The German car that was raging in communist Romania. “It has a back stove to hold your hands warm when you push it”

Trabant cars were among the few import machines that entered the Romanian market in the decades of communism. Although the Romanians were waiting for even a few years to get in their possession, these cars were frequently topics in the former communist block in Eastern Europe.

Ironized in the past for their defects, but purchased with great difficulties in the decades of communism, cars such as Trabant, Oltcit, Dacia 1100, ARO and IMS, have become today, waking nostalgia among many Romanians.

More and more rare in Romania, the former cars of the communist period have reached, with the passage of time, or still functional collection, with which the owners are proud of the exhibitions and meetings of the enthusiasts of “retro” cars, or abandoned in rust or exposed in public places, to give them a special air.

The stories of many old cars over half a century, once ordinary presence on the less crowded roads in Romania, continue to gather controversy. One of the most popular brands in the decades of communism was trabant.

The Trabant, the expected car with the Romanian years

The first Trabant cars were manufactured in the late 1950s in the plants of Zwickau in the former German Democratic Republic, and until 1990, when Trabant production was stopped, over 3.6 million such cars were made. In the early 1960s, the cars also entered the Romanian market, following the trade between the former socialist countries.

Then, few Romanians were lucky enough to get in their possession, because, along with cars like Wartburg, Skoda Octavia and Moskvici, the old rollers could be more won at lottery or pronosport competitions than purchased from manufacturers. The Romanians who registered on the purchasing lists of the import machines often waited for more than a year to get into their possession.

“Those enrolled in Moskvici and Skoda until July 31, 1968 and those registered in Trabant 601 until no. 100 from the list of November 1967, will receive this year, 1969, cars of the type they registered for”,, “ inform the press in the middle of 1969.

In the 1970s, the Dacia 1100 and Dacia 1300 cars covered most of the demand for cars on the Romanian market, without having a real import competition.

Several thousand cars also arrived in Romania, not only because of the founded demand of Romanians, but also from the desire of the communist regime to show that there is a diversified car market.

“For 1979, Import was contracted, cars Lada, Moskvici, Skoda and Trabant. Namely: 3,000 Lada 1200 cars, 2,000 Lada 1500 cars and 1,000 Moskvici 1500 cars, 5,000 SKODA 1200 cars and 1,500 Trabant cars”, Information of the year 1979. Import cars continue until the end of the year, according to the contracted quantities, in the strict order of the registrations made at IDMS as the number of requests exceeds the possibilities of delivery, currently the registrations have been stopped ”Informing, in 1979, Octavian Olteanu, deputy director of the business of broadcasting sports materials from the Ministry of Internal Trade, quoted in the press.

Car with plastic body

Initially, Trabant cars were regarded as innovations in the auto industry, due to the materials used and the economies promoted by totalitarian regimes.

“On the gates of the” Sachsenring “enterprise in Zwickau, dozens of small litter cars are coming out, whose body is plastic. Zwickau car builders have called their car trabant, which in German means “satellite”. Trabant has a peculiarity that makes him differ from all the other cars in the world: at Zwickau, at each car 6.4 square meters of steel sheet are saved, which is equivalent to 160 kg of steel. The roof, the doors, the front and rear wings, the bonnet and the luggage roof are made of plastic mass, which is used as a raw material the cotton waste that are abundant at any textile enterprise ”, inform the communist press in Romania in 1959.

The builders were praised then because they managed to fulfill their task of finding a replacement for the steel board, used in the construction of the body. The plastic mass was considered superior and easier to achieve.

“The car manufacturers in Zwickau believe that the results obtained so far represent only the beginning. They intend to replace the natural cotton fibers with synthetic fibers, to reduce the thickness of the walls, to develop constructions to reduce the thickness of the stiffness nerves by increasing the demand on the plastic mass,”inform the newspaper “forward” of 1959.

The two -cylinder, two -stroke engine of the 18 -hp “trabant” car, consumes 6 liters per 100 kilometers and, together with the clutch and gearbox, weighed only 96 kg.

“Due to the front motor bridge, the cardan shaft and the rear axle are no longer required. The renunciation of the water cooling system allows the realization of non -ferrous metals used in the radiator”inform the press of the time.

Banks about Trabant

Until 1993, four models of this brand were manufactured: Trabant 500, 600 Trabant, Trabant 601 and Trabant 1.1.

The first model, 500, was a relatively modern car at the time of launch, but despite the improvements with time, the fact that the design of the 1950s remained largely unchanged until the last model has made the trabant become a symbol of the stagnation of the former Eastern Germans and, in general, of the communist countries.

Trabant cars became popular not only because of their price, much lower than that of a Dacia, but also the numerous banks circulating on their behalf. Here are some of them.

“What is the best feature of a roller?-Has a back stove to hold your hands warm when you push it.”

“A man driving a trabant suddenly ruins his windshield wipe. He enters a service station and shouts at a mechanic:

– Delete for a traba?

The mechanic thinks for a few seconds and replies:

– Yes, it seems like a correct exchange. “

“A new drab model with two exhaust pipes was launched-so you can use it as a maid.”

“How do you double the value of a roller? – fill it with gasoline.”

“Four men were seen by caring a trabant. Someone asks:

– Is it broken?

They answer:

– No, it has nothing, we just rush. “

“How do you catch a trabant? – Put a piece of chewing gum on the road.”