Fiat 124 Vignale Eveline ... la Bucuresti

In filmul "Din nou impreuna" (1978), se gaseste un superb Fiat 124 carosat special de Vignale si vandut, in perioada 1968-9, in circa 150 de exemplare sub numere "Vignale Eveline". Masina, inmatriculata cu numarul 1-B-7974, apare in o secventa de cateva secunde si nu are niciun rol in film. Totusi, reprezinta o mare raritate.

32 ani mai tarziu, o masina similara (presupunem ca e aceeasi - sansele saexiste doua in Bucuresti sunt minime) se gaseste in Bucuresti si poze sunt postate pe forumul Fiat. Bogdan Coconoiu de la Automobilia scrie ca este "o raritate, din pacare a fost tamponata, n-are masca, bara, farurile si reparatia e de porc, piese pt asa ceva nu gasesti nici in 50 de ani, plus ca e primita cadou, proprietarul e mort (un fost cantaret de opera sau ceva de genul asta) iar detinatorii viseaza frumos. " Si cu cateva luni mai tarziu povestea se termina la REMAT-ul Jilava. Mare pacat, mai ales ca fata de asa piesa, Jaguar sau Ferrari din anii 60 sunt pe fiecare colt de strada.

In the film "Together again" (1978) we can see a Fiat 124 rebodied by Vignale and sold, between 1968 and 1969, in about 150 examples under the name "Vignale Eveline". The car, registered 1-B-7974, appears in a couple of seconds' worth of footage and plays no role in the film.

32 years later, a similar car (we can assume it's the same: to have two such vehicles in Bucharest stretches the imagination) crops up in Bucharest and is photographed on the Fiat forum. Bogdan Coconoiu (of Automobilia) says it is "a rarity, but sadly it was involved in an accident and badly repaired with non-original headlights, grille, and bumper; you can't find pieces for this kind of car ... it was a present from the deceased former owner (an opera singer or suchlike) and the current owners think it's more valuable than it is". And some months later, its story finishes in the Jilava scrapyard. A real shame, especially because, compared to this, a Sixties Jag or Ferrari is on every street corner...

 

 

 

 

 

A nice car for nice people (1995)

In 1994-95, Dacia adopta lozinca "A nice car for nice people" - "o masina decenta pentru oameni decenti", si isi prezinta modelele sub acest slogan, de exemplu la TIB'94 (poza 1). Aceasta brosura, creata in 1995 direct dupa introducerea Daciei R523 (Nova), arata ca la capitolul reclame (si traducere), cei de la Dacia stateau prost de tot. In plus, arata ca cel putin initial, Dacia nu vorbea despre modelul "Nova" (desi la TIB '95 a fost prezentata ca Nova si nu ca R523) - un esec de marketing. Aflam ca Liberta si Nova erau in productie simultan. Oglinzile cromate de pe Dacia 1304 sunt de-a dreptul uimitor de demodate. Un alt detaliu amuzant este faptul ca capacele de roata la Liberta sugereaza faptul ca rotile erau cu patru prezoane cand, mai putin la moda, aveau numai trei.

Inutil de spus, Liberta, prima generatie de Nova (produsa numai pentru un an) si cateva din modelele comerciale au devenit destul de rare...

In 1994-95, Dacia adopted the slogan "A nice car for nice people" and presented its cars under that title, for example at the 1994 Bucharest trade fair. This brochure, created in 1995 just after the launch of the R523 (Nova), shows that in terms of advertising (and translating), Dacia was pretty weak. We learn that, at least initially, Dacia was not calling its new model the "Nova", preferring the less catchy R523 - surely a marketing failure, though one which was remedied at the 1995 trade fair. We also learn that the Liberta and the Nova were available on the market at the same time. The chrome mirror on the 1394 is astonishing. Another entertaining detail is the fact that the hubcaps on the Liberta imply that the wheels are held on by four nuts whereas, less fashionably, they only had three.

Needless to say, the Liberta, first generation Nova (produced for just one year) and some of the commercial models are getting rather rare...