A few more comments to make:
I was asked recently about the food.  Unfortunately I can't tell you anything about Romanian food as we didn't have any !  Because it was a city tour and we needed secure parking for the cars we tended to stay in decent hotels and they all had a western slant to their menus.  Even breakfast was a take on a full English with a continental also available.
The continental came in handy as we made up a sandwich for lunch at breakfast.  The hotels seemed quite happy for us to do this and often offered to fill our flasks with coffee/tea. We did it beacause we often had no idea where lunch would be, and after a few inspections of the service areas ( on high mileage days ) we decided they were a no-no because of the lack of hygiene/close proximity of loos to food !  Good choice I think because 2 of the ladies in the party did eat in places on spec and were out of action for a day with 'funny tummies'.
We never, at any time, felt threatened.  In fact, we were treated like celebrities as everyone just loved the cars.  It might have helped that a few of us flew Romanian flags attached to the luggage racks !
Funny story - At the top of the pass we were approached by 2 guys and one asked, in German, if we spoke German.  David replied that he spoke a little.  They then had a 10 minute conversation in schoolboy German.  Upon finishing and saying goodbye the other guy said ' Thank you very much, nice to meet you, safe journey ' in perfect English :))
I'm not sure that I ever actually said that the tourist parts of Romania are well worth visiting.  They are very pretty and well cared for.  As long as you realise that within a short distance you will see abject poverty and don't let that get you down you will have a good trip - although I'd recommend flying :)