Rusty But Trusty

The Yugo was the only car built behind the Iron Curtain to be successfully sold in the United States. Malcolm Bricklin found himself a cheap car to take advantage of Americans’ never-ending thirst for cheap wheels, and the thawing cold war meant it was easier to accept cars from the socialist bloc than when Ladas and Skodas were being sent to places like Finland, England, and Canada. And while those cars were either fully or partly developed by nasty Communists, the Yugo was just a Fiat built outside of Italy, which was not communist or socialist at all! Okay, actually, it was, kinda. Check out this 1987 Yugo GV for sale for $1500 in Lemon Valley, NV.

(more…)

So the Yugo was a big national scandal, scam, or something. In the light of crazy inflation in the early 1980s, and lingering fuel economy awareness from the 1970s crises, manufacturers perceived a demand for small, bargain basement cars, such that you could buy a new Yugo or Hyundai for the price of a used Honda or VW. And hey, what was good enough for Comrade Miroslav or Jay Park should be just fine for Earl too, right? These ultimate throwaway cars have for the most part disappeared from our roads, and while the Excel was a boring cheap heap, the Yugo actually had a little fun built in that makes them appeal to the same folks crazy enough to love Fiat 128s and X1/9s. Check out this 1986 Yugo GV for sale with bidding at $1780 and 6 days left to go in El Cajon, CA.

(more…)