Cuba-US relations: Vintage US cars on Havana's streets, icons of the trade embargo

President Barack Obama's surprise announcement that the United States would restore diplomatic relations with Cuba has led to hopes that the economic embargo that has been in place since 1962 will finally be lifted.

The vintage American automobiles that rattle down Havana's boulevards are one of the most visible signs of the trade embargo. The 1950s Oldsmobiles, Cadillacs and Studebakers have become icons. Until new regulations were put in place in 2011, people could only sell cars built before the 1959 revolution.

In this gallery, IBTimesUK looks at some of the vintage cars, long vanished from US streets, that can be seen on the road in Havana.