Perhaps surprised that they can't make the trip in the car with the specifically selected Premium Leather Seats and the Piano Black trim within the next 2 weeks

Perhaps surprised that they can't make the trip in the car with the specifically selected Premium Leather Seats and the Piano Black trim within the next 2 weeks? :) In all seriousness, that's not entirely true. From first person accounts I've heard, in the early 80s and throughout the 70s everything was more or less OK in the Soviet block. Of course the selection was not as great as in the West, but essential 20th century conveniences were available. In the late 80s things really started to fall apart and it became painfully obvious that their economic model is not competitive and ultimately unsustainable.