Masinile Bucurestiului in 1991 / Cars of Bucharest in 1991

In 1991, un turist francez, uimit de masinile noi din occident care aparusera peste noapte pe strazile Bucurestiului, le imortalizeaza pe pelicula. Aceste masini, in perioada in care casta majoritate a parcului auto era Dacia / Oltcit / Skoda / Lada / Trabant, erau de-a dreptul speciale, chiar daca multe din ele erau deja detul de vechi in tarile lor de origine.

Majoritatea poarte numere emise dupa 1990, desi nu toate. Renaultul 18 cu numere galbene 14-B, de exemplu, e probabil o masina din garajul Comitetului Central, pe post de masina de protocol. Iar Fiatul 131 poarta placute de un tip emise pana in anii 80, seria 3-MS fiind emisa in perioada 1981-87. Nu e exclus sa fi circulat in tara inainte de 89.

Cine avea asa ceva ... era tare! Dar ca fapt divers, in ianuarie 1991 deja apare primul Rolls Royce din Romania postdecembrista ...

In 1991, a French tourist was so astonished by the crop of Western cars which appeared in Bucharest almost overnight, that he immortalized them on video. These cars, in a period where the vast majority of the vehicles on the streets were Dacia / Oltcit / Skoda / Lada / Trabant. were something rather special, even though many of them were already quite old in their countries of origin.

Most of them, though not all, carry post-1990 plates. The Renault 18 saloon with yellow plates, for instance, is probably a car from the Central Committee garages, now used for VIP transport. And the Fiat 131 carries plates of a design issued till the late 80s, with a series (3-Mures) which was issued between 1981 and 1987 - so it could well have been in Romania under communism.

Who had one of these ... was a lucky man! Incidentally, in January 1991 there appeared the first Rolls Royce in post-Communist Romania...

Bucuresti 1949 x 15

Din arhivele Europhoto, 15 poze rarisime din Romania anului 1949. Ocazia e visita unei delegatii poloneze; luna e ianuarie. Din pacate calitatea e cum vedeti, dar  imaginile sunt deosebit de interesante. Masinile folosite de statul roman sunt Ford 1947/48 din America, ZIS-101 1948, Buick Roadmster 1946/7/8, si Tatra T87 model postbelic (un facelift facut in ultimii doi ani - aceste examplare sunt foarte rare). Pe strada sunt surprinzator de multe masini antebelice, mai ales americane, unele inca pe post de taximetrie, plus cateva Jeepuri. La capitolul autobuze remarcam un Praga tot postbelic. Teroarea comunista si marea nationalizare debea incepuse, anii grei erau sa vina...

From the Europhoto archives, 15 super-rare photos of 1949 Romania. The occasion was the visit of a senior Polish delegation; the month was January. Sadly the photo quality is week, but the images are rather interesting. The cars used by the Romanian state are 1947-48 American Fords, ZIS-101 1948, Buick Roadmaster from 1946/7/8, and the post-war, facelifted and very rare Tatra T87 phase 2. On the street are pre-war American cars in surprisingly large quantities, some being used as taxis, and a couple of Jeeps. There's also a Praga bus from the immediate post-war period. The Communist terror and the great nationalisation had just started, and the hard years were still to come...

Vestigii din Marea Britanie / British remains

Doua descoperiri recente din Marea Britanie, amandoua triste dar interesante.

In prima poza, un microbus TV "Tudor" recent descoperit in Marea Britanie. Exemplarul, in 1979, face partie dintr-o serie importata sub numele Tudor. Importul nu a mers bine si credeam ca ultimul "Tudor" e istorie de mult. Recent, totusi, a fost gasit acest remarcabil supravietuitor care a stat in aceeasi curte, nemiscat, din 1984! Din pacate, masina a disparut acum cateva luni, iar sursele spun ca nu catre maini bune. Ar fi trist daca dupa atatia ani, se topea. (In Marea Britanie mai exista un TV, in Scotia, dintr-o serie importata in 1975. Masina, in poza 2, e din pacate irrecuperabila.)

In pozele 3, 4, 5, si 6, ramasitele unui Portaro Pampas, din nou o masina crezita extincta in Marea Britanie. Portaro, un ARO 24 construit sub licenta in Portugalia, s-a vandut pe piata britanica la inceputul anilor 80. Acesta e probabil ultimul supravietuitor - din pacate, nu are vreun viitor. Macar in Portugalia inca mai circula cateva exemplare, unele chiar in stare excelenta.

Two discoveries from the UK - sad, but interesting.

In the first photo, a 1979 TV minibus from a short-lived series marketed in the UK under the name of "Tudor". Tudors were long thought to have vanished into the mists of history until this remarkable survivor turned up, having been parked on the same driveway since 1984! Sadly it vanished soon after this picture was taken - I'm told, not into good hands. It would be a shame if it were to disappear after making it so far. (Incidentally, this isn't the only TV in the UK. The red pick-up in photo 2, from a series of 1975 imports, is in Scotland. Sadly, it's beyond restoration.)

In photos 3 to 6, the remains of a Portaro Pampas, again previously thought extinct in the UK. The Portaro, an ARO 24 built under licence in Portugal, was sold on the British market in the early 1980s. This is in all probability the last one - sadly, with no future. On the bright side, there's still several in Portugal, some in excellent working order.