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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Soviet-Era Car drives into Sunset |
| 2005-12-08 |
| THE death knell sounded for one of the Soviet Union’s most enduring symbols yesterday when the makers of the majestic but chronically unreliable Volga car announced that it is to be discontinued from 2007. The Volga went on the market in 1956, in an effort to prove that the Soviets could make cars as big and luxurious as the Americans’ models. It remained a status symbol for millions of Soviet citizens until the collapse of Communism. The Volga was the choice of mid-level party officials; the top brass cruised around in the Chaika (Seagull) limousine. Some owners even called the Volga "Russia’s Mercedes". Volgas and Ladas still dominate the roads in the former Soviet Union. But they face competition from cheaper, more reliable foreign cars, especially from Japan, South Korea and China, as Russia prepares to join the World Trade Organisation. Privatised in 1994, the Gorky Automobile Factory (GAZ), which also produces vans and lorries, sold only 50,000 Volgas last year, with prices starting at $7,000 (£4,000). Ford, by comparison, expects to sell 60,000 of its Focus model in Russia next year for about $10,000 each. The Gorky Automobile Factory was founded on the orders of Joseph Stalin in 1930 with the help of the Ford Motor Company. Its first passenger car, the GAZ-A of 1932, was based on the Ford A. By the mid 1930s the engineers had abandoned the American prototype and begun producing their own models, which soon began to compete with their Western rivals. GAZ’s crowning achievement was the GAZ-21 Volga, which could reach 60mph (96 km/h) in 34 seconds and had a top speed of 80mph. It was upgraded several times but the basic design stayed the same. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #10 The scary part is Lance Armstrong could whip a Volga on the 1/4:p Who knows, maybe longer. |
| Posted by: Silentbrick 2005-12-08 16:31 |
| #9 Read the last more carefully. The GAZ-21, which had the "performance" numbers mentioned, was upgraded many times. So, you might be able to do 0-60 in under 30 seconds now. You could probably stay up with a Chevette diesel. |
| Posted by: Jackal 2005-12-08 12:28 |
| #8 "Majestic but chronically unreliable" does not sound like the best sales slogan to me. |
| Posted by: Secret Master 2005-12-08 11:19 |
| #7 Sdelaj Moyu Mashinu Sutenorom! |
| Posted by: Janos Hunyadi 2005-12-08 10:02 |
| #6 Seafarious: Forego the Sovspeak, just ask for me at Irelands Four Courts. I'll be near the pumps. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2005-12-08 09:48 |
| #5 How do you say "Pimp My Ride" in Russian? |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-12-08 09:45 |
| #4 I once saw a Lada race in an SCCA event in Savannah. Funny, yet slow. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-12-08 09:39 |
| #3 My sweetie says that one of his buddies got his Volga up to 180km/hr on the freeway, so they do go faster than what the article states. It just took a long time to get there compared to a Western car. He also said the power steering, while it lasted, would make a hissing noise like a snake whenever you made a turn. Chop it, give it a candy-apple or metal flake finish, and you could have a pretty funky cruiser... |
| Posted by: Desert Blondie 2005-12-08 07:42 |
| #2 Sounds like the perfect first car for my future kids. Going to see if the hubby can import one before they stop making them.... |
| Posted by: Desert Blondie 2005-12-08 07:32 |
| #1 Zero to 60 mph in 34 seconds & top speed of 80 is their "crowning achievement"??? Sounds like the old VW bus with the washing machine engine... |
| Posted by: PBMcL 2005-12-08 00:33 |