The Logan lifts Romania; Building cars, making components and buying some new wheels.(News)

Byline: Lyle Frink

The Romanian capital is a boomtown as the country prepares to enter the EU in January.

Construction cranes rise above the city and work being done on building sites - many of them gleaming big car dealerships - restrict bustling traffic. The sound of the city is the near-constant honking of motorists trying to reach their destinations faster.

One catalyst of the country's economic surge is the runaway success of the Dacia Logan - the inexpensive, sturdy, labor-intensive car built in Pitesti 65km northwest of Bucharest.

Under French automaker Renault's ...