Cuban mechanics have become legendary for their innovation, swapping in diesel tractor engines, jerry-rigging spare parts, all in the name of keeping them rolling.

Above, a Cuban family rides a motorbike alongside an old 50s-era American car on Havana's coastal Malecon highway in April 2003.

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An early 1950s Buick speeds through the Havana streets.

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A just-married couple poses for photographs in a 1958 Ford Edsel near Havana's waterfront in February 2008.

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Scrounged for parts, the shell of a Lincoln is left to rust on the streets of Havana.

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A late 1950s Chevy drives along the Havana coastline on Nov. 16, 2008.

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In Havana, a 1953 Buick passes by a billboard featuring former Chilean President Salvador Allende. It says: "Salvador Allende, present in today's battles," marking the 30th anniversary of his death, on Sept. 10, 2003.

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An early 1930s Ford on the cobblestone streets of Trinidad, Cuba, in February 2006.

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Tourists visiting Cuba see the sights from vintage American cars on Aug. 26, 2010.

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A Plymouth has some engine trouble as raging seas pound the Malecon wall in February 2003, in Havana.

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