Sorry that we let you wait so long! After 'Edition 5000' came out on January 10 a small avalanche of great photos, stories ...and more came in. So many that we had to wait until today before we were ready with publishing and telling you about the results! Yet today we like to let you know about the winners of the Edition 5000 competition. An amazing load of e came in. It only confirmed to us that zillions of stories must be out there. We decided to give out two prizes. One for best story and one for best photo. And we most certainly consider to extend this game for the near future.
One prize won for the fab photo by Don Stephan showing five 'girls' looking away from his Bug.... . Congratulations Don, you just won $ 50
One prize won for the entertaining, intersting and witty story by Radu Comsa (headline above, story below). Congratulations! We'll send you Euro 50
"Bucharest 1987, me 16 year old. A good friend borrowed me for few days the Bucharest Police Car Register from the mid '30's. Together with a period city street guide, it was perfect for a teenager detective job. I made a shortlist of interesting cars, taking care of most probable addresses where to find a car (preferably small streets with extant villas because at that time Bucharest was under Ceausescu's demolition madness) I started with a shortlist of about thirty cars: Voisins, Alfa Romeos, Packards, Isottas. But the first line on my note REO on Carol Knappe street. Had no idea about the make, but it sounded so exotic, it had to be a great car....
Then I started my search. First day, first line, and arriving on Carol Knappe street one can imagine my big big surprise to see at the precise street number a rusty phaeton behind the fence. Pushed the gate. Car had nice wire wheels, big headlights and a beautiful sweeping line on the hood. But was missing the body from the front doors on, though it had all four fenders and the gas tank. Engine and transmission were there, today it's called restorable.
Rang the bell and a nice old lady opens the door - "OMG, please don' t move", she says, then she calls an old man, obviously her husband. "Please turn left now and then turn right" to me and "It's him! ...same ears" to her husband. Then they kindly invited me for a piece of cake. From their conversation, soon realised I was a perfect look-alike of their lost son - "nice to pass by, we were somehow waiting for you". After coming home all that story became very spooky for a teenager and I promised myself never to go back to that street. And hey, if the first line of the list was succesful, there are plenty of cars to be discovered, if not a Bugatti, then a Voisin might be just fine. Needless to say, none of the other addresses had rusty cars...
Years later, saw in the Standard Catalog the 1929/30 Flying Cloud REO phaeton is quite a rare car, with a production run of only one year. And most handsome I would say. Three years ago, I saw it again at the opposite end of the city , this time only a poor bare chassis on a sidewalk. Though driving at some speed, I instantly recognized the gas tank. "
Radu Comsa, Bucharest January 2015
(edition 5000 competition, comp5000)