Essentially a mashup of the Fiat 127 and 128, the Yugo was America’s cheapest car back in the late 1980s, a time when sales of Mercedes and other cars cloaked in gold and chrome trim reached an all-time high. Speaking of all-time highs, the popularity of cocaine was probably involved in some lapses of judgement, including the aforementioned gold/chrome packages, outlandish Gemballa flare packages, and for the savers (savingfordrugstomakemesosmartonlyafoolwouldwasteitoncars!!!!), the Hyundai Excel and Yugo. Kidding aside, if you were looking for cheap wheels in 1988, and didn’t mind doing a little more service than on a Civic, the Yugo was a pretty good option. Being a Fiat cousin, it had a little of that cheap, cheerful and sporty Italian spirit. And in 1988, the top of the line GVX came with a 1300 engine and 5-speed transmission, although fuel injection was still around the corner. You can find this 1980s icon (in fame or infamy, it is an icon), a 1988 Yugo GVX, for sale for $1000 in Portland, OR.
Rusty But Trusty 