Daciile din Siria / The Dacias of Syria

Pana recent, in prea-tragica tara, existau, pe langa vestigii romane, si vestigii romanesti...

E vorba despre Dacii, in general. Pe langa taxiuri Supernova si Solenza - extreme de comune - erau si exemplare pe baza de 1310, unele necunoscute in Romania.

Till recently, in that too tragic country, alongside Roman remains, there were also Romanian vestiges...

Dacias, mainly. Alongside the Supernova and Solenza taxis - which were very frequent - there were also variants of the 1310, some unknown in Romania.

Intai, avem papucul 1304 - multe din ele acoperite cu un coviltir fabricat in Siria special pentru aceste Dacii. / First, we have the 1304 pick-up - many of them having fibreglass tops made specially in Syria.

Apoi avem Dacia 1309 - pe baza de break. Aceste masini au fost vandute in Romania intre 1992 si 1995/6. / Then we have the estate-based Dacia 1309. These were sold in Romania between 1992 and 1995/6.

Aici treaba devine interesanta. In primul rand, avem cateva modele de 1309 cu usi de Dacia Liberta. Presupun ca sunt din primele exampare facute. Am mai vazut asa ceva numai in reclame de epoca. / Here things begin to get interesting. First of all, there are a couple of 1309s with Liberta doors. I assume they are from the very first few made. I've only seen something like this in period ads.

Aici un model mai ciudat. Arata ca un 1309 normal, dar, chiar daca usile sunt de break, luneta de spate e de Dacie berlina. / Here an odder model. It looks like a normal 1309 (with doors off the Dacia estate), but with a rear windscreen from the saloon.

Urmeaza ceea ce credeam ca era doar un prototip - spre exemplu, acest exemplar, vazut la Mangalia acum cativa ani. Se pare ca era de faput un model de serie, fabricat special pentru Siria. E vorba de pick-up pe baza de berlina. Aceste modele nu au existat pe piata romaneasca. / And here's what I thought was simply a prototype, such as this example seen some years ago on the Black Sea coast. It is a pick-up based on the Dacia saloon, never on the Romanian market.

Modelul Dacia 1304 "King Cab " era si el destul de raspandit... in variantele CN1 pana la zambetul lui Iliescu / The King Cab - a bigger 1304 - was fairly common, from 1992 to 1998 guises... 

O Supernova, pe care o adaug mai mult pentru celelate masini interesante in poza: un Porsche 911 si un Cadillac. Pana prin 2005, Siria era un muzeu automobilistic, cu o gramada de masini din anii 50, 60, si chiar antebelice, in circulatie zilnica. Pana si unele taxiuri aveau 40-50 de ani...

A Supernova, included more for the interest of the other cars, a 900 and a Cadillac. Till about 2005, Syria was an open-air motoring museum, with cars from the 50s, 60s, and even before the war, still used as daily drivers. Even some of the taxis were 40-50 years old...

Si ciresile de pe tort: un Steagul Rosu si doua Oltcituri pick-up... (cu acelasi coviltir) / And the cherry on top: a Steagul Rosu truck and two Oltcit pick-ups... (with the same cover)

Din pacate, ma tem ca nu prea o sa avem cum sa mergem acolo prea curand sa documentam masinile interesante ramase ...

Sadly, I fear we won't have the opportunity to go there any time soon to look at the interesting cars left ...