29 January 2014

Dacia 1410 lui Nicu Ceausescu? / Nicu Ceausescu's Dacia 1410?

Recent a aparut pe un site romanesc da vanzari o Dacie 1410 care ar fi apartinut lui Nicu Ceausescu. Anuntul arata o Dacia destul de prapadita, dintr-o serie destul de rara: ultima serie care inca era pe vechiul plafon de 1300, cu aerisirea stil vechi, dar cu botul si spatele in stilul Daciilor de serie din perioada 1985-1992. Aceste modele - din care unul apare in filmul "Raliul"(1984) - au fost destinate pentru export, ajungand, printre altele, in RFG si Canada. Busonul de alimentare deasupra aripii stanga-spate, si semnalizatoarele montate pe aripi, dovedesc ca e vorba de o Dacie destinata pentru Canada, cum se vede in poza 5, care arata o Dacie din aceste serii. Culoarea (daca e originala) e, din nou, neobisnuita pentru epoca. Putem constata ca e vorba de o Dacie destul de speciala.

Aici ne ivim de doua probleme. Prima, vanzatorul a vrut sa dovedeasca primul proprietar prin postand carta de identitate. Iese ca Dacia fusese inmatriculata pe numarul 1-B-188 - foarte bine - iar proprietarul este un "Ceausescu Nicu" nascut pe 17 februarie 1948. Dar nu Nicu, ci fratele sau Valentin, fusese nascut pe acea data. Iar in anii 80, niciunul din ei nu locuia in vila de pe Primverii: Nicu era pe Cosmonautului, Valentin pe Brincutei si apoi Batistei. Deci raman cateva dubii asupra autenticitatii. Desigur, este posibil ca, in confuzia postdecembrista, sa se fi strecurat unele greseli pe C.I.V...

A doua problema: pretul. Se cere 10,000 Euro pentru ce este o Dacie - desi una rara - intr-o stare precara. Chiar cu provenienta Ceausestilor, e cu un 0 prea mult. Ca fapt de referinta, recent se vindea o Dacie similara (pozele 6,7) cu 2500 lei (550 Eur), iar un 1301 veritabil cu 2000 lei (440). Ambele in stare de circulatie.

E fantastic ca a supravieutit o Dacie cu istorie interesanta. Dar nu asa salvam istoria!

Recently, on a Romania site there has appeared a Dacia 1410 purporting to be Nicu Ceausescu's old car. The ad shows a fairly tired Dacia from a rare series: the last to use the old 1300 bodyshell, but with the front and back of the normal Dacias of 1985-1992. These models - one of which appeared in the 1984 film "The Rally" - were destined for export, notably in West Germany and Canada. The fuel filler on the wing shows this to be a Canada model, as shown in photo 5. The colour, if it is original, is also very unusual for the year. So it's a special car.

But there are two problems. First, the owner wanted to show the car's authenticity; so he posted the car's ID paper. The former plate is 1-B-188 - which is the kind of small number to have been issued to a senior Communist - and the owner is a "Ceausescu Nicu" born on 17 February 1948. But Nicu wasn't born on that date: that was his brother Valentin. And, in the 80s, neither lived in the Ceausescu villa on Primaverii street: Nicu was on Cosmonautului street and Valentin on Brancutei street, then Batistei street. So there are doubts as to authenticity. Of course, it's entirely possible that mistakes were made in the post-revolutionary confusion...

The second problem is the price. The seller wants 10,000 Euros for what is essentially a knackered Dacia, albeit a rare one. Even with the Ceausescu provenance, it's ten times too much. By comparison a very similar Dacia was recently for sale for 2500 lei (550 Euros), and a real 1301 for 200 lei (440 Euros) - both in running order.

I'm delighted that a special-order Dacia survives. But this isn't how to save history!





 
 

19 January 2014

Album interbelic / Inter-war album

O arhiva deosebita de fotografii din colectia Julia Tarbay, aratand masinile unei familii instarite din Alba Iulia si Cluj in anii 20, 30 si 40. Foto via fortepan.hu.

A superb collection of pictures from the collection of Julia Tarbay, showing the vehicles of a well-off family from Alba Iulia and Cluj in the interwar period. Photos via fortepan.hu.

Ford T in 1924

Ford T in 1924

De Soto 1929 in 1930

Camioane Laffly, circa 1930

Moto Diamant in 1930

Nash (1929) in 1933

De Soto (1929) in 1933

Dodge in 1935 la Bicaz

Cu De Soto in 1936

De Soto in 1936

Cu un Dodge 1935 in 1938






In 1940, masina americana

Camion in 1941: Opel Blitz, cred






Moto Ariel, 1942

Tanc, 1937

 

La garaj, 1941, cu un Buick si un autobuz de Bontida

2 January 2014

Dat in judecata despre un Aero / Sued over an Aero

In Monitorul Oficial din 1946 se vorbeste despre o disputa intre doi bucuresteni referitor la un Aero decapotabil. Din pacate detaliile sunt neclare iar cine stie ce s-a ales de cei doi participanti. In 1949 aflam ca se nationalizeaza un depou cosmetic la Bucuresti, proprietatea unui Iosif Markovitz, iar in acelasi an se confica si conacul Marcovici de la Budeasa, judetul Arges. De Robert Korn nu am aflat nimic.

In the official Romanian records of 1946 there is a mention of a legal dispute over the sale of a convertible Aero. Sadly, the details are unclear and it is not known what happened to the protagonists. In 1949, a depot of cosmetic goods in Bucharest belonging to a Iosi Markvitz was nationalised; also confiscated that year was the Marovitz estate in Budeasa, Arges. Robert Korn has vanished without trace.

Iar de masina? Greu de spus, dar recunosc ca la capitolul Aero in Romania nu sunt deloc expert! Cert este ca au existat destule (si modelele 30 si 50), si inca mai exista, inclusive fosta masina regala. Mai jos, am adaugat cam toate imaginile pe care le-am salvate cu Aero-uri decapotabile care au existat in Romania. Ar fi foarte frumos daca vreun cititor ar avea mai multe informatii referitor la Aero-ul cu numarul de motor 50157 care a fost, odata, inmatriculat 9728-B. 
 
But what of the car? Difficult to say although others know far more about Aeros in Romania! Certainly there were plenty, both 30 and 50 models being represented on the street. A few survive including the former royal car in Prahova. I have listed below all the photos I have of convertible Aeros which existed in Romania. It would be amazing if a reader would have more information about the Aero with engine number 50157 which was once registered 9728-Bucharest.
 

Astazi B-38-AER, perfect restaurant

50 in 1940

Astazi pe sasiu de VW Beetle (!)



Masina regelui Mihai, astazi la Ploiesti

Cabriolet in Brasov in anii 50

 
 
Un 50, in regiunea Ploiesti in 1958

30. In Bucuresti in 1941
 
50, cu roti si motor de ... Ford T

Alt 50 in 2005