LADA cars. What's not to love...

[vav]

I had one for more than 10 years. Put around 150 K miles on it. Really challenging to keep it running. Everyday something broke and needed to be fixed and I mean it: EVERY DAY :) I used to hate the car but reading the article made me feel nostalgic.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/automobiles/collectibles/toasty-heater-cold-war-lada-nostalgia-in-finland.html?hpw

[christian]

My aunt had a 2107. I am not nostalgic.

[JLP]

My aunt had a 2107. I am not nostalgic.

Back to the future

[DRZRM]

Pretty sure the VAZ-2107 is a model number, not a date.

Back to the future

[fiamme red]

My aunt had a 2107. I am not nostalgic.Looks pretty good to me. ;)

http://www.insideline.com/car-news/classic-lada-2107-heads-to-the-graveyard.html

http://media.il.edmunds-media.com/lada/ns/lada_f34_ns_42012_717.jpg

[christian]

Where did you find that picture of my aunt? That's her old Mistral sailboarding kit. I learned to boardsail (windsurf for you yanks) on that!

[firerescuefin]

Lived in Hungary/Croatia/Bosnia for 3 years. I'll tell you what's not to love :no:. The oil slicks that Ladas, 2 stroke fiats, trabants, and other awesome car brethren laid down to create road conditions (after it rained in the summer) that made ice look grippy. In one 3 week period, I went down 4 times. I remember the last one as if were in slow motion...literally thinking as I was falling "you've got to be F-ing kidding me"..not to mention the "spy hunter" video game quality smoke screen that many were capable of dropping on you when passing you:)

The OP actually made me smile.

[goonster]

Where did you find that picture of my aunt?
Your aunt drove around with a dummy front plate?

As a young child I was given a memorable ride in a Lada. It impressed me as very "peppy", but that could have just been the massive NVH!

[christian]

It impressed me as very "peppy", but that could have just been the massive NVH!Yes, I always found they had a very engaging driving experience. Oh, but that could have been the lack of radio. (Which you couldn't have heard above the clatter, regardless.)

[William]

There were a few with a bit of prep out there....

http://www.groupbrally.com/images/lada/Lada%20VFTS.jpg






William

[Louis]

not to mention the "spy hunter" video game quality smoke screen that many were capable of dropping on you when passing you:)


That takes me back a while!!!

Spy Hunter was one of our favorites in college. And the background acoustics...

[goonster]

http://englishrussia.com/images/soviet_photo2/14.jpg

[William]

http://englishrussia.com/images/soviet_photo2/14.jpg

For some reason that reminds me of the Top Gear episode when they were in Albania. To see if the cars they were driving would make a good Mob car they had to get a "dead" body in the boot.:)





William

[firerescuefin]

That takes me back a while!!!

Spy Hunter was one of our favorites in college. And the background acoustics...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNWauOxMDl8

[maunahaole]

Fiat design with Sovietski quality control. A winning combination for sure.

[Marburg]

Where's the love for the Niva?

http://dayerses.com/data_images/posts/lada-niva/lada-niva-03.jpg

Sooo ... want .... one

[ultraman6970]

LOL... ladas were used as taxis in my country, about the niva, one of my friends had one and was not that bad of a car.

That station wagon and the sedan version is a copy of the famous FIAT 125, the 1st mass production car with a 5th gear manual transmission. Probably there are other ones moving around but the 125 was and is a classic, just like the 600 and 500. Lada has trucks also.

Sincerely i dont miss them but if you needed a car to take you here and there, with no luxury plus like for 5000 bucks or less the lada was the car to go.

What about Zastava and yugo?? What about Proton? even Samsung had or still has a line of automobiles that was sold in my country back like 15 years ago.

[goonster]

even Samsung had or still has a line of automobiles that was sold in my country back like 15 years ago.
Still around, as a subsidiary of Renault. Their cars are decent, platform-engineered versions of various Renault and Nissan models, and I drive them occasionally.

It's only natural that marques from former Warsaw Pact nations be revived. Skoda is Exhibit A in this regard. If I were living in Europe, I'd be driving a Skoda.

It's the Chinese cars I'm afraid of. :eek:

[tiretrax]

My Top 10 Top Gear episodes include "Did The Communists Make A Good Car?" I wonder how many Yugos one could get for a Lada.

[choke]

I knew several people who had Ladas, and while certainly not great vehicles they did the job they were designed for for the most part. The Nivas were probably the best of the bunch and most who owned one were fairly happy with them.

I always wanted a Trabant, but I do have a thing for two-strokes.....