Budget/Eastern Bloc 80s cars
Discussion
The Lada Niva thread got me thinking, there were a lot of Eastern Bloc cheapies back when I was a kid in the eighties, plus a few others, anyone have any experience, knowledge or memories of them ?
Few I remember,
FSO, was a Lada Lookalike from what I remember "Polonez". Bloke next door bought cream coloured one to replace a Jag XJS ! Had rust showeing through in 18 months.
Zavasta, Fiat leftovers warmed over ?
Yugo, small hatchback, 45, Sana ? a 45 ? Featured in the Dan Ackroyd Film Dragnet as a plot device/punishment, not seen one for 25 years ?
Skoda, Pre VW era, Autocar got rather over excited over the Rapid being a cut price 911, I remain sceptical. My cousin and I got reversed into by a very fat lady in an Estelle whilst waiting outside some shops in Wythenshawe once. Had a bloke come to view a car my dad was selling once in an Estelle, he got very arsey from what I remember, not sure why.
Obviously Lada, usually bought by blokes retiring and getting their first ever new car, lots of adverts for them at £3999 when anything worth having was say 7/8, came with headlamp washers, usually beige/brown/orange. Mostly shipped back to the Motherland by sketchy blokes in black leather jackets.
And other than the Eastern Block stuff, if you wanted a cheapy,
You Had
Protons, usually old Mitsubishis, reputedly not that bad in this company.
Hyundai Pony, Which I believe was a Cortina with different bodywork...
Daewoo, a bit later, initially re-animated Mk2 Astras and Cavaliers, later their own models, seem to have all but dissaperared.
And last but not least, the Reliant Robin, the three wheeler, typically sold to folk who only had a motorcycle license, obviously a downgrade from a car but meant you didnt have to redo your test at seventy and the missus didnt have to sit in a sidecar looking like Olive out of "On the Buses". Jasper Carrott made a career out of these, dont call them Robin Reliants, the owners get upset, doesnt matter, easy to get away from them to be fair
Any others ?
Few I remember,
FSO, was a Lada Lookalike from what I remember "Polonez". Bloke next door bought cream coloured one to replace a Jag XJS ! Had rust showeing through in 18 months.
Zavasta, Fiat leftovers warmed over ?
Yugo, small hatchback, 45, Sana ? a 45 ? Featured in the Dan Ackroyd Film Dragnet as a plot device/punishment, not seen one for 25 years ?
Skoda, Pre VW era, Autocar got rather over excited over the Rapid being a cut price 911, I remain sceptical. My cousin and I got reversed into by a very fat lady in an Estelle whilst waiting outside some shops in Wythenshawe once. Had a bloke come to view a car my dad was selling once in an Estelle, he got very arsey from what I remember, not sure why.
Obviously Lada, usually bought by blokes retiring and getting their first ever new car, lots of adverts for them at £3999 when anything worth having was say 7/8, came with headlamp washers, usually beige/brown/orange. Mostly shipped back to the Motherland by sketchy blokes in black leather jackets.
And other than the Eastern Block stuff, if you wanted a cheapy,
You Had
Protons, usually old Mitsubishis, reputedly not that bad in this company.
Hyundai Pony, Which I believe was a Cortina with different bodywork...
Daewoo, a bit later, initially re-animated Mk2 Astras and Cavaliers, later their own models, seem to have all but dissaperared.
And last but not least, the Reliant Robin, the three wheeler, typically sold to folk who only had a motorcycle license, obviously a downgrade from a car but meant you didnt have to redo your test at seventy and the missus didnt have to sit in a sidecar looking like Olive out of "On the Buses". Jasper Carrott made a career out of these, dont call them Robin Reliants, the owners get upset, doesnt matter, easy to get away from them to be fair
Any others ?
Saw a Wartburg Knight driving to a show as a young adult. Being a 2 stroke it sounded like the driver was nailing it and probably was, though the car wasn't going anywhere fast. The car was just modern enough for me to think the styling was 'cool' albeit very basic, compared to a lot of the older stuff I thought looked more vintage.
I've been interested in the Eastern bloc cars since, particularly 2 strokes, though my knowledge is limited and their presence increasingly rare sadly.
I've been interested in the Eastern bloc cars since, particularly 2 strokes, though my knowledge is limited and their presence increasingly rare sadly.
When I was growing up we had a series of Estelles then finally a Rapid. Yes, I was bullied mercilessly at school. Took me till 2021 to buy a Skoda of my own and it was an Octavia VRS, so the opposite extreme really.
The rear engine Skodas were dead easy to work on in the driveway, would happily drag a light-ish caravan and only really needed home mechanic attention most of the time. There were plenty of specialists around as well if you needed something more complicated done. They were economical to run and allowed us to be a 2 car family when running a single Ford or Vauxhall would have been a challenge.
Talking about the FSO Polonez, they launched around about the same time as Celtic signed two Polish internationals. FSO had both signing autographs on their stand at that year’s Scottish motorshow. This probably got them loads more attention than normal. I remember my Dad doing a test drive in the Polonez, even compared to the Estelle it felt cheap. Not surprised they didn’t last long on the UK market.
The rear engine Skodas were dead easy to work on in the driveway, would happily drag a light-ish caravan and only really needed home mechanic attention most of the time. There were plenty of specialists around as well if you needed something more complicated done. They were economical to run and allowed us to be a 2 car family when running a single Ford or Vauxhall would have been a challenge.
Talking about the FSO Polonez, they launched around about the same time as Celtic signed two Polish internationals. FSO had both signing autographs on their stand at that year’s Scottish motorshow. This probably got them loads more attention than normal. I remember my Dad doing a test drive in the Polonez, even compared to the Estelle it felt cheap. Not surprised they didn’t last long on the UK market.
J4CKO said:
Skoda, Pre VW era, Autocar got rather over excited over the Rapid being a cut price 911, I remain sceptical.
I had one. The best £175 I have ever spent. Not once pointing in the direction it was going, and oversteered both on and off the power.Basically exactly like a 911, just without the power, or the build quality, or the prestige, or the handling finesse, or the racing heritage, or the number of cylinders, or the soundtrack, or... (it had a bigger froot though).
LimaDelta said:
J4CKO said:
Skoda, Pre VW era, Autocar got rather over excited over the Rapid being a cut price 911, I remain sceptical.
I had one. The best £175 I have ever spent. Not once pointing in the direction it was going, and oversteered both on and off the power.Basically exactly like a 911, just without the power, or the build quality, or the prestige, or the handling finesse, or the racing heritage, or the number of cylinders, or the soundtrack, or... (it had a bigger froot though).
It was funny listening to him
It's Alroight but it's a bit blaaand, not as good as moi Raaaapid. They won't laast, you mark moi words, Skoda will go out of business if they make cars loike that.
He was wrong
Moskvich 412 was imported to the UK from the USSR for a while.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moskvitch_412
Dacia's version of the Renault 12, the Denem as it was badged, was also available in the UK for a while.
https://www.hagerty.co.uk/articles/automotive-hist...
SAO Penza, based on a Mazda 323, came here from South Africa for a bit.
https://www.parkers.co.uk/sao/penza/specs/
We had the Lonsdale from Australia trying to undercut and out-spec Cortinas, Cavaliers etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonsdale_(car)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moskvitch_412
Dacia's version of the Renault 12, the Denem as it was badged, was also available in the UK for a while.
https://www.hagerty.co.uk/articles/automotive-hist...
SAO Penza, based on a Mazda 323, came here from South Africa for a bit.
https://www.parkers.co.uk/sao/penza/specs/
We had the Lonsdale from Australia trying to undercut and out-spec Cortinas, Cavaliers etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonsdale_(car)
CivicDuties said:
Moskvich 412 was imported to the UK from the USSR for a while.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moskvitch_412
Dacia's version of the Renault 12, the Denem as it was badged, was also available in the UK for a while.
https://www.hagerty.co.uk/articles/automotive-hist...
SAO Penza, based on a Mazda 323, came here from South Africa for a bit.
https://www.parkers.co.uk/sao/penza/specs/
We had the Lonsdale from Australia trying to undercut and out-spec Cortinas, Cavaliers etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonsdale_(car)
The Lonsdale was a rebadged Mitsubishi Galant, a really tough car. Dacia also brought the original Duster. We also had the Mahindra Jeep!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moskvitch_412
Dacia's version of the Renault 12, the Denem as it was badged, was also available in the UK for a while.
https://www.hagerty.co.uk/articles/automotive-hist...
SAO Penza, based on a Mazda 323, came here from South Africa for a bit.
https://www.parkers.co.uk/sao/penza/specs/
We had the Lonsdale from Australia trying to undercut and out-spec Cortinas, Cavaliers etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonsdale_(car)
LimaDelta said:
I had one. The best £175 I have ever spent. Not once pointing in the direction it was going, and oversteered both on and off the power.
Basically exactly like a 911, just without the power, or the build quality, or the prestige, or the handling finesse, or the racing heritage, or the number of cylinders, or the soundtrack, or... (it had a bigger froot though).
One of these? Or wasn't yours as old as this? My Mum had one of these in 1977, my Uncle drive it like it was a Porsche....Basically exactly like a 911, just without the power, or the build quality, or the prestige, or the handling finesse, or the racing heritage, or the number of cylinders, or the soundtrack, or... (it had a bigger froot though).
crofty1984 said:
There's already 4 cars I really quite fancy been mentioned.
Proton (Jumbuck)
Reliant Robin (yes, really)
Fiat 126/Polski Fiat
Oh, actually, no one has mentioned Trabant.
So 3. But 4 now. Trabant!
I think we have to disallow the Trabant, it was never sold in the UK. Presuming the OP meant cars sold in the UK, of course.Proton (Jumbuck)
Reliant Robin (yes, really)
Fiat 126/Polski Fiat
Oh, actually, no one has mentioned Trabant.
So 3. But 4 now. Trabant!
Triumph Man said:
Puddenchucker said:
J4CKO said:
Th
Hyundai Pony, Which I believe was a Cortina with different bodywork...
They marketed the Stellar (1985?) as a replacement for the Cortina for people who did't like the Sierra:Hyundai Pony, Which I believe was a Cortina with different bodywork...
I also remember when SEAT came in the mid 80s - another range of budget cars based on old Fiat's. Firstly with the Ibiza - topped by the 1.5i SXi - a budget hot hatch. Designed by Giugaro and based on the Fiat Strada (engine was 'engineered' by Porsche!).
I remember, I think, Tiff testing it on a hillclimb on the old Top Gear. I think it was described as a plucky newcomer that needed a bit of work to compete with the likes of the XR2/Nova SR.
Then they got bought out by VW and everything went downhill!
I remember, I think, Tiff testing it on a hillclimb on the old Top Gear. I think it was described as a plucky newcomer that needed a bit of work to compete with the likes of the XR2/Nova SR.
Then they got bought out by VW and everything went downhill!
Edited by Om on Thursday 30th May 14:10
CivicDuties said:
crofty1984 said:
There's already 4 cars I really quite fancy been mentioned.
Proton (Jumbuck)
Reliant Robin (yes, really)
Fiat 126/Polski Fiat
Oh, actually, no one has mentioned Trabant.
So 3. But 4 now. Trabant!
I think we have to disallow the Trabant, it was never sold in the UK. Presuming the OP meant cars sold in the UK, of course.Proton (Jumbuck)
Reliant Robin (yes, really)
Fiat 126/Polski Fiat
Oh, actually, no one has mentioned Trabant.
So 3. But 4 now. Trabant!
TonyRPH said:
LimaDelta said:
I had one. The best £175 I have ever spent. Not once pointing in the direction it was going, and oversteered both on and off the power.
Basically exactly like a 911, just without the power, or the build quality, or the prestige, or the handling finesse, or the racing heritage, or the number of cylinders, or the soundtrack, or... (it had a bigger froot though).
One of these? Or wasn't yours as old as this? My Mum had one of these in 1977, my Uncle drive it like it was a Porsche....Basically exactly like a 911, just without the power, or the build quality, or the prestige, or the handling finesse, or the racing heritage, or the number of cylinders, or the soundtrack, or... (it had a bigger froot though).
I remember I closed the door rather too positively one evening and the window just dropped down inside, never to be seen again. Afterwards I always had to park with the driver's door in a downwind lee to prevent the seat getting wet in the rain.
Can you imagine if we'd had social media in the 70s/80s when they were selling Soviet cars here? I mean we were on the brink of a nuclear war, and people were buying Soviet cars, sending money to our mortal enemy! We even had footballers advertising them, going on the post above. I don't recall that advert as I never went anywhere near Wolverhampton until the mid 1990s, thank Ba'al and all his little wizards.
I guess the equivalent now is people moaning about the sale of Chinese cars, although we're not yet at the point of nuclear conflagration with them.
I guess the equivalent now is people moaning about the sale of Chinese cars, although we're not yet at the point of nuclear conflagration with them.
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