O colectie minunata / A wonderful collection

In anii 70 - 80, cand capitala, litoralul si statiunele importante erau des vizitate de turisti, venea si un val secundar de turism: tineri pasionati de masini care vroiau sa vada o expozitie auto in aer liber. Unii pur si simplu se zgaieau, iar altii luau si aparatul foto si imortalizau aceste masini care, mai ales dupa 1975, erau cu totul iesite din peisajul comun.

Unul din acei tineri era dl Catalin Radu, care, prin amabilitate, mi-a trimis niste poze cu totul exceptionale, surprinse la Bucuresti, pe litoral si la Calimanesti, in perioada 1977 - 1982. Unele masini sunt modele relative comune in Romania, in mod special botul de cal, broscuta, si Volvo-ul. Altele - mai ales americanele si Honda - sunt raritati. Preferatele mele sunt Citroenul si, ca proprietar de asa ceva, Saabul. Unele sunt in trecere prin tara iar altele sunt inregistrate in Romania, desi, fapt interesant, nu cu numere de nomenclaturist, si nu necesar numai din Bucuresti.

Tin sa ii multumesc pentru faptul ca mi-a trimis aceasta fascinanta colectie pentru publicatie. Contributii de catre cititori sunt intotdeauna binevenite: multe aspecte fascunante din istoria auto a Romaniei, sunt sigur, inca exista incuiate in vechi albume, sau ascunse printr-un sertar (sau, de ce nu, un garaj ...

In the 1970s and 1980s, when Bucharest, the Black Sea Coast and the main inland resorts were frequently visited by foreigners, there was often a secondary wave of tourists: young Romanians, car enthusiasts, who travelled up to see the open-air motorshow. Some came just to see, while others took photos of these cars which, especially after 1975, were rather different from what you'd see every day.

One of these was a young Catalin Radu, who decided to send me scans of the exceptional pictures he took between 1977 and 1982, in Bucharest, by the seasde and at Calimanesti. Some were relatively common in Romania, for example the Mercedes, VW and Volvo. Others - especially the Americans and the Honda - were extremely unusual. My favourites are the Citroen and, unsurprisingly given that I own one, the SAAB. The cars are a mixture of foreign- and Romanian-registered; interestingly, though, the Romanian ones don't carry nomenklatura plates, and neither are they all from Bucharest.

I'm very grateful for being allowed to publish this fascinating and important collection. Indeed I always welcome contribuitons from readers: I'm sure that, locked away in old albums, or nestling in a drawer (or a garage), many discoveries remain...

SAAB 99 din Cehia

Audi 80

BMW si Polo. Mai exista in acea perioada un Audi 50 in Cluj:

http://volganeagra.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/tuning-anului-1988-tuning-from-1988.html

Chevrolet Impala 1969, masina enorma, si in stare destul de obosita

Mercedes "bot de cal", emblema de bunastarea anilor 70

VW Polo din nou

Ford Gran Torino 1974 / 1975 - varianta sedan a coupe-ului imortalizat in Starsky and Hutch

Dacia "tunata" - de Dambovita

DS de Constanta

Fiat 131

Honda Prelude, aproape nou nouta, proprietatea unui cetatean strain

Opel Manta, silueta sportiva pe langa Dacia 1100

Renault 9 cu numere romanesti

Volvo

Si terminand cu o broscuta in doua culori.

Prin Romania in 1958 / Around Romania in 1958

Un set de poze facuta de o familie din Ungaria, calatorind prin Romania in 1958 cu un autocar Ikarus-55. Pozele sunt de o calitate exceptionala si surprind o perioda rara, dar in care Romania arata ca o tara foarte civilizata, facand abstractie de lozinci.

A set of photos taken by a Hungarian family on a coach trip in Romania in 1958, in their Ikarus 55.  These very high quality images are from a scarce-to-find period, showing a country which, apart from the uniquitous Commmunist slogans, looks rather civilised.

Brasov, Piata Sfatului: Willys, DKW, Mercedes, masina mister, Tatraplan

Magheru: se vede o masina antebelica, probabil nemteasca sau ceha

Cornitel cu Ikarus

Calea Victoriei

Pobeda si un Gaz-67

Masina si autobuz antebelic

Deja in 1958 circulau primele generatii de Moskvich. Mai rar, pe stanga, se vede o Pobeda 4x4. Exemplare si de Moksvich 407, si de Pobeda M72, inca exista in Romania in stare excelenta.

Dar tot Pobeda era regina soselelor!

Poza centenara / Centenarian photograph

Aceasta poza, veche de 100 de ani, dateaza din 1913 si surprinde un domn bucurestean cu masina sa. Nu sunt expert in masinile mai vechi de 1930, si va trebui sa apelez la experti sa aflu ce marca e, dar in acea perioada, in Romania, marcile mentesti si frantuesti erau cele mai populare, marcile americane venind la putere numai dupa primul razboi mondial. Numere Bc semnificau Bucuresti, nu Bacau, in acea perioada. Pana la primul razboi mondial se ajunsese la peste 1000-Bc. Interesant, exista o poza [jos] cu masina inregistrata precedent, adica 491-B, desi e pe o masina mult mai moderna. Numerele erau emise catre proprietar, nu catre masina, deci atundci cand se schumba masina era foarte posibil ca numarul sa ramana la fel. Adica, daca aveai numarul mai mic, insemna ca erai in avangarda propretarilor de automobile. Ma intreb daca aceasa idea, redolenta de snobism burghez, a contribuit la cultul "numerelor mici" din epoca comunista. 492-B cred ca a fost emis prima data prin 1910; automobilul, la fel.

This hundred year-old photo was taken in 1913 and shows a Bucharest man with his car. I'm no expoert in pre-1930 vehicles, so any experts will have to help me; all I know is that in pre-WW1 Romania, French and German makes were most popular, American cars only becoming frequent on the roads after 1919. The Bc plates meant Bucharest in that period. Until WW1, at least 1000 cars had been reigstered in the capital. Interestingly, there exists a picture [below] of the number plate registered previously, 491-B, on a far more modern car. The reason was that the plates were given to the owner and not the car. When the car changed, the number would remain the same. That meant that families with a low-numbered plate could pride themselves on having been very early vehicle owners. I wonder if this rather petty snobbery contributed to the Communist-era obsession of having low-numered plates. This particular one would have been issued around 1910, and the car looks of a similar era.

Hong-qi in Romania?!

O masina care nu asteptam sa vad in Romania in viata mea...

Aceasta limuzina, fotografiata in Constanta de un user de forumul 4tuning, e un Hong-Qi CA 72, produs intre 1958 si 1963 in China. E o masina rarisima. Impreuna cu modelul ulterior, CA 770, sub 1600 au fost produse. Echivalentul sovietic era ZIL sau Ceaika, iar destinatia - elitei partidului, sefilor de stat, etc - era si ea identica. Hing-Qi in chinezeste inseamna "Steagul Rosu". Motorul era un V8 de productie chinezeasca. Design-ul, se spune, era influentat de Chrysler 1955, desi personal nu vad mare similaritate. Fata arata uluitor ca o Volga, dar Volga cu aceasta masca a fost introdusa abia in 1962. Iar in lateral se vad esente si de ZIL, si de Ceaika. Oricum, in pararea mea fata de ZIL sau Ceaika arata destul de grosolan.

In Romania, printre alte masini din vest au fost folosite si Zil, si Ceaika - exemplare au supravietuit de amandoua (inclusiv de ambele variante de ZIL). Greu de spus care e povestea Hong-Qi-ului. Numarul 1-B-1303 nu e conclusiv - probabil era din doatea statului, dar destule numere din seria 1-B-1xxx erau la oameni particulari (si nu numai mari comunisti: Alexe de Vassal avea 1-B-1913). Parerea me este ca sau a fost masina ambasadei chinezesti din Romaia, ulterior vanduta la licitatie, sau a fost un dar din partea statului chinezesc.

Sper ca aceasta raritate sa ajunga in maini bune!

A car I would never have expected to see in Romania...

This limousine, photographed in Constanta by a user of the 4tuning forum, is a Hong-Qi CA 72, made between 1958 and 1963 in China. It's very rare: together with its successor, the CA 770, fewer than 1600 were made. The Soviet equivalent was the ZIL or Chaika: like them, the Hong-Qi was reserved for senior party leaders or heads of state. The name translates as "Red Flag", and the engine was a locally made V8. It is said that the design borrowed heavily from the 1955 Chrysler, though I can't see much similarity. The front looks very much like a Volga, although that particular type of Volga was only introducied in 1962. The side view shows bits of both ZIL and Chaika. However, in my opinion it is not as stylish as either of them, and the overall effect is rather crude.

In Romania, both the ZIL and the Chaika were used alongside Western models. Examples of both (including the facelifted ZIL) have survived. It's difficult to say what the backstory to the Hong-Qi is. The numberplates - 1-B-1303 - imply state ownership, although plates from that series were also granted to private individuals (not merely nomenklatura either; Alexe de Vassal, the motoring ace, had 1-B-1913). My opinion is that this was either the Chinese embassy car in Romania, which later got auctioned off, or a gift from the Chinese state.

Either way, I hope this rarity ends up in good hands!

RIP Sergiu Nicolaescu 3-i-2013

Stiu ca era o persoana destul de controversa in lumea vehiculelor istorice. Totusi, in fimlele lui, cand de multe ori masinile erau vedete, el a popularizat ideea masinilor de epoca, a salvat multe masini, si ce s-a distrus in filme 1) era de obicei irrecuperabil si 2) a rezultat in niste scene iubite de spectatori. Plymouth si Mercedes 170 erau multe in anii 70, majoritatea in stare de epava, ca si astazi. Iar masinile cu adevarata valoare (Stutz, Cadillac, chiar Buickurile 99% originale in folosinta si astazi) erau pastrate si iubite. Rest in peace!

I know he was a fairly controversial character in the classic car world. However he was one of the first to bring the concept of historic vehicles to Romania: in his films, the cars were also the stars. He also saved many vehicles. The ones which were destroyed were 1) beyond redemption and 2) gave keen pleasure to viewers. Plymouths and Mercedeses 170 were plentiful back then (as indeed they are today); while cars of real scarcity and value (Stutz, Cadillac, even the pair of almost completely original Buicks still running today) were appreciated as such. Rest in peace!