Cu Fiat 125 prin Romania / Around Romania by Fiat 125

Aceste imagini, din 1970 si 1971, imi inspira destul de multa nostalgie. E vorba, cum spune istoricul Dan Ciachir, de epoca in care se descopera automobilul proprietate personala. Pentru prima oara, clasa mijlocie isi poate permite asa ceva, si multi descopera placerile (si peripetiile) automobilismului. Masina era iubita, bibilita, apare in toate pozele "la iarba verde" - e ca un nou membru a familiei. In cazuri fericite noaptea se tinea in garaj; dar pentru calatoria anuala spre litoral trebuia sa fie protejata noaptea sub o prelata... In hierarhia masinilor Fiat 125 era la top, numai 250 fiind aduse in tara oficial pentru vanzare pe piata libera. In zilele de astazi cand, pentru majoritatea lumii, automobilul e pur si simplu alt bun casnic care se schimba odata la trei-patru ani, atitudinea romaneasca anilor 70 fata de automobil e o memorie distanta, vizibila numai rar, in fata vreunui bloc vechi, cand mai vedem vrreun pensionar lustruindu-si Dacia 1300 veche, pastrata impecabil...

These photos, from 1970 and 1971, bring back a sense of nostalgia. This is the era when Romania discovers the automobile. For the first time, the middle classes could, en masse, buy them, and many discovered the pleasures (and frustrations) of driving. The car was loved, polished, a feature in all photos - just like a family memember. The aim was to keep it in a grage overnight, but when it was time for the annual trip to the seaside, great care was taken to cover it in a tarpaulin lest it should get damaged. In the car hierarchy the FIAT 125 was right at the top, only 250 being officially imported for public sale. These days, when the car is just another dispoable good to be bought and sold three or four years later, 1970s Romanians' love for it is a distant memory, only brought back occasionally when, in front of some tower block, we come across a pensioner still polishing his ancient but impeccable Dacia 1300...