Bye bye baby
By : Justyna Wrobel
Another symbol of communist-era Poland will disappear in September when Fiat Auto Poland stops the production of its smallest model, the Fiat 126, affectionately know as Maluch (Baby).
"Sales dropped and producing the car wasn't profitable any longer," said Miroslaw Cieslar, Fiat's marketing director. Fiat sold 30,000 Maluchs in 1999 and 10,000 between January and July of this year.
First built in Italy in 1972, the car rolled off a Bielsko-Biala production line for the first time in 1973 and enjoyed popularity throughout the 1970s because it was one of the few cars available. It has predictably fallen out of favor since the early 1990s.
"(Today) Maluch is not a popular car in Warsaw and other big cities," said Andrzej Kozikowski, a marketing specialist at Carserwis, a Fiat dealer that has quit selling the Maluch. Kozikowski said the decline in interest is particularly visible "in all places where there is easy access to used cars."
But there are still a number of Maluch enthusiasts, especially among those who like changing cars frequently but don't have much money to play with. "This car costs 50% less than the next cheapest Fiat model (Fiat Uno 900, zl. 22,000)," Kozikowski said.
Although the car saves the driver money, it could cost him his life. The Maluch is generally recognized as one of the most dangerous cars on Polish roads. "How can it be otherwise, when its construction dates back to the 1960s?" Kozikowski said, adding that "it wasn't possible to develop (the Maluch) because of its small dimensions."
Kozikowski also said the Maluch could never be a popular Polish car because "everyone who ever had the chance to drive a different car gave up the Maluch."
That was certainly the case for Anastazja Kostrzewa, a 68-year-old pensioner who bought the first of her three Maluchs in 1975. "The Maluch was a luxury then," Kostrzewa said.
She and her husband applied for a Maluch in 1973. "You first had to pay an initial fee and then the remaining amount in installments," she said. Although the Kostrzewas were due to receive their car in 1978, they had a stroke of luck. "An additional batch of Maluchs came straight from Italy," Kostrzewa said. "We took part in a draw and got one in 1975."
Kostrzewa felt lucky to be able to own and drive her Fiat until her son bought her a Fiat Uno in 1994.
"When I tried the Maluch again (after driving the Uno), I thought, 'This car has to be damaged and I never realized it'," she said.
Although Kostrzewa kicked the Maluch habit six years ago, Katarzyna Troszczynska, a 29-year-old mother, began driving one only this year. "It is a car to use for shopping," Troszczynska said, and for dropping her son Patryk off at school. "Driving it over longer distances is torture."
"Although it is an imitation of a car, it's the best choice for me," Troszczynska said. "Just like a bike, but you don't get tired."
Troszczynska also said the Maluch has the advantage of being cheap to buy and maintain. The Troszczynskis paid zl. 14,000 for their baby Fiat last year, and Troszczynska said monthly car costs come to about zl. 200, including gas and insurance.
The low price is why Piotr Gustak, a salesman at the AutoRex car dealer, insisted the Maluch would never completely disappear from circulation.
"Yesterday we had seven Maluchs (for sale); today there's none left," Gustak said, adding that owners don't need to worry about parts, as they "will be available on the market for the next few years."
The unsexiness of the model aside, Gustak said he understands why people like the Maluch. "It's small, guzzles little gas about 5.5 liters per 100 kilometers in the city and is cheap to maintain."
