Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon A.
No, that's the reputation of the Fiat 124 that the first Ladas were based on. Their rarity today is mostly the fault of our throwaway society.
Anyone with an arbitrary hatred for any particular car will call it a rustbucket.
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It's more so the severe driving conditions of our winters, coupled with the amount of time which has passed since the last time a Lada was sold, the low numbers sold in the first place, the number which were re-exported to Russia, where people consider the export version lada desirable compared to the ones sold domestically, and finally the fact that people seldom preserve or covot utilitarian economy cars. It all adds up to them being more or less gone from existence as something you can see in day to day life. The fact that they weren't reliable or particularly good quality also didn't help. Usually people who bought them new either bought into communist idelolgy, or were looking for something very cheap, or both. One of my friends had one which was constantly in need of repair.
The only one which turns up from time to time is the NIVA, because it's quite a capable 4x4, so some people hung on to them. That or farmers who tend to keep every car they've ever owned, because storage space is more or less free.