First Polish CC, outside Pope John Paul II airport. Anyone? Anyone?
A trip to Poland is one I’ve always wanted to make. All four of my grandparents emigrated from Poland in the early 1900’s in search of a better life. My parents spoke the language, and we celebrate our Polish heritage then and now. Basic details of my Polish ancestry remain elusive as sadly, what our grandparents told us about their past was not well chronicled. Nevertheless, I have been fascinated with the country my entire life. Like the old cliche goes, when you have the time, you don’t have the money, and when you have money, you don’t have the time. We finally were able to take a trip this summer, and made stops in Krakow, Zacopane, Częstochowa and Warsaw and drove a fair bit in central and southern Poland. Of course, I started observing and photographing cars here the very instant we were found ourselves waiting outside Pope John Paul II airport in Krakow for our rental (a Mazda CX-5) to arrive.
Palace of Culture and Science, 1955, Stalin’s gift to Poland
I think Americans might be inclined to associate any former communist countries as a bit behind the times owing to the Cold War. Make no mistake, Poland is a thoroughly modern country. At their core, the Poles are freedom loving people. It was tough sledding for Poland after the end of communism in 1989 as they transitioned to democracy and capitalism. Thirty years on, they have come out of it pretty well. They want to distance themselves from the communist era as much as possible. Poland was admitted into the European Union in 2004. The country has a good infrastructure, a low crime rate, an excellent educational system, national health care, a good economy and at least that I saw, a high standard of living. Their annual household income is roughly $29,000, higher than that of EU nations like Portugal and Greece and picking up steam. Larger cities we visited, Krakow and Warsaw were cosmopolitan, vibrant and bustling. Road and building construction was everywhere. By the way, locals would much prefer you refer to Poland as a Central European country, not an Eastern European one.
Available for Rent!
Our Zuk tour bus in Warsaw- Natural Gas Conversion
Old Lada Being Daily Driven, Looking Sharp!
Who needs an F-150 4×4 with a plow when you have an old Polski Fiat!
Old Fiat’s still getting it done!
I certainly did not expect to find a lot of communist era automobiles here. Those are almost all gone and those that survive seem to be a novelty or collector cars. Poland has an automotive producing tradition that extends back almost 100 years. Opel’s and Fiats are currently produced in the country, among other smaller makers of commercial and specialty vehicles. Historically, the most iconic Polish-manufactured car is the Polski Fiat 126p (above, orange), affectionately named the Maluch, or “little one”. Over 3.3 million units were produced in the period from 1973-2000. Our tour guide in Warsaw, Arthur, told us his father had to wait 6 years for one during communism, and when he finally got the notice that it was ready, he forgot that he had ordered it. People would take entire families in this tiny car on holiday in the summer, luggage on top, all over Poland, powered by a two cylinder 500 CC motor (in the early ones at least). Quick aside, if ever in Warsaw check out the Museum of Life Under Communism … fabulous!
Penned in during Krakow rush hour by 2 trains!
Want to park your old Citroen on the sidewalk? A-OK in Krakow
Driving here can be a bit interesting, at least in the city. The amber is usually after the red light, not after the green, opposite of what we’re used to. In Krakow, you often have to contend with driving very, very close to light rail trains. Pedestrians do not generally look at crosswalks, no catching of the drivers eye to make sure you see each other. In Krakow, there were intersections where you think there should be a traffic light but there isn’t and it’s chaotic. Yet somehow, it all works. Oh, and parking on the sidewalk is fair game in designated areas, at least in an old city like Krakow where parking spaces just don’t exist.
High Design Polish Roadway Bridge- Now That’s More Like It!
There has been a road building boom here, and the roadways and bridges are well engineered and of high quality…better than in my home State. I remain perpetually embarrassed that Michigan cannot seem to build or maintain roads to a standard like this or even our neighboring states, but don’t get me started. Poland is rapidly expanding and upgrading their national highway system to link the major cities, but we were only able to sample a bit of it.
Dacia Duster- A Romanian Renault
Skoda Superba- Thick on the Ground In Poland
I would say the new car market is pretty fragmented here, every global brand seems to have a presence. The most popular car brand for new car sales in recent years is Skoda, a brand of VW (think VW-lite). Skoda used to be a state owned company under communism in the old Czechoslovakia, but survived the transition to capitalism. Models like the Octavia, Superba and Rapid are strong sellers. Toyota is making huge inroads in this market. This year, for the first time, a Toyota model took the top monthly spot, the Corolla. Opel’s, VW’s and the Korean and French brands are also thick on the ground, as well as Fiat and Seat (another VW brand). When we were in Ireland, one of our party had a diesel Dacia Duster, which is a Romanian-built Renault brand targeting the lower end of the market. I was quite taken with this handsome little crossover (above, too), and Dacia’s were a common site here as well. Diesel cars are plentiful in older models but newer cars are overwhelmingly petrol, reflecting the rapid global trend away from diesel passenger cars. 95 octane at the pump is base grade unleaded. Gas was….about $5.25 a gallon.
True American cars, as expected, are nearly flying unicorns here. The most common seemed to be Chrysler products: Jeeps and Dodge caravans. If I recall, select Chrysler models were built in Austria by Magna Steyr for European consumption for awhile. Many of the Jeep Wranglers I saw appeared to be something of a status symbol here, with lift kits and custom wheels. There were sighting of multiple Neon’s, a Caliber, a Stratus, a 300 and a Durango . I wonder what drew people to seek out and purchase these cars? I can’t imagine a Pole saying, “Man, I’m really, really diggin’ the lines on that Dodge Stratus and I think I’ll import one!” It cannot be easy, fast or inexpensive to get parts for an old Chrysler.
The ride of the Warsaw Chapter President of the Buick Club of Poland?
Krakow: The little red Corsa is giving the Durango lots of space!
Rough but Running Older Chrysler’s, Krakow
Well cared for V-6 Mustang, Old Town Warsaw
Malaise Era Mercury Coupe in Czestochowa’s Town Square looking right as rain!
Czestochowa Taxi: Aussie Ford Falcon? Anyone?
Turns out, I found that a slightly modified Dodge Stratus was produced by GAZ in Russia and sold as the Volga Siber from 2008-2010, but the one above is definitely not one of those. I did see a few other surprises, like this mid-70’s Ford in Czestochowa in absolutely pristine condition as it burbled by, and a random mid-90’s Buick Regal in Warsaw. I saw a couple of V-8 new Mustangs and Camaro’s as well. Oddly, I saw this Ford taxi…and I believe it to be an old Australian Ford…but can’t be sure..in Czestochowa. Cannot say this one was a looker. One of Ford Australia’s deadliest sins?
Krakow: Someone’s old Fat Cinquecento needing some TLC 
Gen 1 Ford Ka in Wadowice
South of Krakow: Opel Tigra A- bad shot but so rare I had to post it
Zacopane: Older Seat Leon
Opel Corsa C
Roadside, Rural Poland: Opel Vectra B(eater)
Euro Ford Escort Estate, Circa 1990’s
Praga Neigborhood, Warsaw: Best guess, Fiat 238 Van
The most common car type here seemed to be small cars and subcompacts. Polish motorists are, however, like everyone else, migrating to crossovers of all sizes except the really massive ones. I also saw plenty of German and other exotics on Polish roads. However, the average household income is about half that of the US, and fuel cost is about double, so car ownership is a big expense for the common working Pole. This is the most affordable price point, and owners keep their cars going a long time. Very common to see 20 + year old cars being daily driven here. Above is a collection of random workaday cars that spoke to me somehow. This is a four season country, but I didn’t see too many rust buckets here. One local told me that people in general maintain and care for their cars very well here, especially the older generation who weren’t given the opportunity for car ownership under communism.
Warsaw: A 1999 10 year Anniversary Miata- just like my old one!
Warsaw: Euro spec UK built civic Type R, forbidden fruit – for North Americans
Warsaw: Gen 3 Supra- just a little worse for wear. Wait, what, a V-8 conversion?
Warsaw: Spotless MR-2. Somebody’s baby.
Krakow: Neat as a pin Mazda MX-3
Not for U.S. Consumption- Toyota Avensis, a tweener’ between Corolla and Camry.
I was surprised by the presence of so many new and older Japanese cars here. I guess they know a good thing when they see it. For years the Japanese brands like Toyota and Honda were consistent but niche players in Europe, despite European production facilities. Not so anymore. Prius’s, Corolla’s, and newer crossovers like the RAV4 and CRV were everywhere . As in Ireland on our visit, the very conservative looking Avensis seemed to be popular as well. They also have a fondness for older Japanese sports cars, and me seeing an old Miata like mine in Warsaw made me want another one.
Older Opel Astra and VW Passat Getting The Job Done!
And Poles are not afraid to put their cars to work. Most smaller front wheel drive cars in North America have in their owners manual “not recommended for towing”, or have very low ratings. Not so here. Many have a little hitch and tow anything from not-small campers to open trailers of lumber or anything else that needs hauling.
Polish Made Zuk- A Rugged, Workhorse Truck Made until 1998
Mercedes Unimog: All I know is…I want one!
Isuzu D-Max Mid-Sizer of the Polish Park Service
Global Ford Ranger Earning it’s Keep!
Nissan Territory- best guess?
As far as trucks go, it holds here that trucks are mostly for work. I saw approximately 3 American full-size pickups in my 11 days: 2 F-150’s and a Dodge Ram. Others like the Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier, VW Armonk were out there as personal vehicles, but were rare. With gas prices this high, it’s not viable for most people. Near a ski resort in Zacopane I came upon a bruiser of an older full frame SUV that I instinctively thought was a Toyota Landcruiser, but it wore a Nissan Badge…and best as I can tell, it’s a Nissan Patrol. Never seen one in the flesh, and it was bad-ass.
Communist era border station, Sucha Hora, Slovakia, not needed in the Schengen Zone.
Only 2100 Miles To Tangiers!
While we were in southern Poland, near Zacopane and in the Tatra Mountains, we decided to make a run across the border to Slovakia. Mrs. Carlsberg66’s maternal grandmother, Margaret Novotny was 100% Slovakian through her parents, who emigrated to Pennsylvania. She died in 2001, and was quite a pistol and tons of fun, and was the closest thing I ever had to a grandmother, as mine all passed long before my birth. Both sides of the border were breathtakingly beautiful. When we crossed back, near Chocholow (ho-ho-lov), we came across these fellows, driving from Kuwait to Morocco via Europe in a pristine 1973 Datson GT-R. I love it but would love it even more without all the stickers. Hope they made it OK.
In the end, we had a great experience. I came away very impressed by the country and by association, the European Union. The people we encountered were universally hospitable and friendly. Although I tried to string together whatever Polish I do know to get around , English was widely spoken. Polish is not an easy language, not even for themselves. Getting around was not a problem. We thought prices for rooms, food, etc. was very reasonable. Poland certainly is not a small country, and I saw only a fraction of it. I hope to go back some day, to see places like Wroclaw and Gdansk, and maybe get more information about where my grandparents were from and visit those places. Hopefully, we will have that chance. If you got this far, with all these pictures, thanks for hanging in there.
Great read! Interesting to get a perspective on Poland, I have not read much since the decline of Communism about that country. Last time Poland was in the front of my awareness was during the Lech Walesa era. It’s good to see that Poland is coming up the curve nicely, in terms of standard of living.
I recall riding in a Skoda sedan in the Czech Republic about ten years ago, your great photos above reminded me of those fond memories.
Great easy to read article, very well described.
The intro photo looks like a Dacia 1300. That taxi is a Ford Scorpio, made in Germany.
A Romanian copy of a Renault 12.
Sure looks like a ’12’ to me. The Renault original was not uncommon in Canada in the 1970’s.
Ah…I have vague recollections of seeing these in England when we were there 20 years ago and thinking these were a bit on the ugly side. I did some research on the Ford Falcons of that era post submission and realized that I was wrong. Thx
Almost certainly a Dacia rather than a Renault. Licence built in Romnaia until the 2004.
The taxis a Ford Scorpio, a saloon derivative of the last Euro Ford Granada, and the last large European Ford unless you class the current Mondeo (aka Fusion) as a large car.
German built, 1994-98, and never commended for its styling. Now a very rare sight in the UK.
A most excellent trip summary with fantastic pictures. I generally think of Poland as just “European” these days. The Polski Fiat 500 is jus like the one my best friend’s mom had back in the late 70’s, and man, could she row that stick shift and make the most of the tiny engine going up the hill to our house!
The pictures are great, so many interesting forbidden fruit cars and unlike here, if they want some forbidden fruit of their own, they can generally just go out and get it. Freedom indeed.
Glad you had a great trip and took the time to share it with us.
Great write-up, Carl! Now, I have a sudden urge to get a pierogi!
Dacia 12 at the top, “Aussie ford” is actually a euro ford Scorpio, last of the big euro fords and the escort estate is actually a Mondeo, same gen as the contour.
Liking the photos, Poland is a country that has evaded me so far but would love to visit.
Thanks for the catch! I did a COAL on my 85 Ford Escort and wanted to lay eyes and snap a Euro Escort but I never found one. I recommend a trip…tourism also is on the upswing there. Krakow is a very old city, was beautiful and luckily suffered little damage during WW2. Many mid to large sized cities were nearly destroyed in WW2. Central Warsaw was 85% flattened. The hotel we stayed in(Polonia Palace) was built in 1913 and was in a row of 8-9 buildings that miraculously survived. Much of the postwar construction in Warsaw is Soviet style block buildings, so I’d say it is more of an interesting and historical city rather than a pretty one. But old town Warsaw was painstakingly re-created post war and is beautiful.
That generation of Scorpio was infamous at the ‘grenouille triste’, or the sad frog. Oddly enough it looks less hideous than usual as a big yellow taxi, but it was panned by the press on its launch for its ugliness. I believe they’re big, comfy armchairs of cars to drive – never been in one myself, VERY few left on the roads here in Scotland!
Hi!
Very interesting article .I left Poland 1985 during socialist era .I owned Lada( Fiat 124).
Changes in Poland are incredible. You don’t mention that at least 50% cars running on LPG .Installation of this system is very popular and cuts cost of fuel by 50%. Second, most buses and garbage truck run on LPG. Many of buses are electric .1989 Polands export to Soviet Union was 60%. all Polish export
and was cut. Communist government left Polish state with billions of dollars debt ant 80% inflation and high unemployment.Poland without any help was able to recover ,but Poles have to sacrifice a lot in hope that communism never will come back. When Poland enjoy membership to UE in 2004 Germany closed their work market to Poles for 7 years. Only UK opened their work market helping Poland easy 25% unemployment ,becsuse of collapse communism .I want to say THANK you UK. Poland don’t get attention and credit for struggle with Soviet utopian ideology.My regards.
Sorry for any mistakes writing in English
My son was just in Krakow like you, he said it was a beautiful city. Not too expensive and had a great time. Good thing you went to Slovenia not Ukraine like he did. He said it was a 5 hour ordeal to get across the border, but worth it once they let the tour bus through.. My wife’s family immigrated to Canada (post WW 1) from Poland and the Ukraine so it would be interesting to go for a visit some day.
Your wife’s family has the same background as both sides of mine (Paczolt and Barilla – no, I don’t know how mom’s side of the family ended up with an obviously Italian surname – I assume it was immigration in Baltimore, probably family name was actually Barillova). I definitely come from Slovak families, which was a source of some ethnic bigotry from mom’s side. Rakoved and Kamionka were the towns most often mentioned. Mom and dad were there in ’68 during the Prague Spring, were no doubt the usual Ugly Americans and totally embarrassed to discover that my Uncle John was a high functionary in the Communist Party. Their trip was easy because they spoke the language fluently, something they refused to teach to my sister and myself.
Love all the Fiats. I really believe that America would be a much more interesting car culture if Fiat hadn’t pulled out in the 80’s.
Great job Carlsberg, and what a variety of brands, models and ages!
Regarding the 95 octane rating for regular gasoline, that’s RON 95 (AKI 90-91). Premium gasoline usually is RON 98 – AKI 93.
The official designation throughout Europe for regular gasoline, known here as Euro 95, is E5 fuel (max. 5% bio-ethanol, that is).
“Michigan cannot seem to build or maintain roads to a standard like this.”
I am willing to go out on a limb and assert that “tax cutting” has something to do with the conditions of the roads in your state. Lower taxes always means poorer infrastructure.
Last week, I drove through three provinces. One, British Columbia, is rather famous for its rather higher taxes. But we also have excellent roads. The roads in low tax Alberta were lumpy, rough and holed all over the place. I didn’t see a single road construction crew, either.
The roads in Saskatchewan were better than those in Alberta, but still not that good. There were plenty of signs on said road praising Premier Scott Moe but no crews fixing the ruts and potholes.
I prefer to pay higher taxes to have better services. Replacing the front end of my vehicle is going to cost a lot more than a few cents a litre on fuel. But to each their own.
That limb you went out on is cracking.:)
Many states give very little from general revenue to state highway work. Generally, it is the state fuel tax (which is above and beyond the roughly $0.184 federal tax on gasoline and $0.244 on diesel) that funds road work. Sales tax on automobiles plus license fees also go toward highway work.
The federal fuel tax is then divided up among states which has long been a source of contention as there are donor states and recipient states. No state wants to be the donor since that goes elsewhere.
In regard to fuel taxes, Michigan has a fuel tax of $0.63 per gallon (fifth highest by my count) on gasoline yet has the 32nd best (or 18th worst) roads. Conversely, my state of Missouri has a fuel tax of $0.357 per gallon (sixth lowest or 44th highest) on gasoline and has the ninth best (or 41st worst) roads in the nation.
Sure, some states like New Jersey are consistent between fuel tax and road conditions but let’s also not forget there are a multitude of other factors that play into this such as weather, traffic volume, maintenance regimen, quality of materials, quality of construction, and priorities.
You refer to “tax cutting” and I would be interested to hear of any state or province that has ever cut their fuel tax. Income taxes need to be considered a separate entity because they usually are.
From what I have read and heard about Michigan roads their problems lie in places other than the fuel tax.
http://www.gaspricewatch.com/web_gas_taxes.php
https://reason.org/policy-study/23rd-annual-highway-report/
Jason, if you came to British Columbia and lived here, you would probably think, as an American, that our rates of taxation are, ahem, rather high.
That’s because they are rather high. We have an avowedly socialist government and we are proud that we have the best healthcare and education in Canada. We also have the lowest unemployment and highest economic growth in Canada.
As for fuel taxes, our fuel tax is presently C$0.37/ L. It is the highest in Canada. Alberta is taxed at C$0.23/L. This is the reason Alberta has crappy roads and BC has excellent roads.
The tax rate in BC thus would translate to USD$1.04/gal. That is a lot more than you are paying and the reason we have good roads.
In addition, as compared to Alberta, high income earners get nailed, while low to average earners are hardly taxed at all. Alberta has the right wing wet dream 10% flat tax, which means a burger flipper is taxed at the same rate as the owner of Gainer’s Meats.
The spending decisions are done through democratic elections. Historically, BC residents want good social service and infrastructure and are willing to pay for it. This would be less evident in places like Alberta.
I can’t think of a more difficult place in North America to maintain an good road network. We have long, harsh winters and very tall mountains. I am really impressed our roads are maintained so well whenever I drive on them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_fuel_taxes_in_Canada
Len, you are an intriguing person. You always have this unique need to inject politics into things. My response, while tangential to politics, simply relayed basic and objective information like fuel taxes and road conditions. Yet, you have jumped into the political arena with both feet, even going so far as to mention socialism and wet dreams.
It’s a rather curious phenomenon.
Jason, that’s because subjects like road maintenance are ultimately political. It is our political leaders who have the levers of power to make social change, such as having good roads, happen.
In Canada, anyway, governments tend to reflect the will of the voters.
I am not sure what a wet dream is or how it pertains to the subject of road maintenance.
But I do know in provinces where more money is spent, there tend to be better roads and that these priorities are the will of voters.
Len, I’m pretty sure there are at least a few people in Canada not 100 percent supportive of the Canadian government or the way tax dollars are spent. A lot of Canadians seem to live in the United States for one reason or another. And there are American in Canada as well. However, this piece has zero to do with taxes even though there was a comment about the roads in Michigan as compared to those in Poland. Please drop all talk of anything political in this particular thread. It’s just not welcome. Thank you and enjoy the travelogue for what it is.
As someone having been born in Poland who later emigrated to Canada and is a frequent visitor to Michigan, I’d like to point out that the relatively good road infrastructure in Poland today is the result of recent investment. A fair chunk of it is fueled by EU funds.
Poland has only recently seen a boom in new road construction. For years it had no real autobahn network.
Michigan, on the other hand, has had a network in place for years and is now keeping up the maintenance. A shrinking tax base is a factor in places like inner-Detroit but generally speaking, it’s a pretty good highway network relatively speaking and state levels of taxation are not necessarily a major factor in some of that maintenance not getting done.
In other words, to Jason’s point, it’s complicated 🙂
This seems like a very complex question. I guess what bothers me is when I see the same roads being recovered with asphalt every couple of years when the road deteriorates. It seems to me that if we keep doing the same things over and over again we have to expect the same result. I question the bid specs, low bidder awards and engineering of the roads and seems we should learn from other states and countries what the best practices are. Also, do the contractors have a warranty?
Some years ago I saw an editorial cartoon–can’t remember where, or who drew it. It shows a man standing in a garage, with his car up on a lift. He’s venting about how he’s not willing to pay higher gas taxes, and the mechanic is saying, “Your car needs $1200 worth of suspension work.” That pretty well sums it up.
Exactly. I almost never replace any front end parts in my cars here in Vancouver. So I pay extra on every tank. It is a lot cheaper than $2000 worth of front end parts.
I hear you on the roads. But once you get out of the lower mainland with all your nice new bridges and fancy tunnels the rest of BC especially Vancouver Island your results may vary. We still have a 2 lane “highway” going to Victoria. Although lately improved it still can’t even come close to the demand especially on long weekends. I have no problem with paying taxes on fuel to fund roads etc but being that where I live on the South Island we tend to vote for the wrong party both provincially and federally we tend to see those taxes and infrastructure going to Vancouver and area. I am a little surprised about Saskatchewan having better roads than Alberta. The last time I went there 20 years ago it was some rutted road without shoulders…
Plenty of infrastructure has been built in the Island. The Island Highway was much improved in the 1990’s and recently there were large investments in Victoria’s transit system. Of course the bulk of funding is going to go to the Lower Mainland, because that is where half the population and three quarters of the economic activity.
It is a tired old trope, too. The reality is the taxes and economic output of the Lower Mainland heavily subsadise every other part of the province.
I recently drive to Jasper, Banff and back to Vancouver. The roads were excellent in BC.
What a great tour here — there’s so much to comment on, it’s hard to know where to start.
First, I’ve never heard of the Volga Siber… absolutely fascinating that such a creation existed!
Interesting that you saw both an Opel Tigra and a Mazda MX-3… to me they look so similar that when I saw your Tigra picture I first thought is WAS an MX-3 until I saw that some of the details didn’t look quite right.
It’s amusing to me that Park Service vehicles look the same all over the world.
Just looking at the Communist-era border station sends chills up my spine.
I’ve never heard of the Żuk before, but I had to laugh at the name. In a number of Eastern European languages a variation of that name means “bug” or some variation thereof. My family used “zhuk” in Yiddish to refer to cockroaches. I think it has a similar meaning in Russian. We often talk about cars/trucks as being cockroaches of the road, but in this case, it may be literally true.
In your picture taken while stuck behind the trains, I’m surprised that your Mazda’s dashboard shows an mph speedometer. Is that unusual in Europe? I have no idea, but I find it interesting.
I could keep going here, because every picture is interesting — Poland appears like one of the most diverse automotive environments one could ever hope to find. Thanks for the photos!
Regarding our rental Mazda, I noticed the default MPH speedo right away as well. Our rental agency was an off off off terminal place I’d never heard of, but the price was competitive and the car was fine. The agent I returned to car to alluded that this car was imported from the States. Not sure how that could be more economical than buying local…..but I don’t know if new car purchases are heavily taxed.
It could have been brought over as a used car. I’m guessing that the Mazda is cheaper here than over there, both new and used. Or it was previously wrecked or otherwise written off. My daughter’s best friend has/had a 5year old CX-5 until last week when the insurance company wrote it off due to a hail storm and the ensuing damage. There is no reason that car can’t now be auctioned off, shipped to Poland or some other country and the damage be fixed for pennies on our local dollar. And then resold to a rental company like the one you used.
That’s exactly what happens. Most US imports are either write-off late-model cars, or American/luxury classics from the South.
Certainly an interesting variety of cars, broadly comparable to what I saw in Budapest a couple of years ago, though judging by your pics Poland is more tolerant of US-spec vehicles. I saw yet another strange version of the Chrysler cloud car: not an American model, not a European-specs Chrysler Stratus, not a GAZ Siber, but a decidedly not-North-American-spec ’01-’07 Dodge Stratus sedan. Obviously a factory-built car and not a hack job. But I was cracking the whip over myself very insistently: no pictures of freakin’ cars or car lights; I’m in Hungary with lots to see; pay attention to other things! So I didn’t photograph it.
The factory parts cattledog has clues to the existence of the car I saw, but not big enough ones. Googlefishing comes up empty. The few such cars I see on mobile.de are invariably American or Canadian models. Guess I should’ve taken pics when I could…!
I’d suspect that hideous European Ford done up in NYC Taxi livery is or was a movie car, or is somebody’s fun novelty-decorated car, rather than an actual taxi—but I could surely be wrong.
Its okay that you didn’t take care pics. For me, chronicalizing everything takes away from the experience anyway.
Hear hear! I few weeks ago, I did a Rocky Mountain Road Trip in my Golf.
I had an absolute blast and the car was just amazing,
I didn’t take a single pic. I think it is creepy to broadcast my life in social media anyway.
With regards to my (limited) knowledge of the world’s cars, Poland is an unknown to me. It didn’t really occur to me until this article, which I enjoyed very much.
I like the variety of Ladas and Gaz(zzes?) mixing it up with current Toyotas and old Nissans on the streets. Cool pics.
Wife & I did a similar trip, for similar reasons, to Czech Republic and Slovakia. The cities and city driving in Prague and Brno looks quite similar to the photos of Poland. There was a serious, ten or fifteen minute border crossing from Czech into Slovakia but no problem going the other way back into Czech twenty or so miles north. Our rental car was a nice, manual trans. Volkswagen Polo. Roads were also often excellent but navigation was work.
Car experiences included a stop at the Tatra Museum in western Czech and stumbling on an elaborate, luxurious Lexus showroom in old town Prague. The most unusual and unknown to me vehicles were the many hard working Praga trucks. Learning and using the Prague streetcars and subways was fun.
We made use of the light rail trains in Warsaw. Google maps helped to tell you the optimal transit route and which stop to depart the train, which made it easy. The ticket kiosks had an English, German and Spanish option so that made it simple to purchase tickets. I think 1 ticket was something like 70 cents.
All of my grandparents emigrated from Poland early in the last century, my grandfathers becoming citizens due to their American Army service in WW I. Unfortunately, my parents never made us learn Polish like they did. Thus, whenever they wanted to keep something from us kids, they would converse in Polish.
Great pictures, I sure hope to visit one of these days.
Carl, thank you for your feature. I have relatives in northeast Poland close to the Russian border. The last time I visited in 2010, I drove everywhere in a European Ford Focus and saw many of the cities you have showcased in your story. If only we could get together for a coffee and discuss our travels there.
I also visited Poland as an 18 year old in 1973 during communist times and after six weeks visiting relatives and touring the country came home to appreciate how fortunate I was to be living in Canada. Thirty years later I went back with my mother, rented a little Fiat and drove into Germany for a few days. My next trip with my oldest daughter was in 2007. She enjoyed all the places we went especially Krakow and Gdansk.
I doubt I’ll ever go back again, but I encourage anyone travelling to Europe to drive when you can. There is so much you miss when using the train or flying.
Great variety of vehicles, yes thats an older Nissan Patrol probably the 4.0 diesel version they are as bullet proof as a Landcruiser but they rust the same too, VW Amaroks are popular here too not as much as the Ranger only available as diesels here as is the D max/Holden Colorado, Interesting place.
Nice tour of an interesting country, and you found some gems there too. Glad you enjoyed the trip
Great story and pictures – especially the Polski FIAT with the snow plow blade in front. And speaking of the Zuk trucks, I actually met a fellow once who’s last name was Zuk. I’ve read that Poland has quite a variety of cars on its roads, and it was also great to read that Poland has bounced back quite well after years under the Soviet boot-heel. A friend of my sister went to Poland in 1980 with her mother to visit relatives, and she didn’t mince words when it came to her opinion of how the Russians treated Poland. I’m sure that if she went back now she would be pleasantly surprised. I’ve read about the rebadged Chryslers built by GAZ in Russia – here’s a link to an article about them:
https://www.allpar.com/world/russia.html
Mat Watson got a Maluch from Poland recently:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF8s7neTS3U
The van is a rear engined FIAT 900T, these are based on the successor of the FIAT 600, the FIAT 850. You can state that this small van is the direct successor of the FIAT Multipla.
The FIAT 238 was FIAT’s first FWD car, with the drive gear of the Autobianchi Primula.
What a nice write-up on a country I learnt to know and love thanks to my partner, who’s from near Krakow. She will gladly confirm that, believe it or not, it was indeed possible for a family of four to drive off on vacation in a Fiat 126 filled to the brim.
By the way, I think I’ve seen this white old 126 several times in Krakow already. Wasn’t the picture taken on Sw.Gertrudy street, close to the Best Western hotel, by any chance? Just wondering. How nice to see that this car is still there.
The amber is usually after the red light, not after the green, opposite of what we’re used to.
It’s common in Europe with many vehicles fitted with manual gearboxes. Flashing the amber briefly with red is to let the drivers shift into first before launching off at green.
For the record, this isn’t really the most representative selection of Polish cars. It’s mostly oddballs, plus some cheapo 90s cars enjoying the last legs of their working lives.
The Polish market is more like:
Most cars come as second-hand imports from Western Europe. The cheap cars are everywhere, but it is much more likely to find the expensive stuff in big cities than the countryside or towns.
Cheap beaters: late 90s economy cars (mainly Daewoos and Fiats), late 80s/early 90s VWs (Golf Mk2/3, Passat/Audi 80 B3/4,), midrange brand 90s cars from the B/C/D/E segments (Fords, Opels, Peugeots, Renaults, etc.)
Up to ~2500 PLN (~$650).
Cheap, but not junk: Early-to-mid 00s B, C and D-segment cars. Polos, Fabias, 206s, Corsas, Astras, Golfs, 307s, Mondeos, Vectras, Passats, Mazda 626s, etc. Also some late 90s premium stuff – A4s, 156s, 3-Series, C-Classes, etc.
2500-5000 PLN (~$650-1300).
Economy – A variety of cars from the 00s, mostly the early part (premium cars) or middle one (standard ones). From small hatchbacks, like the Polo, Corsa or Fabia, to smaller minivans like the Renault Scenic, Modus or Opel Zafira, to premium cars like the Audi A6, A4, BMW 3-Series or Alfa Romeo 156.
5000-12000 PLN (~$1300-3000).
Lower midrange – Basically what is in the previous section, but slightly newer and in better condition.
12000-20000 PLN (~$3000-5000).
Upper midrange – 2010s small and compact cars (Corsas, Golfs, Octavias, Focuses, etc.), early 2010s midsize cars, minivans and crossovers (Insignias, Mondeos, Passats, Qashqais, S-Maxes, Tiguans, A4s, etc.).
20000-40000 PLN (~$5000-10000).
Premium – well-equipped mid-10s compact, midsize and premium cars (Insignias, Passats, Golfs, Octavias, Outlanders, XC60s, C-Classes, A4s, etc.)
40000-65000 PLN (~$10000-16000)
Luxury – new compact cars (Corollas, Golfs, Civics, Octavias, Qashqais, Tucsons, etc.), late-model used premium cars (C-Classes, Mazda 6s, 5-Series, A6s, XC60s, X3s, X5s, etc.)
65000-130000 PLN (~$16000-32000).
High-end – Stuff above 130k. New premium cars (C-Classes, E-Classes, A4s, Q5s, X3s, 3-Series, XC60s, Macans, etc.) and well-equipped versions of less fancy ones (Tiguans, Kodiaqs, Superbs, Passats, Insignias, etc.).
Also, I think we must have been walking around the same part of Warsaw at the same time, since I saw the same Buick in the same place, and it was gone a few hours later. And what you called an “Escort” is a Mondeo, better known to Americans as the Ford Contour.
(Sorry for extending the comment chain, I though I was posting a new comment).
Dude:
It wouldn’t be very interesting to readers if I posted pictures of late-model Volvos and BMWs I saw in Poland and wrote about that. With globalization, outside of brands like Seat, Renault, Skoda, etc which aren’t sold here, there was a surprising amount of overlap of what you’d see here in the US, especially with post 2010 cars. I posted and sought out what I thought was interesting from the perspective of someone who’s never been to the country. And as you can gather, we on this site really like oddball cars and models unavailable here as subject matter.
Yep, you got me on the Mondeo, and you weren’t the first to point that out. It looked curiously like my cousins Ford Escort wagon he had about 15 years back but as I look at it now it’s a lot larger and longer.
That shot was taken on June 29, not far from the Science Museum in Warsaw on the River. My daily driver is a Buick Regal GS/Insignia, so was happy to see a Buick in Warsaw.
I did enjoy the breakdown you wrote….and my time in your country. My wife and I already talking about getting back sooner than later.
Well, I was there on July 13, so maybe the guy works somewhere near?
“And as you can gather, we on this site really like oddball cars and models unavailable here as subject matter.”
I always saw CC as less of that and more of a pageviews-be-damned detailed dissertation of some part of automotive spacetime. Not another “hey, look, cool car” site, but a realistic look into both the cool and the uncool.
Curbside Classic is the sort of site where I would expect a balanced look into motoring in Poland.
Maybe I could do that. But I would sooner submit an article about cars of The Who, which I have even been making a draft of in private.
I spot the same 1973 Datsun GT-R near Malaga (Spain) saturday 8th !! In transit to Morocco ?
This was taken on Monday, June 24. Sounds about right as I think they must’ve been taking their time and who knows if they had a breakdown or three along the way. Makes you wonder if they’re going to turn around and go back the same way they came, or take the north African route through Egypt to get home. I suppose I could check their social media but I’m mostly a conscientious objector along those lines and it may be written in Arabic…But I have a coworker from Syria who can translate for me.
I am late here but found the variety of old cars fascinating. And I keep hearing that American cars are not competitive in other countries because fuel costs so much there. But you indicate that gas is under $2.50/gal there and there are still almost no American cars. I find this both sad and an indictment on the current state of our Automotive industry.
JP, I stated in the article that gas was $5.25 a gallon converted from liters/zlotys.
They were plenty of American cars just not ones made here and shipped there. Ford’s especially like the Kuga (Escape), Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo/Fusion. Also…Opel’s : Corsa’s,Astra’s, Mokka(Chevy Traxx/Buick Encore) and Insignia’s/Buick Regal made by GM Europe (now PSA since 2017). All made in Europe for the European market. Even saw a few Chevy Sonics as Warsaw police cars.
OK, that makes more sense. I must have read it too quickly.
They’re Aveos, not Sonics. And Chevy has been out since 2015, except for the Camaro.
Love your pics – I recall seeing Opel Tigras on a couple visits to Europe between 1999-2004. The Ford Scorpio as a New York Taxi is comical – the Mark II Scorpio was criticized for its looks being too American, it does sort of looks like a Crown Vic from some parallel universe.
My favorite pic is of the Palace of Culture and Science skyscraper – it looks so much like one of the Stalin era seven sister skyscrapers in Moscow. These soviet buildings all have great Art Deco influenced forms, but looked out of date compared to International style buildings like the Lever House in NYC being built in the early 1950’s. I understand that lots of folks want to tear down the Palace of Culture & Science due to upkeep costs and its association with Joseph Stalin.
The vehicles you mentioned are developed by Opel and GM Korea (formerly known as Daewoo) as well as Ford Europe, and they have been modified to some degrees for American market, not vice versa.
As for Opel-built Buick Regal, what would replace them in the future remains to be seen as PSA agreed to continue building the current model for GM and nothing further. Buick Encore and Opel Mokka are built in South Korea and exported to the US and Europe respectively.
FCA effectively killed Chrysler and Dodge brands in Europe and ended Lancia-branded Chrysler models for good. Only American model that is currently exported to Europe and sold through FCA-authorised sales centres is Ram Truck where it has a strong following in the Scandinavian countries and Germany.
Yes, well aware the cars mentioned were European Fords tweaked for the US market. Wanted it to come across that these were American brands, not American designed and developed.
I quite like the new Insignia/Regal and the Tour X wagon even more (from PSA). They are not strong sellers and Buick may get out of traditional passenger cars…at least in the US.
Those were still GM designs although built in a plant that is now PSA (well Stellantis PSA now) run. Newer Opel/Vauxhall models are PSA deep down.
And your crystal ball was correct. Still about five Buick sedans in China.
Writing from the future here but with US cars in Poland there’s a large diaspora in the USA and Canada and some of them do come back. As part of their relocation people will often ship back cars that they own so I’ve seen lots of strange choices like civics, focuses and other stuff that’s nothing special. There’s also an import business focused on “cool” American cars like chargers and mustangs or euro cars that depreciate faster there like cayennes or Audis especially if they’re damaged. You can usually tell those apart because the licence plate holders are smaller.
$5.25/gallon is less than double US price and quite a bit less expensive than Western European countries.