Pe bulevard in 1965 / On the boulevard in 1965

Recent, pagina Facebook "Bucurestiul in imagini" a publicat niste fotografii exceptional de interesante aratand file din istoria capitalei. Aceasta poza arata bulevardul Magheru in vara anului 1965. E minunat de detaliata, si surprinde cateva masini destul de interesante...

Mentionam: taxi Volga; Moskvich 402 si 403, si ce pare a fi sau un break sau o dubita, variante de care nu auzisem in Romania; un Nash antebelic; Volvo Amazon; Mercedes Heckflosse, cu numere nemtesti; o Lancia Flavia din Italia; dubite TV-4 si 41; Pobeda pick-up; si primele Fiaturi 850, proaspat importate ca un semn a dezrusificarii. Iar bulevardul arata frumos, curat, ingrijit, civilizat, nu ca astazi...

Recently, the Facebook page "Bucharest in images" has published some wonderful photos of Bucharest in the old days. This shows the central Magheru boulevard on a summer's day in 1965. It's very detailed, and shows some quite interesting vehicles...

Among which: a Volga taxi; Moskvich 402 and 403, and what seems to be a van or an estate, versions I never thought existed in Romania; a pre-war Nash; Volvo Amazon; a West German-registered Fintail Mercedes; an Italian Lancia Flavia; TV-4 and 41, Romanian-built vans; a Pobeda pick-up; and the first Fiat 850s, recently imported officially in a symbol of de-Russification. And the boulevard itself, too looked neat and well-looked after, in sad contrast to today...

BMW antebelic, recarosat / A rebodied pre-war BMW

In Romania anilor 50 si 60, multe masini antebelice au primit caroserii noi. Pentru mai multe motive. Orice masina era un lux: masini vechi, ruginite sau accidentate trebuiau mentinute in stare de functiune, originalitatea contand mai putin. O recarosare era, deci, practica. Dar, fara discutie, romanii nu isi pierdusera dragostea fata de automobil. Chiar in cei mai grei ani a republicii populare, erau oameni care suspinau dupa masini "tari", sportive, moderne, si elegante. Si erau multi care incercau sa isi recreeze asa ceva, cu rezursele pe care le aveau la indemana.

Aceasta poza (sursa: colegiimei.ro) arata un exemplar destul de reusit. Proprietarul - de fapt, maestrul - se numea Ioan Butnaru si era profesor in atelierul auto de la colegiul national I L Caragiale sin Bucuresti. Masina e un BMW - pare a fi, dupa parbriz, un 327. Partea din fata e de Pobeda. Sunt sigur ca pe strazile capitalei era o prezenta atragatoare. Din pacate, nu se stie nimic de ea. Foarte putine "corcituri" au supravietuit astazi, fiind total nepretuite de colectionari, desi au fost un fenomen destul de raspandit in intreaga zona comunista. Mie mi se par o atestare interesanta a supravieturii in vremuri neplacute.

In 1950s and 60s Romania, many pre-war cars received new bodies. This was for various reasons. Any car was a luxury, one which had to be kept going, even if it were rusted or wrecked. A rebody was often the best solution. But without a doubt, Romanians never lost their love of the automobile, and even during the dark days of the Popular Republic, many hankered after "cool" cars - sporty, modern and elegant. And many tried to recreate them, with the limited resources they had to hand/

This photo (source: colegiimei.ro) shows a relatively successful attempt. The owner - and builder - was called Ioan Butnaru and was a teacher in the automotive workshop of the I L Caragiale high school in Bucharest. The car is a BMW - judging by the windscreen, a 327. The front section is that of a Pobeda. I am sure that on the streets of Bucharest it was an attractive presence. Unfortunately, I know nothing more of what became of it. Very few such "hybrids" have survived; collectors have practically zero interest in them, although they are part of a phenomenon which was relatively widespread beyond the Iron Curtain. I like them, as evidence of survival in distant and unpleasant days.

Masinile si sociologia in 1970 / Cars and sociology in 1970

In 1970, sociologii socalisti s-au intrebat: Cine conduce ce fel de masina? Si-au facut un recensamant... Au impartit populatia in patru cadre: muncitori, cadre cu studii medii, cadre cu studii superioare, si "altele" - tarani si pensionari. Si au studiat datele proprietarilor: nu greu de facut cand statul detinea foarte multa informatie. Si au publicat rezultatele...

Nu trebuie sa fim prea surprinsi. Marea majoritatea proprietarior de autoturism sunt cei cu studii superioare: adica cei care isi permiteau asa ceva. Trabantul e printre cele mai "proletare" masini; Renault-ul e pentru intelectuali. Mai interesant e faptul ca 1 din 12 masini erau sau la pensionari, sau la tarani. Muncitorii o duceau destul de bine. De multe ori, leafa unui muncitor fara studii depasea o leafa medie de la oras. In plus, printre "muncitori" se gaseau si sportivi, si actori, si mecanici, si chelneri la restaurantele celebre... adica, functii care castigau bine spre foarte bine. Muncitorii aveau si un parc auto mai divers. Printre masinile lor erau, desigur, modele antebelice care abia, abia se tineau pe roti; dar era si Cadillac-ul model 1967 cumparat de un miner lugojean in 1969, cu 120,000 mii de lei, de la ambasada americana... Ca fapt divers, in 1970 erau deja peste 60,000 autoturisme inscrise in Bucuresti. Desi in judetul Tulcea, nici macar o mie...

In 1970, Socialist sociologists decide to find out who owned what sort of car in Romania. So they carried out a survey. They divided the population into four categories: workers, people educated up to high school, people educated up to degree level, and unsalaried "others" (pensioners and peasants: in Romanian, as in French, the word is not derogatory). They studied the credentials of vehicle owners: not a difficult task when the State has a lot of information. And they published the results...

They are not too surprising. The large majority of car owners were degree-educated: their jobs allowed them to afford such luxuries. The Trabant is one of the more "proletarian" cars; Renaults, by contrast, were for the intellectuals. More interestingly, one in 12 cars was owned by people without salaries. The workers did well: indeed, the wage of a manual worker was often higher than an average wage in a town. Moreover, the "worker" category included sportspeople, actors, mechanics, waiters at smart restaurants: all well-paying occupations. They also had a more diverse selection of vehicles. Some would have been ancient pre-war models on their last legs; but the category also included the '67 Cadillac bought by a minor in Lugoj in 1969, from the US Embassy, for 120,000 lei - five times a teacher's yearly starting salary. In 1970, there were already over 60,000 cars in Bucharest, although more remote counties, such as Tulcea, barely had a thousand.