Taximetru Volga M24

De la cititorul ricacristea cu multumiri, o imagine fascinanta din anii 70, cu un superb taximetru Volga M24. Aceste au circulat in capitala pana prin 1979, cand piata de taxiuri a devenit 100% Dacia 1300. Ce e interesant este ca e una din primele modele fabricate, pre-1973, cu oglinda mica: nu am mai vazut asa ceva in Romania. Aceste Volgi, nicidata numeroase, au devenit foarte rare; probabil nu exista mai mult de 30-40 in tara, din care poate doar 5-10 in stare de functionare. Numar care va creste cand termin sa o restaurez pe a mea!

From my reader ricacristea with thanks, a fascinating image from the 70s showing a superb Volga M24 taxi. These were used until 1979 when the fleet became 100% Dacia 1300. What's interesting is that this is an early one, with a "skinny' wing mirror - I've never seen one, or a photo of one, in Romania. This model of Volga, never very widespread in Romania, has become very rare: I doubt there's more than 30 or 40 in the country, of which perhaps 5 or 10 are in working order. To which I hope to add another this autumn, when I plan to finish restoring mine!

Un rarisim ARO salvat / A very rare ARO saved

In 1975 si 1979, fabrica ARO a incercat sa exporteze ARO 24 in Anglia. A esuat, si masinile nu au rezistat foarte mult. Pana recent se credea ca nu mai exista niciun supravietuitor ... pana exemplarul de fata, care a stat intr-o sura din 1988, fost salvata de jurnalistul Sam Glover, care are o colectie impresionanta de masini, inclusiv un Tatraplan din anii 40, si singura Dacie Sport din Anglia... Il felicitam!

Acest ARO, care va fi complet restaurat, e aproape sigur unicat in lume. O poza cu un ARO englezesc in anii de glorie se gaseste mai jos. Aceasta saraca masina a supravietuit numai trei ani si jumatate...




In 1975 and 1979, ATO tried to sell its 24 model on the UK market. Both attempts failed and the cars disappeared from British roads very quickly. Until recently it had been thought all examples had vanished in the mists of time - until this remarkably original survivor turned up in a barn, where it had been since 1988. It has since been rescued by journalist Sam Glover, owner of an impressive fleet of cars with an Eastern European flavour, including a Tatraplan and a Dacia Sport. Congratulations!

This ARO is almost definitely unique. Another British example, in its glory days, is also pictured. This particular one only managed to survive three and a half years...

ARO 244 ... in 1969!

Cam toata lumea stie ca ARO 24 a fost introdus in 1972, nu? Se pare, totusi, ca nu ... sau cel putin, ca existau cateva exemplare si in 1969. Aceasta fotografie arata expozitia EREN 69, la care au fost expuse modelele 243 si 244, alaturi de Dacia 1100...

Everybody knows that the ARO 24 series was introduced in 11972, no? Well, it seems that some were already around in 1969. This photograph shows the EREN trade fair in Romania, where young socialists could admire the 244 and the 243, alongside the Dacia 1100...

Inca o IFA / Another IFA

Inca o masina rara, din anii 50, care a supravietuit pana recent si poate inca exista. Am mai scris despre IFA in Romania. Desi stocul de masini pre-1960 in Romania a scazut enorm in ultimii 20 ani, chiar recent au iesit pe piata doua modele interesante, un Goggomobil si un Ford break. Deci mai sunt!

Another rare 50s car which survived until recently and may still be around. I have written before about IFAs in Romania. Although the stock of pre-1960 cars in Romania has shrunken enormously over the past tow decades, recently two interesting cars - a Goggomobil and a Ford estate - recently arrived on the market. So they still exist!

Primul Rolls-Royce in Romania postdecembrista / The first Rolls-Royce in post-Revolution Romania

Rolls-Royce Silver Spur. Dupa numar, masina ar fi fost importata in ianuarie 1991. Cine o fi fost norocosul?!

Rolls-Royce Silver Spur. The plate suggests it would have been imported in January 1991. I wonder who the lucky owner was...

Bucharest Jan 1990

Cateva fotografii gasite pe www.flickr.com - ce gri si urata poate sa arata capitala, mai ales in comparatie cu pozele din 1976. Cea mai interesanta masina dpdv istoric fara discutie este Volvo-ul cu numere 12-B. In alta ordine de idei, e uimitor cat de repede au sosit masini vestice doar o luna dupa revolutie.

A few pictures found on Flickr showing Bucharest in an extremely ugly and dilapidated light, especially compared to the 1976 photos. By far the most interesting car, historically speaking, is the Volvo owned by a foreigner under Communism. Otherwise, it's astonishing to see just how many Western cars had started arriving, only a month after the Revolution.

Vanatori de epave ... in 1980

Am revenit!

Un articol interesant din revista Autoturism din anii 80 despre "rablele" din Bucuresti. Care, fara discutie, erau rable atunci ... iar acuma sunt foarte rare, daca nu chiar extincte.



I've returned!

A rather interesting article from Autoturism magazine in 1980, about cars abandoned on Bucharest's streets. To be fair, they were wrecks ... but today they are largely very rare if not even extinct.