Bucuresti 1961

Dintr-un ghid turistic publicat in 1961, niste poze deosebit de interesante. Highlighturile mere:
1) fotograful a reusit sa surprinda doua masini Tatraplan - numai 14 au fost importate oficial, deci foarte posibil sa fi capturat 14% din Tatraplanele din Romania!
2) Mercedes Ponton folosit ca taximetru, pe langa Volgile cunoscute
3) Gama de comuniste: ZIM, Volga si Moskvich, la sediul Tarom
4) Americanca pe langa sediul romana-sovietic, amintindu-ne ca in anii 50 si masini americane erau folosite de elita comunista
5) Citroenul vizibil la ministerul invatamantului - o masina care fara discutie facea furori in 1961
6) Skoditele furgoneta model 1102, importate incepand cu anii 50 si o prezenta semnificativa pe strazile capitalei in acel deceniu, din pcate extincte in Romania
7) Skoda antebelica la un eveniment studentesc, probabil unui foarte norocos student - pe atunci era incredibil ca un student sa aiba masina, chiar una mica si veche!

From a tourist guide published in 1961, several interesting photographs. My highlights:
1) The photographer managed to catch two Tatraplans - out of just 14 imported into Romania, that's no mean achievement!
2) Mercedes Ponton used as a taxi alongside the customary Volgas
3) At the TAROM HQ, the line-up of Soviet cars: Moskvich, Volga and ZIM
4) The American car next to the Romano-Soviet "building of friendship", a reminder that the Romanian communist elite of those days was an enormous fan of American automobiles
5) The Citroen next to the Ministry of Education - which must have caused a major stir in Communist Bucharest
6) The presence of little Skoda 1102 estate cars, officially imported in the early 50s and a familiar sight on Nucharest streets of that decade, now sadly extinct
7) The pre-war Skoda at a students' event. Back in 1961 it wwas almost unthinkable for a student to own such a car, even if it was a small and slighty battered pre-war one.

Ploiesti 1982

Pentru nostalgici ... fotografii din istoria recenta, dar cu multe repere duse de mult. Pozele sunt facute intre prin 1982 in Ploiesti. Dacia 1310 doar fusese introdus si primele modele se vedeau pe strazi. In plus, reincepuse importul de Skoda cu modelul 105. De interes deosebit in parerea me sunt 1) TVul de caravana cinematografica; 2) camionetele Daciile 1302, destul de rar intalnite in poze de epoca; si 3) antebelica Opel Olympia, ca o nuca in perete pe langa masini moderne!
For nostalgics .... photos from the recent past, but all the more distant for it. These snapshots were taken around 1982 in Ploiesti. The Dacia 1310 had just been introduced and the Skoda 105 was beginning to be imported too. For me, the most interesting vehicles are 1) the mobile cinema constructed from a TV truck; 2) the Dacia 1302 pick-ups, a rare sight in old photos; and 3) the pre-war Opel Olympia, still going strong but somewhat incongruous among the sleek modern cars...

Inca distrugem antebelice / Still, we destroy pre-war cars

Acest Steyr 50 "Baby", e drept, era in stare relativ proasta. Desi cat de cat complet, era modificat in ultimul hal, cu motor de Fiat 850, luneta spate de broasca, si unspe mii de piese modificate artizanal, piese Steyr fiind aproape imposibile de gasit in Romania. O restaurare ca la carte ar fi fost extrem de dificila din punc de vedere economic. Ca un "fun car" in stil retro, totusi, ar fi mers, mai ales pentru ca stiulul art-deco ramane extrem de cautat.

Dar, desteptii de la REMATul din Satu Mare unde ajunsese s-au gandit ca ar fi mai amuant sa striveasca pe biata masina, care supravietuise atatea ani si atate vremuri vitrege. La un moment era de vanzare la mia de euro si lumea a tipat ca nu face mai mule de cateva sute, sincer la cati bani se baga la oricare proiect antebelic cateva sute de euro aici sau acolo nu conteaza. In Anglia proiecte antebelice incep la cam 1200 lire, asta e penntru modele comune. Proiecte Steyr Baby sunt de obicei cam 5,000E, chiar pentru foste masini din Cehia sau Germania de Est, si ele modificate cu diferite parti, e drept mai putin ciobanesc. In Romania se pare ca lumea vrea sa fie date pe degeaba....

La domeniul vehicule istorice sunt destul de pragmatic si recunosc ca Romania inca are mai multe fiare decat pasionati si ca nu le putem salva pe toate. Totusi trebuie sa spun ca tot episodul m-a lasat cu un gust amar. Rusine!





This poor old Steyr 50 Baby was in a but of a state. With a Fiat 850 engine, VW beetle cut-out rear screen. and eleven thousand small parts cobbled together from what was available in Romania at the time, it was never going to be a viable restoration project from which you'd get a concours example. As a retro-themed fun car, however, it could have worked, especially given that its Art Deco lines are very much in vogue.

However, the geniuses at the Satu Mare scrapyard where it ended up saw fit to completely wreck it. It seems to me to be acrying shame that this little car, which lived through so much, had such an ignominous end. At one stage it was for sale at 1,000 Euros and people cried out that this was far too much and that it was only worth a couple of hundred. Frankly, considering the mony invested in any sort of prewar project, a few hundred here or there is small fry. UK prices for a prewar project car start at about £1200 for common models. An unrestored Baby project is about 5,000 Euros, even for an ex-Eastern bloc car modified with unoriginal parts (albet fewer of them). In Romania, however, people seem to want things for free...

I'm not sentimental about historic vehicles and indeed recognise that there are more old cars than enthusiaists and that you can't save them all. Even so, I cannot but conclude that this whole episode has left a very sour taste in the mouth. Shameful.

Fiat 1600 din filmul Parasutistii (1972) / Fiat 1600 in the film The Parachutists (1972)

O frumusete de masina... In fundal apare si ce nu am mai vazut pana acuma, adica taxi Dacia 1100. Dar Fiatul face toti banii!

A beautiful car. In the film you can also glimpse something very rare, a Dacia 100 taxi (in green). But the Fiat definitely steals the show!

Retroparada 1982

Din arhivele revistei Autoturism, instantanee de la o ratroparada in 1982. Ma intreb ce cauta Renault-ul acolo, nefiind deloc o masina veche, si neffind o masina cu care SAsa te lauzi in anii 80! Antebelicele sunt superbe, dar din cate stiu numai Skoda a supravietuit in tara.

From the Autoturism magazine archives, snapshots from a classic car parade in 1982. I wonder what the Renault was doing there, being neither very old, nor a car of which to be proud under Communism! The pre-war cars are superb, although to the best of my knowledge only the Skoda remains in the country.