That's not what I heard and read. Russian cars were applauded for their reliability and solidity. Many Russian cars from the Soviet era were even exported to Western Europe and the UK - and this is where the good reports about reliability come from.

Obviously I cannot speak for Russian cars in Russia, but the general perception is that they were reliable and solid.



I guarantee you, a modern car from any brand (even Toyota and Lexus) won't last as long out there. The complexities of modern cars make this impossible.

Simple and and basic engineering are they key to why these cars have soldiered on so long. Sure, the body is often rusted but the chassis and mechanical components are working fine. Do-it-yourself work is also possible on these older cars. For a modern car to properly function you don't need a mechanic but a computer technician...

Trust me on this one, reliable they were not. They also didnt get exported much beyond the eastern Europe, they simply wouldnt pass emissions in civilized countries. Even with their tiny engines they produced clouds of smoke from the exaust.




Well, of course. A simple broken power steering pump or a stuck AC pulley will pretty much render any modern car next to useless. Anything a bit more serious, like hydrolocking the engine, and its doomed. At the same time you have these older cars with no features, primitive drivetrains that can be rebuilt with basic tools, and so on.

To put things in perspective, I know a Russian guy who completely rebuilt the engine in his Russian truck back in the 80ies, down to welding together the crankshaft that broke in half. Yet, when he saw me replacing the timing belt in my LS, he said he would never attempt to do it himself because of how complicated it looked.

Often even the mechanical componenets arent working right. The engine would be chocking and smoking, suspension would be non existant, no brakes, wobbling wheels, tires that are beyond bald, etc.

These cars were sold in the United Kingdom and Western Europe. As far as I know the polluting engines were removed and replaced with either Renault, Peugeot or Fiat engines and thus the cars were deemed satisfactory for Western Europe.

Trabants, Wartburgs and Barkas from Eastern Germany are apparently also very reliable cars and highly sought-after collectibles here by real car enthusiasts. The Wartburg sedans in particular have a very good durability reputation it seems.

I doubt if they managed to sell very many of them.


I really dont know much about these three.

woah!!! I love it!

easy guy our women are quite good to :D

uh those could be real thrusters...they are russian after all ;)

and this.
http://rawsport.files.wordpress.com/...-sharapova.jpg

i dunno who would buy that super car, but its nice that there's more selection now these days.

I was going to say, thank you. My dad told me about when his brother bought a Moskvitch, and how much of a POS that thing was. He was telling me how they replaced the motor like 3 or 4 times, and how shoddily it was built. Shame my uncle didn't keep it when coming here, would of been an interesting piece to drive here, granted if it could make it.

Its different!

What Jeremy forgot to mention is the good ol Maluch ;p
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...6/Fiat126p.jpg

Those Marussia cars look as manly and virile as comrade Putin himself!! :p

But joking aside, I love the looks of next year's concept. I'll take mine in satin black, please!

will it force communism on me? :)

nice looking car .. looks like an enzo or something in the front though. the back makes it looks like it guzzles gas like crazy !

looks like a sleeker but more exaggerated lamborghini

in mother russia, you dont drive the car

the car drives you