Returning to Cuba after a six-year absence, I was surprised to see that many of the old cars from the 1940s and 1950s  were newly refurbished and being used as taxis and touring cars. I learned that their owners were now allowed to use them as commercial vehicles if they fixed them to certain standards. A number of the old cars are still in bad shape, but to see so many revitalized and brought back to life is good news for these iconic cars that have been a longtime symbol of Cuban society and culture.