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> reminds me of the old joke... Despite the jokes, the 80s ladas weren't so bad. My dad had a second-hand one in the 90s (almost certainly from mid 80s) and i
by dpwm 8y ago
> reminds me of the old joke...
Despite the jokes, the 80s ladas weren't so bad.
My dad had a second-hand one in the 90s (almost certainly from mid 80s) and it was a pretty solid car. There was a degree of simplicity to the maintenance that was uncharacteristic of other cars at the time. I don't recall it needing any major work doing to it at any point.
It also had windscreen wipers on the headlights which I recall a strange fascination with because at night the blades would cast moving shadows across the road.
When he sold it, it was snapped up quick for the Russian market.
However, the power of the electric lada in the article does sound more worthy of the old jokes.
It still seems pretty ambitious for the day and certainly surpasses my expectations on range.
- EugeneOZ 8y agolol, it was clearly an exception. Soviet cars (all russian cars except Kamaz) are total trash. My father spent 30 years of his life by repairing them.
- readhn 8y agoYou have no idea what you are talking about. First lada, for instance, was not a "soviet" car. It was a product of FIAT. Ural Motorcycle was really a BMW creation etc. etc. Henry Ford helped build some of the first Soviet cars (starting in 1929). By 1935, the Soviets had produced 100,000 Ford-designed vehicles. Soviets often "borrowed" western product designs and presented them as miracles of soviet industry.
- bch 8y agoUral was not a BMW. It was a Russian product based off an (old) BMW design. There’s a difference. Construction and materials don’t naturally follow just because they liscensed a design.
- readhn 8y agoRussians acquired the design and production techniques for BMW motorcycles and sidecars from Germans. Basically german tech reproduced in russia. "According to official accounts, after lengthy discussion, the BMW R71 motorcycle was found to closely match the Red Army's requirements. Five units were covertly purchased through Swedish intermediaries. Soviet engineers in Moscow dismantled the five BMWs, reverse engineered the BMW design in every detail and made molds and dies to produce engines and gearboxes in Moscow."
- Fins 8y agoFiat that the USSR bought wasnm't exactly a pinnacle of automotive engineering to begin with (as an American joke goes, FIAT stands for "Fix it again, Tony", doesn't it?) Initially, while all the Italian equipment was operating within design tolerances, Italian expendables were used, and designs weren't tweaked, it wasn't terrible for what it was. But that did not last long, and quality went downhill. To add insult to injury, Lada (or strictly speaking Zhiguli, Lada was the export name, and those were built slightly better) was a highest-end car a normal person could buy (after waiting in line for a few years, of course) without being "somebody".
- tonyedgecombe 8y agoThe Fiat 124 won care of the year in 1967. Although like most Italian cars of the era they didn't like the salted roads and damp air of Northern Europe. The Lada was quite different[1], in particular it was heavier to cope with Soviet roads. [1] https://jalopnik.com/the-first-lada-was-way-more-than-just-a-re-badged-fiat-1722260844 https://jalopnik.com/the-first-lada-was-way-more-than-just-a...
- Fins 8y agoBut "Car of the year" doesn't mean that it was better than a Ferrari, or a Royce either. Also, Fiat lacked Soviet build quality.
- EugeneOZ 8y agoYeah, I survived 33 years in Russia and have no idea what russian cars are, lol. I know all of that stories about FIAT. There's even anecdotes in Russia about the fact that they can't even copy Fiat without making a bucket with screw-nuts instead of a car. Name of the factory where Lada is being produced: VAZ, locals call this car TAZ ("pelvis").
- Fins 8y agoI would think "TAZ" in this case would be bowl, not pelvis.
- philjohn 8y agoAs others have said, must be an exception! My dad got my mum a Lada in the late 80's as it seemed a good deal ... that thing was horrendous and always breaking down. Another joke from that time "Why do Lada's have heated rear windscreens? To keep your hands warm while you're pushing them"
- dpwm 8y agoI never knew if the jokes were just cold war propaganda or entrenched in some kind of reality. The design of the Lada definitely went back some way. But for his needs it wasn't a bad car. My dad tinkered with cars and did everything himself. Maybe from a consumer point of view the car wasn't great, but then judging by the comprehensiveness of the toolkit that came with the car it perhaps wasn't aimed at the average consumer. I have since heard from other sources that the electrics could vary between perfect and terrible in Ladas, and that the bodies could be prone to rust. But both things were not uncommon with more mainstream cars of the time. I think the main problem my dad had was getting hold of parts in the UK. > Another joke from that time "Why do Lada's have heated rear windscreens? To keep your hands warm while you're pushing them" I remember many of those jokes being interchangeable with Lada and Skoda. Incidentally, my dad's next car was a Skoda Favorit. I'm not sure the jokes were really relevant there. It is quite interesting how Skoda now enjoys one of the better reputations of brands under the VW group.
- eccbits 8y agoDon't know but wouldn't all cars be prone to rust in Russian winter and breakdowns on your awful roads? :) Came w toolkit, sounds like a gamer's overclocking PC!
- close04 8y agoIt does sound a bit strange when I hear people comparing the reliability of cars driven in conditions that are literally and figuratively worlds apart. And I'm thinking of climate, quality of roads, availability of professional repair, etc. Since very few Ladas were ever driven in California, and very few Chevys in Russia it's hard to be fair. They are both the products of local conditions.