Un Jaguar "din flota oficiala", redescoperit / An "official" Jaguar, rediscovered

In Germania, se vinde un Jaguar Mk X din 1964 care, ei spun, ar fi venit din flota lui Ceasuescu, si importat in Germania in 1984.

Se poate. Jaguar Mk X intr-adevar a facut parte din flota oficiala (poze 7 - 10), precum si in dotarea Militiei (poze 5,6). In plus, au circulat alte exemplare in tara (poze 11, 12). Conform presei britanice 15 au fost exportate catre Romania.

Din cate se stie, o parte din aceste masini au fost casate dupa 1978, o alta parte fiind vandute catre export dupa o licitatie. Doua au fost folosite la Politehnica Bucuresti pe post de material didactic. Se spune ca prin anul 2000 inca mai exista un exemplar in tara, in Arad, in stare de epava (later edit: e vorba de un MK 1 din 1961, deci nicio legatura).

Partea cu generalul Pacepa e usor de spus, greu de dovedit. Cert este ca in 1978 avea, proprietate personala, un Mercedes 220 D - atat. Din nou, se spune cam despre toate masinile interesante care au existat in Romania comunista ca ar fi apartinut unui Pacepa, unui Dej, unui Ceausescu, unei Pauker ... pana vine vorba de acte.

Totusi, e vorba de o parte interesanta a istoriei auto din Romania, indiferent de provenienta.


For sale in Germany, a 1964 Jaguar Mk X which, they say, came from Ceausescu's fleet before being imported into Germany in 1984.

It's possible. The Jaguar Mk X was indeed part of the official fleet (photos 7 to 10). Also that of the traffic police (photos 5, 6). And there were others around in the country (photos 11, 12). The UK press reported at the time that 15 had been exported to Romania.

From what is known, many of the Jags were scrapped after 1978. Others were bought at auction and exported. Two were used in the Bucharest Polytechnic for demonstrations. One is reputed to have survived up to around 2000, where it was seen in a dire condition in Arad (later edit: this one was a Mk 1 from about 1961, so not linked).

The bit about this being General Pacepa's car, however, is easy to say, and difficult to prove. What is known is that in 1978 he had only one car, a Mercedes 220 D. It's also the sad fact that every interesting vehicle known to have existed in Communist Romania is said to have had a punchy owner. A punchy owner who never seems to exist in the vehicle's documents...

Whatever this particular car's provenance, though, it remains an interesting part of Romania's automotive history.

Vizite oficiale in 1956 - Official visits in 1956

Din 1956, trei poze aratand vizite oficiale in Romania - prima a liderului iugolsav Tito, celelalte doua a liderului nord-corean Kim Il Sung.

1. Parada in fata casei Scanteii. Mai exista poze din acceasi parada - le-am prezentat aici. Vedem, din nou, ZIS-110 si Gaz-12 ZIM. Cele doua masini din fata ZIS-ului sunt Chevroleturi model 1954. Si ,pentru prima oara, observam masina fotografului: un Land Rover, una dintr-o serie (se pare, destul de mare) importata in anii 50. Oare ce sunt motocicletele?

2. Kim Il Sung in vizita la uzinele Steagul Rosu - poate cea mai veche poza existenta din fabrica.

3. 2 ZIS-uri si ce pare a fi o americanca in spate.

From 1956, three photos showing official visits in Romanian. The first is the Yugoslavian leader Tito; the second two show the North Korean leader Kim Il Sung.

1. Parade in front of the Press House. There are other photos around of this parade - I presented them here. We can see once again ZIS and Gaz-12 ZIM models in use. The two cars in front of the ZIS-110 are 1954 Chevrolets. And, for the first time, we can see the photographer's car: one of a batch (quite a large one, it seems) imported in the mid-50s. I wonder what the motorcycles are?

2. Kim Il Sung visiting the Steagul Rosu factory - perhaps the earliest photo of the factory on record.

3. 2 ZIS-110 convertibles, and what seems like an American car in the crowd behind.

Militia in anii 50 / Militia in the 1950s

Din anii 50 - o carte postala emisa de militie incurajand comportarea corecta in strada.

Camioanele sunt un Dodge 1939 si un SR-101.

Cartea postala arata un Bucuresti aproape complet disparut...

From the 1950s - a postcard published by the militia encouraging good behaviour on the street.

The trucks are a 1939 Dodge and a SR-101.

The postcard shows a Bucharest which has almost completely disappeared...

Masinile din "Cantecele Marii" (1970) / The cars from "The Songs of the Sea" (1970)

O gramada de imagini interesante, desi de slaba calitate, preluate din comedia muzicala romano-sovietica "Cantecele Marii", filmat in 1970. Au fost doua versiuni - in limba rusa si in limba romana - cu scene diferite. Inaginile sunt din ambele variante. "Antebelica", care urma a fi accidentata in "Asta seara dansam in familie" (1972), pare a fi home-made utilizand fel de fel de parti. Se vede o foarte rara Dacie 1100 de Militie - ni stiu titusi daca e voba de un 1100S cu patru faruri. Cadillacul 1969 argintiu e o masina destul de celebra in cinematografie romaneasca din anii 70 si 80. Iar cea mai uimitoare masina e Mercedesul SL190. Cu siguranta una din cele mai spectaculoase masini din acei ani, si o raritate absoluta in spatea cortinei de fier.

A heap of interesting though rather poor-quality images taken from the Romanian / USSR musical "The songs of the sea", filmed in 1970. There were two versions, one in Russian and one in Romanian, using different scenes; here, both are combined. The pre-war looking car, which would later be crashed in the film "Tonight our family dances" (1972), is probably home-made and a mix of different parts. Also visibile is a very rare militia Dacia 1100; you can't tell, however, whether it's a twin-headlamped 1100S. The 1969 silver Cadillac is a staple of Romanian films of the period. The most spectacular car is of course the Merecedes SL190, an absolute rarity behind the Iron Curtain.

SL 190




Heckflosse


SL la aeroport


Ce e masina argintie? Poate ceva exotic si italian?


DS in distanta


Luxul in 1970: Mercedes, R16, Chevrolet 67...


Peugeot 404 si o broscuta


DS Safari


VW x3


Wartburg, Dacia 1100 de militie


Volga M22 - masina astazi foarte rara in Romania


La Universitate


BMW, VW si una din primele "sutici"


Inca o imagine cu antebelica


TV-uri




Cadillac




Dacia 1100, 1-B-trei cifre


Trafic cotidian. Cam tot ce se vede aici a devenit rara avis...

Militieni din 1978 / Militiamen, 1978

Putini stiu ca in Romania comunista, precum si in URSS, militenii foloseau si BMW-uri, model 2800. Rapide si relativ luxoase, complementau flota de Dacii 1300. Dupa Decretul 277 din 1979, totusi, a venit hotararea sa fie folosite numai masini din productie socialista si cu motoare mici, si asa s-au prapadit BMW-urile (si Jaguarurile) militiei. Inca exista in tara BMW-uri din acea epoca, insa nu stiu daca sunt ex-Militie sau importuri particulare. Aceasta foarte rara poza, din 1978, arata un exemplar in actiune. Adaug si o poza "de bonus" cu o Dacia din aceeasi perioada.



Few people know that in Communist Romania, as in the USSR, BMWs were used by the traffic police. The luxurius and rapid BMW 2800 complemented the main fleet of Dacia 1300s. Until Decree 277 of 1979, that is, when orders on high demanded that all state-owned cars be of socialist extraction and of small engine capacity, and police BMWs (and Jaguars) were got rid of. Some BMWs from that period still exist in Romania, although I do not know if any of them are ex-traffic . One such example in action is visible in this very rare 1978 photograph. I also include, as a bonus, a picture od a traffic police Dacia from the same period.

Militia 1979

O selectie de carti postale aratand activitatea Militiei in 1979.
A slection of postcards showing the activity of the Romanian Militia (traffic police) in 1979.