3 ms·

Loved the Lada jokes. "How do you double a Lada's value? Fill up its tank" could apply to quite a few modern cars with terrible depreciation curves

gsf_emergency_4 11mo ago
The related Trabi (made of paper, some claim) have had their value multiplied https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/living/2024/03/27/trabbi-prices-at-a-high-60-years-after-cult-east-german-car-was-born https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/living/2024/03/27/trabb...
- eru 11mo ago
  The classic claim was that the Trabi was made out of cardboard. Of course, that's a myth: the Trabi was actually made out of cheap plastic. The Trabant was actually a decent modern car when it debuted in 1957. The problem is that they produced it until 1991, when it was far from modern. I was born in Zwickau, where the Trabant was produced. It's no accident that they picked Zwickau for the production, because that's where Audi's predecessor company (Horch) had made their cars before. (Going on tangent: Audi is Latin for 'listen', and Horch is German for 'listen'.)
  - ido 11mo ago
    The Trabi was made of duroplast. Sussita, the only Israeli car (similar vintage) used fiberglass (only slightly better). I guess both had the advantage of being lightweight (and cheap).
  - flohofwoe 11mo ago
    > the Trabi was actually made out of cheap plastic Today it would be called an 'advanced composite material', e.g. it's closer to fiberglass than plastic and used recycled materials: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duroplast https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duroplast
  - deleted 11mo ago
    [deleted]
  - AniseAbyss 11mo ago
    The Trabant was a normal car if you look at what the rest of Europe was driving at the time. In fact the DDR did not economically collapse until the late 1970s. Ofcourse the real problem was they could not actually make enough of them. You could go to a Citroen dealer and pick up a 2CV the same day.
- kakacik 11mo ago
  BMV (which sounds same as BMW is most languages) - Bakelite Motor Vehicle.
classichasclass 11mo ago
Heck, we made that joke about the Yugo.
- MisterTea 11mo ago
  There is a Yugo parked near a brewery in Queens NYC that always blows my mind. It's still in decent shape for its age and must be driven regularly as it's always in a different parking spot.
ctphipps 11mo ago
Or the one that made it into an Australian TV advert. Guy walks into a service station. “Got a windscreen wiper for my Lada?” “Yeah, mate. Sounds like a good deal to me.”
noir_lord 11mo ago
What do you call a Lada with a sun roof? A skip. Why do lada’s have heated rear windows? To keep your hands warm while pushing them. Ladas and skoda’s where reasonably common in the UK in the late 80s/early 90s, I always had a bit of a soft spot for them, seeing Skodas resurgence after VW took over was cool as well, Skoda went from a laughing stock to winning car of the year pretty quickly and now people generally like the brand.
fransje26 11mo ago
"Do you know why Ladas have a heated back-window? To warm your hands while you are pushing."

gsf_emergency_4 11mo ago

The related Trabi (made of paper, some claim) have had their value multiplied https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/living/2024/03/27/trabbi-prices-at-a-high-60-years-after-cult-east-german-car-was-born https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/living/2024/03/27/trabb...

eru 11mo ago
The classic claim was that the Trabi was made out of cardboard. Of course, that's a myth: the Trabi was actually made out of cheap plastic. The Trabant was actually a decent modern car when it debuted in 1957. The problem is that they produced it until 1991, when it was far from modern. I was born in Zwickau, where the Trabant was produced. It's no accident that they picked Zwickau for the production, because that's where Audi's predecessor company (Horch) had made their cars before. (Going on tangent: Audi is Latin for 'listen', and Horch is German for 'listen'.)
- ido 11mo ago
  The Trabi was made of duroplast. Sussita, the only Israeli car (similar vintage) used fiberglass (only slightly better). I guess both had the advantage of being lightweight (and cheap).
- flohofwoe 11mo ago
  > the Trabi was actually made out of cheap plastic Today it would be called an 'advanced composite material', e.g. it's closer to fiberglass than plastic and used recycled materials: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duroplast https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duroplast
- deleted 11mo ago
  [deleted]
- AniseAbyss 11mo ago
  The Trabant was a normal car if you look at what the rest of Europe was driving at the time. In fact the DDR did not economically collapse until the late 1970s. Ofcourse the real problem was they could not actually make enough of them. You could go to a Citroen dealer and pick up a 2CV the same day.
kakacik 11mo ago
BMV (which sounds same as BMW is most languages) - Bakelite Motor Vehicle.

classichasclass 11mo ago

Heck, we made that joke about the Yugo.

MisterTea 11mo ago
There is a Yugo parked near a brewery in Queens NYC that always blows my mind. It's still in decent shape for its age and must be driven regularly as it's always in a different parking spot.

ctphipps 11mo ago

Or the one that made it into an Australian TV advert. Guy walks into a service station. “Got a windscreen wiper for my Lada?” “Yeah, mate. Sounds like a good deal to me.”

noir_lord 11mo ago

What do you call a Lada with a sun roof? A skip. Why do lada’s have heated rear windows? To keep your hands warm while pushing them. Ladas and skoda’s where reasonably common in the UK in the late 80s/early 90s, I always had a bit of a soft spot for them, seeing Skodas resurgence after VW took over was cool as well, Skoda went from a laughing stock to winning car of the year pretty quickly and now people generally like the brand.

fransje26 11mo ago

"Do you know why Ladas have a heated back-window? To warm your hands while you are pushing."