Dacia, a brand with ups, downs and now ups

Dacia is a Romanian car brand. Once UAP (Uzina de Autoturisme Pitești, Autofabriek Piteşti) was a state-owned company, nowadays the factory has been part of the French Renault group for a long time. And the new Dacias? Those are great cars! The name refers to old Dacia, roughly present day Romania. The factory was established in 1952. After modernization, the basis for the expansion to a passenger car factory was laid in 1967. The support of specialists from the French Renault factory was already used in the first phase of building production facilities.

Dacia in the beginning

In 1968 the first passenger car of the Dacia 1100 type was of the tire. In 1969 began the assembly of the Dacia 1300, a license of the Renault 12 that would be built by Dacia in many versions. These Dacia models have been offered for export by the Romanians since 1977. Initially, Englebert in Voorschoten was involved in this. When, due to financial difficulties in 1981, it stopped importing, it was quiet for a while around Dacia in the Netherlands.

Another try

Starting from 1984, Primacar in Prinsenbeek, also importer of the also Romanian ARO off-road vehicles, tried again. Primacar offered the sedan models 1210 STD (standard, 11.995 guilder), 1310 and 1410 (both in various versions), and furthermore the 1310 as Break and Van (as company car) and a Pick-up with or without polyester superstructure. Primacar could also equip the passenger cars with the luxury package 'Mamaya', named after the Romanian seaside resort of the same name. The promotion package, which was only available in the Netherlands, included decorative piping and the inscription 'Mamaya' on the front fenders, rubber bumpers over the flanks, a sunroof, a small spoiler on the boot lid, floor mats and a Philips stereo cassette player including antenna. The promotional price of this package valued at 1.535 guilder was 500 guilder. A total of such 2.000.000 Dacia 1310s have been made. During that time they received a facelift six times

A top year of 133 copies

First things went pretty well, the top year was 1985 with copies sold of 133. Political problems in Romania threw a spanner in the works, making it difficult for the importer to deliver cars. In 1989, 9 Dacias were put on license plates, not long afterwards the import activities were stopped. 2004 rolled out the last copy of the basic model in July as Berlina. This marked the end of an era of almost 35 years in which the car, like the East German Trabant, grew into a symbol of communism that emphatically determined the street scene in Romania. The car was also built in versions that were never carried by Renault, such as a Pick-up with single or double cab, this version was popularly called Papuc (slipper).

Not so richly endowed

The so-called Dacia 1310 Standard was the entry-level model and it cost 1988 GOLDEN in 12.495. A 1300 cc VW Jetta had a price tag of 23.750 GULDEN or thereabouts. That Dacia 1310 standard was therefore very lean. No seat belts, no power brakes… But a roof and four doors. For people who wanted to invest a little more extensively and still want to drive Dacia, there was a choice outside the standard between the MS, the MLS, the Combi, the Pick-up and a very real Dacia commercial vehicle. In the tests of that time, the biggest guiding thought was: “If the old R12 still had the right to exist, it would have written 'Renault' on the car.

In the meantime, it's really hard to find a really old Dacia. And to decide what to do with it when you find it. Never give a lot of money for it. But it can be a very nice purchase.