Nicolae Ceaușescu, the communist president of Romania, wanted to make the country a paradise of the socialist era. For this reason, he invested huge sums of money in car, wagon or locomotive factories, which he built under license from Western Europe.
The case from Colibași is a typical one of how things worked in that period. On August 29, 1968, Ceaușescu came to Colibași to celebrate the first Dacia 1100 car, produced here.
Those from the state protocol put the companion behind the wheel of such a model, which was said to be the first built in Romania, and which bore the serial number 001.
In reality, say those who worked at the factories in Colibași, the first machine was ready three weeks before Nicolae Ceaușescu’s visit. At the official moment, those from Colibași chose a car that was more aesthetic and baptized it with the 001 series, in honor of the “much esteemed and loved” comrade Nicolae Ceaușescu.
A car for idiots
The former head of communist espionage, General Mihai Pacepa, wrote in a book that it was Nicolae Ceaușescu’s first impression when he saw the new model, Dacia 1100, which was built under a license from Renault 8.
“That’s how we found ourselves with a license for the obsolete Renault, whose production was to be stopped in France. It was the cheapest option”, Pacepa said at the time.
When Nicolae Ceaușescu saw the car, he had a remark that the general remembered all his life: “Good enough for idiots”.
Pacepa also said that Ceaușescu also chose the name Dacia, to celebrate Romania’s 2,000-year history.
Two years after the launch of the Dacia 1100 model, the Colibași Factories started producing the famous Dacia 1300 model, also inspired by a Renault license, the Renault 12.
Nicolae Ceaușescu allegedly ordered to get rid of unnecessary luxury, represented by electric mirrors or electric seat heating, after saying that the car was “too luxurious for idiots”.
The Mioveni factories are still operating today
At the factory in Argeș, in total, 37,500 Dacia 1100 cars were produced, after which production was stopped after it was found that the car had no future from a technological point of view.
The party and state leadership approved only a limited number of colors, which became very well known among Romanians at that time, namely Red 28, White 40, Blue 68, Gray 83 and Green 57.
Regarding the engine, the Dacia 1100 had a 1,108 cubic centimeter engine, a low power one, developing 46 horsepower and a maximum speed of 132 kilometers per hour. At that time, the car had a high consumption in relation to the engine power, namely seven liters per hundred kilometers.
2023-06-03 14:43:07
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