# Russian Cars! **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [March 17, 2009, 10:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/russian-cars/27923 "2009-03-17T22:45:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 10:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/russian-cars/27923/1 "2009-03-17T22:45:09Z")
If you want some really good laughs–as well as some reality about those awful cars that were manufactured in The Soviet Union–take a look at this segment from The UK’s _Top Gear_ TV program. Good stuff! ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 10:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/russian-cars/27923/2 "2009-03-17T22:46:03Z")
Whoops! Here is the link: [http://www.topgear.com/us/videos/more/communist-cars/](http://www.topgear.com/us/videos/more/communist-cars/) ---
**Author:** ![americar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/americar/32/42_2.png) [@americar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/americar)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 10:59pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/russian-cars/27923/3 "2009-03-17T22:59:03Z")
Name a rear engine, air cooled V8, Hemi Car made by Russia. ---
**Author:** ![twotone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@twotone](https://community.cartalk.com/u/twotone)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 11:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/russian-cars/27923/4 "2009-03-17T23:27:32Z")
I lived and worked in Moscow from 1992 to 1997 and drove a Lada Zhiguli 06. Fiat sold the model 128 tooling to Lada in the early 1990’s. It was the best of Italian engineering with the best of Russian quality control. A one-year old Lada was worth more than a new one – the first owner fixed what was wrong with it when it left the factory. At least I did not get stopped by street police and hit up for “fines” as often as the BMW and Mercedes drivers. Twotone ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 11:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/russian-cars/27923/5 "2009-03-17T23:32:09Z")
They are transient tributes to the capitalist system. OTOH, F-150s are lasting tributes. ---
**Author:** ![FoDaddy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/fodaddy/32/717_2.png) [@FoDaddy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/FoDaddy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/russian-cars/27923/6 "2009-03-18T00:19:35Z")
Otterhere, your dream car has arrived. ---
**Author:** ![americar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/americar/32/42_2.png) [@americar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/americar)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/russian-cars/27923/7 "2009-03-18T00:43:55Z")
ROFLMBO! ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 12:45am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/russian-cars/27923/8 "2009-03-18T00:45:23Z")
I believe that you are referring to the Tatra, which was designed by the independently-thinking mechanical genius, Hans Ledwinka, and was made in CZECHOSLOVAKIA, not in Russia or the USSR. While Czechoslovakia was a Communist state, it was always different from most of the rest of the Soviet Union’s satellite nations in that it was consistently noted for the fine quality craftmanship of its cars, surgical instruments, electronic goods, and weaponry. Going back to the 1930s, one of Germany’s prime reasons for invading Czechoslovakia was to steal the technology for the armor-plating developed by Czechoslovakia’s Skoda Steel Works, which was superior to the technology that the Nazis had. And, after the war, many of the industries in Czechoslovakia continued to be leaders in technology. Please don’t confuse Czechoslovakia with the old USSR or Russia! ---
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/russian-cars/27923/9 "2009-03-18T01:05:38Z")
There were two good things about the Lada. The “glove” compartment was large enough to hold two bottles of vodka and it slanted downward. The other thing was the powerful rear window defroster, which kept your hand warm while pushing it to start. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 1:07am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/russian-cars/27923/10 "2009-03-18T01:07:21Z")
Good one! Perhaps a Moskvitch could replace her dear, departed Suzuki Swift. ---
**Author:** ![americar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/americar/32/42_2.png) [@americar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/americar)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 1:09am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/russian-cars/27923/11 "2009-03-18T01:09:00Z")
Exactly, The Tatra T613. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatra\_T613](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatra_T613) ---
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 1:22am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/russian-cars/27923/12 "2009-03-18T01:22:49Z")
To put Russion cars in perspective, I had an opportunity to chauffer some Russian dignitaries around during an international power conference in the early 70s. My car at that time was a well maintained 1966 Chevelle Malibu V8 in maroon metallic. The deputy director of the Leningrad Turbine works, and the deputy director of power ministry in Moscow both admired the car, even though at that time it had over 90,000 miles on it. The smooth V8, powerful heater, quiet ride and easy starting (it was mid January at the time) puzzled them to some extent, especially when I explained that many of our employees drove cars like that. When returning to our company offices, they were really confused when I entered the back of the parking lot, drove past all the shiny cars and finally parked beside the front door in the visitor’s lot. They asked what special event was taking place, and I had the historic opportunity to tell them: “Comrades; these are the WORKERS’ CARS!”. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/russian-cars/27923/13 "2009-03-18T01:27:54Z")
Well, hopefully you now know that the car did not come from Russia/USSR. In his prime, Hans Ledwinka was an associate of Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, and was considered to be at least Porsche’s equal in terms of his automotive brilliance. His Tatra design was certainly unconventional for the time, and it survived with few major changes for at least 30 years. Most important of all, it was light-years ahead of anything from Russia/USSR in terms of both technology and quality. ---
**Author:** ![americar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/americar/32/42_2.png) [@americar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/americar)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 2:25am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/russian-cars/27923/14 "2009-03-18T02:25:45Z")
According to Wikipedia, The last generation Dodge Stratus/Sebring License, and Production has been sold to Russia for production [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge\_Stratus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Stratus) ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/russian-cars/27923/15 "2009-03-18T16:44:27Z")
No, I was wrong. On second thought, I think that the Zaporozhets could be her new dream car! > **[ZAZ Zaporozhets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaporozhets)** > > ZAZ Zaporozhets (Ukrainian: Запоро́жець; Russian: Запоро́жец, IPA: \[zəpɐˈroʐɨt͡s\] ( listen)) was a series of rear-wheel-drive superminis (city cars in their first generation) designed and built from 1958 at the ZAZ factory in Soviet Ukraine. Different models of the Zaporozhets, all of which had an air-cooled engine in the rear, were produced until 1994. Since the late 1980s, the final series, 968M, was replaced by the cardinally different ZAZ-1102 Tavria hatchback, which featured a front-wheel dr...