no reason to joke about the Lada. that car probably was at least as technically up to date and more reliable, than what British Leyland/Austin Rover/Rover delivered from the mid 70ies to the late 80ies . Compared to the Morris Marina/Ital that Lada was a sophisticated modern car
My dad always told me that the best car is not the one with more features, but the one that can get you home from work on a cold winter night without trouble.
Oh no, the aluminium brakes myth again. The rear drum is made from aluminium, BUT with a steel inner friction ring. So no, the brakes are NOT made from aluminium.
My father had a Lada 21-something. Back in 2001 (I remember it was this year) we had a huge pothole in front of our 6 story residential block (where else) and my father happened to drive through it with a rear wheel, so the car couldn't get out. I was 9 years old and went "Oh no, what are we gonna do now?!". My father just waved over a neighbour and the two grabbed the car by the rear bumper and lifted the wheel out of the 40 cm deep pothole. My father never felt sentimental about the Lada, but once he bought an Audi 80 in 2005 he said "well, at least the Lada you could fix with a hammer and a sickle"
My dad brought loads of cheap cars in the 70's, Lada's, Wartburgs, and Trabants! Don't know where he got them from but he had one after the other. And on a suburban Nth London side rd, boy did they stick out!
The Dacia Sandero of it's time. Bought by people who just wanted simple, honest to goodness transport for not alot of money. I kinda miss cars like this. In today's world of overcomplicated wheeled space ships full of touchscreens and electronic gizmos nobody actually needs, simple, unpretentious cars would be a very welcome anecdote to modernity.
Many years ago I had a 1981 Lada 1500 sedan that had a professionally rebuilt engine just before we got the car. It must have had a few mods done to it because it seemed quicker than a comparable Lada. Personally, I quite enjoyed the car and other than a few small issues, it was reliable. It made a number of cross Canada trips ( along with 1 trip through the US during the late 1980's ) and endured a fair amount of abuse at my hands, from taking it up to just a little over 160 km/hr (100 mph for you Yanks) on a long straight stretch with the throttle pinned and the engine at almost redline, to having to warm up the block with a blowtorch at -40 C in order to melt the antifreeze enough to flow through the water pump ( I was stupid and didn't mix the antifreeze strong enough ). Many times I wished that I would have kept that car and did something close to what the fellow with the 150 hp, lowered car did, as for me it was tons of fun and held many good memories.
My Mum bought a brand new Lada 1200 Estate on 4 July 1975. One of the first imported, it did not have Lada on the back, but the Russian name. Same colour as the one at
no reason to joke about the Lada. that car probably was at least as technically up to date and more reliable, than what British Leyland/Austin Rover/Rover delivered from the mid 70ies to the late 80ies . Compared to the Morris Marina/Ital that Lada was a sophisticated modern car
Lada was for people who needed to get from point A to B with close to 0 running costs.
the perfection does not need an evolution ;)
My dad always told me that the best car is not the one with more features, but the one that can get you home from work on a cold winter night without trouble.
WFTS Lada is a monster rally car. They have a massive fan base on every Classic rally events.
Oh no, the aluminium brakes myth again. The rear drum is made from aluminium, BUT with a steel inner friction ring. So no, the brakes are NOT made from aluminium.
I wish I still had my orange Lada, it was the round headlight type. I’d always wanted the 1.600 with twin headlights model.
My father had a Lada 21-something. Back in 2001 (I remember it was this year) we had a huge pothole in front of our 6 story residential block (where else) and my father happened to drive through it with a rear wheel, so the car couldn't get out. I was 9 years old and went "Oh no, what are we gonna do now?!". My father just waved over a neighbour and the two grabbed the car by the rear bumper and lifted the wheel out of the 40 cm deep pothole. My father never felt sentimental about the Lada, but once he bought an Audi 80 in 2005 he said "well, at least the Lada you could fix with a hammer and a sickle"
My dad brought loads of cheap cars in the 70's, Lada's, Wartburgs, and Trabants! Don't know where he got them from but he had one after the other. And on a suburban Nth London side rd, boy did they stick out!
That sleeper Lada at the end was honestly a really slick ride, I would rock that for sure.
I owned one ,, it's more durable and reliable than all British junk .
I bought my Lada in 1983, but you should have seen my next car! (Another Lada).
The Dacia Sandero of it's time. Bought by people who just wanted simple, honest to goodness transport for not alot of money. I kinda miss cars like this. In today's world of overcomplicated wheeled space ships full of touchscreens and electronic gizmos nobody actually needs, simple, unpretentious cars would be a very welcome anecdote to modernity.
Many years ago I had a 1981 Lada 1500 sedan that had a professionally rebuilt engine just before we got the car. It must have had a few mods done to it because it seemed quicker than a comparable Lada. Personally, I quite enjoyed the car and other than a few small issues, it was reliable. It made a number of cross Canada trips ( along with 1 trip through the US during the late 1980's ) and endured a fair amount of abuse at my hands, from taking it up to just a little over 160 km/hr (100 mph for you Yanks) on a long straight stretch with the throttle pinned and the engine at almost redline, to having to warm up the block with a blowtorch at -40 C in order to melt the antifreeze enough to flow through the water pump ( I was stupid and didn't mix the antifreeze strong enough ). Many times I wished that I would have kept that car and did something close to what the fellow with the 150 hp, lowered car did, as for me it was tons of fun and held many good memories.
My Mum bought a brand new Lada 1200 Estate on 4 July 1975. One of the first imported, it did not have Lada on the back, but the Russian name. Same colour as the one at
Call me mad but I remember when they were sold, I was a child at the time and somehow really liked them for their retro charm
My dad had one early 80's, 1600 station
Since the englishman likes ridiculing/satirizing foreign cars, ask him what happened to British Leyland lmao
Went to Cuba this year [2022] and old Lada's are everywhere.
Great series and informative. Really miss programs like this, and the old, proper Top Gear of the same era.