28 August 2024

Reclame auto "second hand" din presa comunista / Advertisements for second-hand vehicles in the Communist press

 Incepand cu anul 1966, mica publicitate din presa romaneasca - in mod special, Romania Libera - se receschide, si, odata cu acest "dezghet", apar fel de fel de reclame extrem de interesante.

Din care aflam ca parcul auto romanesc era extraordinar de bogat, modele rare si scumpe precum Porsche, Lancia, Jaguar si chiar Maserati fiind o prezenta. Modele interbelice sunt si ele in evidenta - inclusiv celebrul Jaguar SS100 care a apartinut regelui Mihai - iar licitatiile organizate de IDMS ofera modele recente din occident, e drept, nu intotdeauna in starea cea mai buna. Si ortogrofia lasa de dorit!

Majoritatea anunturilor sunt din Bucuresti dar nici provincia nu era chiar saraca (cine conducea un Cadillac 1967 in Campina anului 1969?!). In unele cazuri, masinile ne sunt cunoscute si din alte surse - spre exemplu, Jagarul E-type care era la licitatie in anii 80, sau Chevrolet-ul din 79 de vanzare in Suceava anului 1989 care exista si astazi. 

Aceste reclame sunt din perioada 1966-70. Voi mai pune.


From 1966 onwards, Romanian media became free to publish small ads once again, and with this new freedom came some seriously interesting ads.

From which we find that there was a fascinating variety of vehicles to be found on Romanian streets, including rare and valuable models of Porsche, Lancia, Jaguar and even Maserati. Pre-war cars were a big presence, and state-run auctions allowed citizens to get their hands on recent Western brands, admittedly not always in the best of conditions. The spelling is pretty dodgy too!

Most ads are from Bucharest but the provinces also had interesting vehicles. Helpfully for a historian, some of the cars are known from other sources too, for instance an E-type Jaguar for auction in the 1980s, or the 1979 Chevrolet for sale in 1989 Suceava and still existing.

These ads are all from 1970 - I will put some more recent ones up in due course.



















































20 March 2023

Micro-automobilul M.R. 1957 / The M.R. 1957 minicar

Imagini preluate din filmele din arhiva Sahia, prezentand mini-automobilul M.R. 1957, construit in orasul Stalin in 1957, de catre inginerul Radu Manicatide cu ajutorul unui colectiv de la uzina de reparat material volant. 

Consumul e de 3-4l /100km, cu o viteza maxima de 60-70 km/h. Motor moocilindric, in doi timpi, racit cu aer si cu o putere de 5.5CP. Cantarind 170kg, e o masina extrem de utilitara, nu mult peste o motocicleta cu atas si sub nivelul masinilor interbelice care inca circulau. Totusi, ca una din primele tentative de a construi asa ceva in tara, isi are un loc important in istoria auto din Romania.











A set of screenshots from the Sahia archives showing the M.R. minicar built in Stalin (now Brasov) in 1957 by the engineer Radu Manicatide working with a team from the local plane repair factory.

The engine was a two-stroke single cylinder model developing 5.5hp, taking the car to a top speed of 60-70 kph and giving a fuel consumption of up to 80mph. Clearly, with its 170kg kerb weight, this was a very simple car, barely above the level of a motorcycle and sidecar and below the pre-war models still existing. However, as one of the first attempts to build a vehicle in Communist Romania, it has an important part in Romania's automotive history.