← Continued from Page 2 of "From Dacia 1300 to Dacia Logan/Duster. The History of a Controversial Brand"1978 marks the end of the Dacia-Renault collaboration and, with an expiring Renault license, the Romanian automaker was hard pressed to push out a new model.
But, as I’ve previously recounted, communism made everything move as fast as lightning. In 1979 the Dacia 1310 sees the light of day and the older 1300 is discontinued.
In fact, it is only now that we can start talking about the famous Dacia 1310, a car that left a mark in Romanian history for the next several decades. Large tail lights (very large), two pairs of round headlights that became emblematic, redesigned bumpers with just a tad of inspiration from the Renault 12, a relatively new interior and that’s it!
Dacia 1310 was triumphantly presented at the Bucharest and Eren auto shows. Additionally, a sports version was showcased for the first time, initially as a concept called Brasovia due to the workshop that built it being located in the town of Brasov. The concept became reality four years later as Dacia 1410 Sport, a two-door car for the communist youngsters who “wanted more from life”. It was used in numerous car races and religiously tuned by motorsport fans but it still was, at its root, a car for young communist grasshoppers.
There were no less than five base Dacia 1310 models: Dacia 1310 TLX (1979-1990), LX (1990-1994), L (1994-1990), CL wagon (1994-1999), CLi wagon (2000-2004) and Li (2000-2004).
These cars made history and stories about their countless defects and malfunctions are already part of urban folklore. New and extremely original repair techniques were “patented” daily, as every owner doubled up as a mechanic for his beloved Dacia 1310.
No parking lot was without its Dacia owner meddling around with his car’s innards. The mere notion of scheduled maintenance or safety inspection was inexistent, while any tweak or minor repair was an occasion for hanging around for gossip and a drink (yes, while doing car repair) and the usual round of carburetor cleaning. These famous parts needed to be tuned nearly every day to operate within parameters whose actual values were long lost anyway.
During winter, any self-respecting Dacia owner also had a charger at home, used to recharge the car’s battery at night, otherwise the vehicle would refuse to start early in the morning. Unauthorized, improvised and self-made parts were the norm. Purchasing gasoline was a real pain, as it was strictly rationalized (using a card-based system) and quite rarely found on the black market. It was often replaced with alternatives of inferior quality, which further caused a lot of teeth grinding among the amateur mechanics’ guild.
Ceausescu, however, ended up being unhappy with people driving around in their cars so much, even though it was he who wanted to give his “idiots” a Romanian automobile. And so was born the bright idea of having Dacias take turns at “resting” on weekends, depending on the last figure on their number plate (odd or even). This lead to the wealthy (and most likely high ranking PCR members) possessing two cars they could use any time they liked - one with an odd number and a second with an even one.
But, as I’ve previously recounted, communism made everything move as fast as lightning. In 1979 the Dacia 1310 sees the light of day and the older 1300 is discontinued.
In fact, it is only now that we can start talking about the famous Dacia 1310, a car that left a mark in Romanian history for the next several decades. Large tail lights (very large), two pairs of round headlights that became emblematic, redesigned bumpers with just a tad of inspiration from the Renault 12, a relatively new interior and that’s it!
Dacia 1310 was triumphantly presented at the Bucharest and Eren auto shows. Additionally, a sports version was showcased for the first time, initially as a concept called Brasovia due to the workshop that built it being located in the town of Brasov. The concept became reality four years later as Dacia 1410 Sport, a two-door car for the communist youngsters who “wanted more from life”. It was used in numerous car races and religiously tuned by motorsport fans but it still was, at its root, a car for young communist grasshoppers.
There were no less than five base Dacia 1310 models: Dacia 1310 TLX (1979-1990), LX (1990-1994), L (1994-1990), CL wagon (1994-1999), CLi wagon (2000-2004) and Li (2000-2004).
These cars made history and stories about their countless defects and malfunctions are already part of urban folklore. New and extremely original repair techniques were “patented” daily, as every owner doubled up as a mechanic for his beloved Dacia 1310.
No parking lot was without its Dacia owner meddling around with his car’s innards. The mere notion of scheduled maintenance or safety inspection was inexistent, while any tweak or minor repair was an occasion for hanging around for gossip and a drink (yes, while doing car repair) and the usual round of carburetor cleaning. These famous parts needed to be tuned nearly every day to operate within parameters whose actual values were long lost anyway.
During winter, any self-respecting Dacia owner also had a charger at home, used to recharge the car’s battery at night, otherwise the vehicle would refuse to start early in the morning. Unauthorized, improvised and self-made parts were the norm. Purchasing gasoline was a real pain, as it was strictly rationalized (using a card-based system) and quite rarely found on the black market. It was often replaced with alternatives of inferior quality, which further caused a lot of teeth grinding among the amateur mechanics’ guild.
Ceausescu, however, ended up being unhappy with people driving around in their cars so much, even though it was he who wanted to give his “idiots” a Romanian automobile. And so was born the bright idea of having Dacias take turns at “resting” on weekends, depending on the last figure on their number plate (odd or even). This lead to the wealthy (and most likely high ranking PCR members) possessing two cars they could use any time they liked - one with an odd number and a second with an even one.
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