La munte, 1963 / In the mountains, 1936

Turisti din Elvetia, cu un Mercedes "Ponton", la munte in 1963. La inceputul anilor 60, Romania a avut o mare deschidere catre turisti din occident, care au venit cu miile, multi in masina. Majoritatea, totusi, stateau in statiuni care erau pe circuitul turistic si supra-organizate - putini ar fi avut experienta din poza!

Tourists from Switzerland, with a Mercedes "Ponton", in the mountains in 1963. The early 1960s was when Romania began to open up to tourists from the West, thousands of whom visited every year, many by car. Most, however, didn't venture beyond the well-organised and touristy resorts and few would have been as adventurous as this!

Sarbatori fericite! / Merry Christmas!

DK, Adler, Ford, etc. Foto Pragher, 1940.

Sarbatori fericite oriunde va aflati!

A Merry Christmas wherever you may be!

Parada oficiala in 1956 / Parade in 1956

Din fototeca arhivelor nationale din fosta Iugoslavie (link), un set de imagini cu o vizita oficiala, in Bucuresti si Ploiesti, in 1956. Personajele sunt Tito si nevasta sa, Jovanka. Poze cu coloanele oficiale in anii 60 si 70 sunt destul de commune, dar e prima oara cand vad ceva din anii 50.

Masinile sunt in majoritate sovietice: GAZ-12 ZIM si ZIS-110, dar pe langa ele sunt doua modele Chevrolet, model 1954. Tot de origine americana e decapotabila in care se pozeaza Jovanka Broz - un Chrysler din 1953. Nu ar fi  fost extrem de impresionata: Tito avea masini mult mai fabuloase, inclusiv un Rolls Royce Phantom.

Interesant numarul 101 pe masina de sef de stat...

From the photographic archives of the former Yugoslavia (link), a set of images showing an official visit to Bucharest and Ploiesti in 1956. The characters are Tito and his wife, Jovanka. Motorcade photos from the 60s and 70s are relatively common, but this is the first time I have seen any from the 1950s.

The cars are generally of Soviet origin - GAZ-12 ZIM and ZIS-110, but alongside them appear two 1954 Chevrolets. Also American is the convertible in which Jovanka Broz is being photographed: a Chrysler from 1953.  She wouldn't have been especially impressed - Tito had far more exciting cars including a Rolls Royce Phantom.

The registration plate "101" on the head of state vehicle is interesting...

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...

 

 

 

Doua bijuterii pierdute / Two lost jewels

Recent a aparut pe Facebook o pagina extrordinara, Romania in negru pe alb, sub initiativa dlui Florin Cicos, un vechi colaborator. E o rezursa minunata cu sute de fotografii de exceptie, toate din Romania, cu tema automobilistica. Nu pot sa il recomand destul.

Printre poze apare un Lorraine-Dietrich din 1907 in fata unei cladiri care mi se parea cunoscuta. Un Google rapid imi confirma ca am dreptate: este vorba de conacul Hagi Tudorache din Gradistea, judetul Ilfov, construit in 1896. Una din cele mai somptuoase conace din Tara Romaneasca, cu un interior superb care supravietuise in intregime pana acum vreo 10 ani ... dupa care, caramida cu caramida, cladirea s-a distrus, unrmand a fi demolata complet in 2013. In prezent a ramas o anexa si o gramada mica de moloz. Iar Lorraine-Dietrich a disparut si el in ceata istoriei.

In lista de proprietari de automobile din acea perioada, nu apare niciun Tudorache, Theodoraki, sau alte varatii al numelui. Deci probabil era masina unei rude sau unui musafir. Ramanem doar cu o poza foarte valoroasa, de interes atat pentru iubitorii de istorie sau arhitectura cat pentru pasionati de automobilimsul romanesc.

Recently Florin Cicos, an old contact, has set up a fantastic page called Romania in black and white. It's a superb resource of old photos, all from Romania, all with a motoring theme. I can't recommend it enough.

Among the images is this 1907 Lorraine-Dietrich in front of a building which seemed familiar to me. A quick Google proved my hunch was correct: this is the old Hagi Tudorache manor from Gradistea, Ilfov, built in 1896. One of the most sumptuous manors of Wallachia, with a superb interior which had survived complete until about ten years ago .... after which, brick by brick, it was destroyed, with the final demolition happening in 2013. Currently, an annexe remains alongside a small pile of masonry. The Lorraine-Dietrich is of course long disappeared in the mists of history.

No Tudorache (or any variant spellings) appears in the lists of vehicle owners published in that period. So it was probably the car of a guest or a relative. All that remains is a very valuable photograph, of interest both for lovers of architecture and history as well as people interested in Romania's motoring past.

More: here and here.

Licitatie in 1947 / Auction in 1947

Liciatia unei prefecture din decembrie 1947. Era cateva luni dupa stabilizarea monetara, iar cursa valutara era 150 lei = 1 dolar american. Deci Mercedesul incepea la 1466 dolari, iar Fordul la peste 2300. Incredibil de scump: in America, un Ford nou-nout incepea la aproximativ 1100 dolari, iar cu 2300 dolari iti cumparai, tot nou, un Chrsyler, un Buick, sau cel mai ieftin Packard. Mercedesul, avand patru cilindri, ar fi fost un model 170 Cabriolet - o investitie superioara daca ne gandim la valoarea actuala. Pun pariu ca fericitii castigatori nu s-au bucurat foarte mult timp de masinile lor: o saptamana dupa licitatie, regale Mihai abdica si se desfasura o noua si funesta epoca in istoria Romaniei.

A town hall auction from December 1947. This was a few months after the monetary stabilization and the official exchange rate was 150 lei to the US dollar. So the Mercedes would have started at 1466 dollars and the Ford at over 2300. This was incredibly expensive: in the States a brand news Ford started at roughly 1100 USD, and with 2300 USD you could get, new, a Chrysler, Buick or even an entry-level Packard. The Mercedes, being four cylinder, must have been a 170 Cabriolet - a superior investment bearing in mind current prices. However, I bet the auction winners did not get to enjoy their cars for long: a week after the auction, the King would abdicate and a new and sombre chapter of Romania's history would begin.

Retroparada 1973

Am mai scris despre raliuri pentru vehicule istorice in perioada comunista (1982, 1984 si 1986). Astazi un set de imagini interesante dar din pacate de foarte proasta calitate. E vorba despre una din primele parade desfasuarate in Romania, in 1973, cu ocazia "serbarile marii", pe litoral, in 1973. Materialul a rulat pe televizor in august 1973, deci sunt sanse ca videoul original sa existe in arhivele TVR in calitate superioara. Videoul se gaseste la EUscreen. Printre altele, remarcam: Morris Minor 1928 (ex-printul Mihai), BMW 327, Mercedes 170 Cabriolet A, si Hanomag Rekord cabriolet. Morris-ul inca exista: Automobilia scrie despre el aici.

I have written before about vintage carr rallies in the Communist period (1982, 1984 and 1986). Today, a set of interesting though very poor quality images, showing one of the very fist rallies, held in honour of the sea, on the Romanian Black Sea coast in 1973. This was shown on TV in August of that year, so there's a chance that better quality footage exists in the national television archives. Images taken from EUscreen. Cars include: Morris Minor 1928 (ex-Prince Michael), BMW 327, Mercedes 170 Cabriolet A, and Hanomag Rekord cabriolet. The Morris still exists: Automobilia gives more details here.

Morris 1928

BMW 327, se pare

Hanomag Rekord cabriolet, foarte modificat

Acest tourer neidentificat poarta insigna de Citroen desi nu a existat vreun Citroen similar.

DKW?

Tourerul neidentificat din nou. Aceasta masina a aparut si in filme de epoca, o sa incerc sa caut inca o imagine.

Scena in comun

Din nou, cu un Mercedes

Morris-ul...

...si la alt raliu...

...si in 2004.