Prin Ardeal in anii 70 / Through Transylvania in the 1970s

Dintr-o arhiva elvetiana, opt poze din Ardeal surprise la inceputul anilor 70 - probabil in jurul anului 1973. Curatenie, civilizatie, prosperitate.

Masinile sunt in mare proportie occidentale - multe ale turistilor, altele trimise de rude de peste hotare. Ford Taunus si VW broscuta ies in evidenta, pe langa Opel Rekord si VW Variant. Observam si o Simca 1300 (masina destul de des intalnita in anii 70), ce pare a fi o Alfa Romeo Giulia 1300, un DKW F102, si un Vauxhall Viva. Poza nr 7 e remarcabila: in afara de camionul SR, nimic nu provine din cortina de fier. Pana si autoremorca e un Fiat, de un tip folosit in acea epoca si in Cluj (poza 9).

From a Swiss archive, eight photos form Transylvania at the beginning of the 1970s - probably around 1973. Cleanliness, civilisation, prosperity.

Many of the cars are Western; some would have belonged to tourists while others would have been sent by relatives from overseas. The Ford Taunus and VW Beetle are common sights, alongside the Opel Rekord and VW Variant. There's also a Simca 1300 (quite frequent in 70s Romania), what looks like an Alfa Romeo Giulia 1300, a DKW F102, and a Vauxhall Viva. Photo number 7 is remarkable: except for the SR truck, everything else is Western. Even the recovery truck is a Fiat, of a type also used in Cluj at the time (photo 9).

Garbova

Medias

Sibiu

Sibiu

Sibiu

Sibiu

Tg Mures

La tara

Sarbatori Fericite / Merry Christmas ...

... si niste zapezi mai blanzi ca in 1939!

... and milder snow than in 1939!

Produsele fabricii Astra, 1921 / Products of the Astra factory, 1921

In 1921, se tine Expoziția și Târgul de Mostre a Industriei Românești la București. Recent, a fost publicat o selectie minunata de imagini din acest eveniment. Ii avem pe generalul Averescu si regele Ferdinand in masini (foto 4, 5); dar, si mai important, avem imagini rarisime cu produsele fabricii Astra din Arad.

Am scris in 2010 un pic despre fabrica si produsele sale; copiez o reclama din 1925 (foto 6). Din pacate, informatiile raman slabe. Cert e ca dupa 1926, fabrica renunta la fabricatia produselor rutiere, axandu-se spre cele feroviare (foto 7). Anul 1930 era anul de glorie pentru circulatia autovehiculelor construite in Romania - 109 in total. Presupun ca marea majoritate erau cele fabricate la Arad.

In 1921 Bucharest held a fair showcasing Romanian industry; and recently, the Romanian national archives published a wonderful set of images from the event. We see General Averescu and King Ferdinand in their cars (photos 4, 5); and, more importantly, we see some very rare images of the products of the Astra factory in Arad.

I wrote in 2010 about Astra and its products; picture 6 shows an ad from 1925. Unfortunately, further details are scant. By the 1930s, automotive production had stopped, and the ad in picture 7 shows only railway produce being made. 1930 itself was the high point of Romanian-made vehicles on the road, with a grand total of 109 - I assume the vast majority of which were those made in Arad.

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 ...

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...