I thought my Samara was quite stylish and it certainly turned a few heads.
They were all either scowling or laughing, but turned nonetheless.
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I love the styling.
It looks like a proper car, not something created by the Walt Disney studio like many of today's offerings (Peugeot take note).
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That's a facelift that 'twilight years' MG Rover would have been proud of. ;-)
I always respected the Lada Riva after my aunt bought one. She was notoriously tough on cars (appalling driver, no mechanical sympathy, never bothered with servicing), and typically would kill the cheap runners she bought within a few months. The 10 yr old, £250 Riva 1300 she bought lasted two years. A record.
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Rattle, well done for finding those photos.
I visit Russia regularly and didn't realise the Lada 2107 was still made. I don't remember seeing new ones about and the only new Ladas I've seen recently were the 110/ 111 series which looks like a Hyundai but with bigger panel gaps. You even see these in Germany sometimes.
I've just looked on the russian Lada website and apparently not only do they still make the 2107 but the even older 2105 is still in production along with a facelifted Samara (costs 220,000 Rubels apparently which is 7,500 Euros).
Who on earth buys them? I don't know a single Russian who would willingly buy a Lada. The rich ones buy Mercedes and Bentleys, the middle earners buy Volkswagens and Hyundais and the low earners buy old Volkswagens and Hyundais.
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My only current contact in Russia has just bought a Chevy Niva, which, as you would know BP, is a badge engineered Lada really. But he's Welsh, bless him. His father-in-law still hurtles around in an ancient green Zhiguli.
P.S. commiserations on your creator's demise. :-(
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My dads was't really that touugh, the body panals rusted very quickly but did last 9 years untilthe car was scrapped. The car was washed with washing up liquid though! It needed parts we have never needed on Fords including two new clutches, a new starter motor, two alternators, new dizzy and at 67k it poured out blue smoke and the gearbox had gone, but the car was not looked after properly in the 6 years my dad had it he never once had it oil changed!
The Lada is still very popular in Russia because it is easy to mend. The engines are also quite powerful, a lot quicker than Top Gear would have you believe, you would get a good 90bhp out of the 1.6 OHC unit. It was the fact they were so heavy and the gearboxes were awful that ruined it.
At the time however £850 would have bought a late MK2 Escort, so that would probably not have lasted 6 years like the Lada.
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According to Top Gear they're still made under licence in Egypt as well
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Crude, horrible cars with tractor-like steering. Easy to maintain if you think they are worth maintaining.
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>>Easy to maintain if you think they are worth maintaining.
Odd then, why are they not more popular with the luddites who moan about every technological advance, every optioanl extra, and every electronic circuit on motor cars?
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the luddites who moan about every technological advance
Who would they be NC? A small unknown group as obscure as the starry-eyed techies who want to change their cars for newer models with common rail, dual mass flywheels, diesel particulate filters and headlights whose bulbs can only be changed after removing the engine and transmission and dismantling the front suspension?
Not all carburetted, contact-breaker cars were crude, you know. And I understand that some examples of advanced engineering can be surprisingly badly arranged.
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Yep under licence in a Suzuki factory, although Suzuki do not market them or build them, I think Suzuki simply rent out space for a company who then builds them under licence from Autovaz.
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A very good mate of mine has just spent a few years in the town of Samara, where he played for the local football club Krylya Sovetov. ("Soviet Wings").
Guess what the players got as 'company cars'? :)
(Here he drives an X5)
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