Jeff Dunham's 1988 Yugo GVS - Jay Leno's Garage

Who the heck would bring a YUGO to Jay's Garage? @jeffdunham, that's who!!! Folks might make fun of it, but the Yugo really isn't that bad! With its utilitarian charm and bargain basement pricetag, the 1988 Yugo GVS inspired a generation of motor vehicle enthusiasts to, well, I guess, laugh?
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A new video every Monday! Visit Jay Leno's Garage, the Emmy-winning series where Jay Leno gives car reviews, motorcycle reviews, compares cars, and shares his passion and expertise on anything that rolls, explodes, and makes noise. Classic cars, restomods, super cars like the McLaren P1, sports cars like Porsche 918 Spyder and Camaro Z28, cafe racers, vintage cars, and much, much more.

[@EricSoderblom]

10 times more entertaining than any of the supercar episodes.

[@TNitroH]

I don't care what anybody says, I still love the AMC Gremlin!

[@MAGGOT_VOMIT]

Jay's place is so big, pretty soon he's gonna get charged with a Hit 'n Run inside. 😳😵‍💫

[@digitalsmithy]

or any of Jeff's specials ha

[@Vicus_of_Utrecht]

@@TNitroH Wish I had one lol

[@gordocarbo]

@@TNitroH Still want a Javelin and a late 70s CJ7 304 Jeep

[@johnjacobjingleheimerschmi3857]

Finally a Jay Leno episode featuring a car that I can afford!

[@VintageLynx]

Prefer this to exotica any day!

[@SBbucha]

Underrated comment

[@7cougar0]

Now try to find a decent one!

[@jmsjms296]

You'd better hurry: prices are on the rise. ☺

[@velvetjones8634]

There have been a couple on Bring a Trailer recently.

[@Dmhlcmb]

“It’s not that bad” should have been the ad campaign. 😂

[@MrWolfSnack]

Make a vintage magazine ad parody with Dunham advertising it and the tagline "its not that bad"

[@bobjohnson1587]

@@MrWolfSnack You could have Dunham say that it's almost as good as a Gremlin! That might sell it! lol

[@uploderpilot]

They would have sold more for sure if it was.

[@majdakeran1987]

I am from the former Yugoslavia, today we are an independent country, Slovenia. YUGO has always been a stepping stone, a first car. Later we progressed to YUGO SKALA 55 or even ZASTAVA 101. With independence, the car market opened up and the rest is history. What a memories.

[@unwokeneuropean3590]

Zastava 101 aka Stojadin is such a beautiful small car.

[@bogoljubdjordjevic7528]

Zastava 101 is same car you can drive all your life and still drive them here in Serbia and it was maturity test if you know how to fix your Yugo you become man

[@MalNaprej]

Ja stari samo ta Yugo za ameriški trg je imel ene 50+ izboljšav napram tem "našim". Oni so že imeli okoljske standarde že v 70ih ( EURO1 je bil v evropi šele 1992) pa so morali vse možno predelat ker ta naša "lokalna" verzija itak ni šla skozi ...

[@matbrudar8994]

Yeah, it was a completely misunderstood car in the West - it was designed to be a replacement for Zastava 750, a relic clunker car from the fifties, and was meant from the very beginning to be a budget version of the z101. My first car was 10 years old Renault 4TL and when I upgraded to Yugo (a55), boy it was a totally different class to me. (my next car was a Honda Civic but the step was less intense than the one to the Yugo) . Basically, Yugo in the eighties was comparable to the first generation of Dacia Sandero (which would nowadays also be laughed at in the USA).

[@petesly5032]

Zastava makes great rifles

[@TheMajormajo]

In 1991, a yugo 45 had saved the life of me and my family during the escape from Vukovar, at that difficult time (Battle of Vukovar) the car was a real blessing, and reliable companion.

[@davidkilts1670]

I am sorry you and your family went through that experience. I am so very glad that you and your family survived. I hope your family all recovered quickly from any trauma and prospered.

[@nomadben]

That is a heartwarming story. Thanks for sharing my friend

[@djape1977]

Literally everyone in Yugoslavia had a yugo at one time or another. They can still be seen occasionally on roads although they're long out of production

[@Nakkisampyla]

Josip Broz Tito

[@user-ir9tt4ew5t]

I was driving a Yugo until last year. .i drove over 100 000 miles without any faliure. . Drago mi je sto si preziveo brate ❤🇷🇸

[@Ganiscol]

Fun fact for Jeff: The parts werent made in different countries, they were all made in Yugoslavia - all the names you rattled down were part of Yugoslavia at the time. 😅 The more you know! 💫

[@antoniovarela4444]

Tipical geography ignorant American... And 2.300 pounds? Not even close! 1.741 pounds (790 Kgs).

[@danielbeckler262]

And yet all still different countries….

[@speedfreak8200]

Prolly still faster than my Samurai!

[@paulopereira6996]

​@danielbeckler262 Now, in that time, all were just one country. Btw, they stopped shipping Yugos because of the war that led to the independence of all those countries.

[@MauriceEscargot]

Yeah, when he said that I wasn't sure if he was kidding or just really didn't know that 😂😂😂😂 Literally all the countries he named were Yugoslavia at the time.

[@ognjennovakov9355]

Thanks to both for not trashing the car and be rude about it like many other car "experts". It was a great little car, if you took care of it it definitely was reliable and decent. My father bought yugo 60 in 91, we sold it in 2003 with 140k km on the clock, never had any bigger issues. Cheers to all! 💪🏎️🚀

[@alexandar.j]

Yeah, it's actually pretty great, reliable, very cheap parts here in the Balkans and the cost for maintenance is laughable. I have a 2005 Yugo Koral In. Bought in 2018, to this day it only had a couple small problems that you can fix alone with a screwdriver or a wrench. Runs on LPG, 120-130 kmh on highway, no problems. I go on vacations with it, I also have a roof tent which I mount on the top of the yugo and go camping. It's a brilliant adventure minicar 😁

[@ognjennovakov9355]

@@alexandar.j bravo svaka cast, samo plin ne volim da vidim ni na tudjem autu 🙈

[@alexandar.j]

@@ognjennovakov9355 5 години на плин, никаков проблем. Ама секој со своето искуство 😁

[@MrWolfSnack]

Its biggest strength was its Russian design. It's biggest fault was its Italian design. There's a joke in there somewhere. The body will last a lifetime but if you do not keep 100% paranoid pre-flight checks on the timing belt, it will break and grenade the entire engine block. Pretty much all of them were used up, killed, crushed, and are gone. What little ones are left are driven by influencers and collectors trying to dredge up the ones that are left.

[@narocnikizvajalec3728]

My first car, purchased in 1994 for driving to school when I was 15. One morning, a police pulled me over and requested my driving license. I handed him my moped license. He was looking at the license and my Yugo and say "You have nothing, just go, go, go.I don't want to see you again". The car had no registration and no blinkers. One time, me and my friend drive to the coast. In a spare tire i had a cloth, accidentally touching the exhaust and igniting a fire. We smelled something burning, open the hood, panicked, and sprinted to the other side of the highway, anticipating an explosion like in the movies:) Nothing happend. Luckily, a road maintenance truck arrived, extinguished the fire , and left. Returning to the car, we continue our trip as if nothing had happened. The car reached a maximum speed of 134 km/h. However, during winter, the cooling fan malfunctioned. On one occasion, after a night at a disco, my friend fell asleep in the car with the engine running for five hours. The car overheated, depleting the water tank, and melting some plastic stuf around the engine. Surprisingly, after that the car's top speed was 147 km/h.

[@MrPoopiledungheap]

Guy walks into a parts store and says “I’d like a gas cap for my Yugo”. Guy behind the counter says, “Sounds like a fair trade”…ah, that dad joke never gets old 🤣

[@WatchGeek]

Yugo was awesome!! Simple and easy to maintain. They were dirt cheap so no one maintained them properly. My neighbor drove one for 18 years with regular maintenance

[@brucehalleran1149]

Thank you for a different perspective.

[@smhorse]

By far the most entertaining of all the Leno car demonstration videos. We need more of the humble, utilitarian cars to remind us where we came from.

[@joseandkris]

Used to drive it for years, the one made for American market. Only 4 gears, never broke down, never let me down, snow, rain, whatever :) Still going strong with mini repairs. Not worth to sell, cause it's probably worth 400$ now. Doesn't consume much fuel, repairs cost 20$. Good memories.

[@LEGIOXIIIG]

My dad had one. It was our first family car. When we would leave the Banja Luka area to go to the Coast in Croatia, my mom put little pillows and blankets for us in the back and my brother and I slept on opposite sides in the back. Amazing and heartwarming memories from back then. I miss my dad and I miss those family vacations circa 1988-1991 when we were all in one country.

[@JosipRadnik1]

so do I - I miss those days

[@CoffeeAndPaul]

My family did the same when I was a kid with the family 4-door 1977 Chevy Caprice Classic. That car was a workhouse like a good Yugo. It wasn't fancy, it was barebones, but it got you from Point A to Point B pretty efficiently. Honestly, big kudos to the Slavs for even getting these into the US for new auto sales. Even in the early 80's getting a good car US-homologated wasn't easy. Just ask John DeLorean!! 2:48

[@KrunoBaraba]

Why did you guys stop vacations in 1991 ?

[@mladenmedunic5542]

Me too ❤

[@nenadrajic9740]

​@@KrunoBarabaoh boy you're in for a wild ride now

[@joshthemediocre7824]

I love the way a Yugo looks in 2023, this is the nicest one ive seen. I would drive this everyday

[@maxmagnus777]

I know people who still do. You pay yearly maintenance for 100$ (that includes parts) and you may need some other servicing for 20-30$ couple times a year. They still work very well.

[@Shawn-gl6kv]

I road around w this gal back in school that drove her Yugo like a ralley racer ,n it never failed. That thing never quit ,no matter what she put it through

[@justinjoseph6966]

I liked how Jay seemed legit annoyed at that puppet. I was right there with him!😂

[@MrWolfSnack]

Yeah Dunham is a puppeteer and his stchick is to take the most awful bits and draw them out for as long as possible. It works.

[@frankensteinaquila2566]

My mother bought one of these things and looking back, I'm amazed that we survived it. We took it on a road trip to California that involved crossing the Mojave Desert in the summer and it almost overheated going up those hills on the interstate. We took it camping to Yellowstone in 1988 when the giant first fires had just gotten started. We also somehow managed to fit 9 people in it to go to a birthday party. Most were kids, but that was an accomplishment, considering.

[@bobcantstandzyobitz9778]

I learned to drive in an 88 Dodge Aries. My father paid around 8k for it new. Probably wasn't much better than the Yugo. 2.4 liter with only 85hp.

[@y40ll]

That engine traveled 11,000 km through the desert in Zastava 101 on an expedition from Yugoslavia to Kilamanjaro. And a large number of cars were exported to Africa by Zastava Auto, which produced the Yugo.

[@gordocarbo]

Poor guy! We had a family of 6 loaded up in either a 78?Audi fox wagon or a K car caravan. Both couldnt move all the weight. Meantime Mom got a brand new black Conquest TSI.

[@robertjonas6216]

Show of hands who’d like to see Jay do more of these “regular guy” cars?!

[@user-vg2eg7oo5n]

Scotty Kilmer would be a great guest at Jay's garage. He'd have something to say.

[@taint_misbehavin]

I think there is already a channel for Regular Car Reviews

[@bluewave7120]

Agreed!

[@yojoebananas]

yeah, average well kept cars from the 1980s, 1970s would be cool

[@lyken4]

🤚

[@Tadejchek85]

We had a joke about Yugo. Why does it comes standard with heated rear window? So that your hands don't freeze when you're pushing it after it breakes down😂 There was a ton of these here in Slovenia (which it's obvious since Slovenia is a former Yugoslav country) when I grew up. You could get good runing one for something like 100$ in early '00. Now you mostly see few of them tuned and racing here and there.😊

[@benjaminjaschke1174]

The best part is when Jeff is laughing at his own jokes and jay is just straight facing it 😆

[@GageFox]

I sold a good many of these while working at a Dodge dealership. The funny thing was a lot of the sales were for multiple cars. Parents would buy a couple for their kids etc. I had one buyer who bought three; one red, one white and the last of course blue. The owners who brought their Yugo in for regular servicing had well over 100k miles on them with no major issues.

[@kolobara08]

😂😂 you had me going with that "multiple cars, couple for their kids" purchases.

[@milanmisic9594]

There is a reason he bought red blue n white one. 🇷🇸

[@kolobara08]

@@milanmisic9594 No, he actually bought blue, white, red. YU

[@stevasteva4982]

Prelazio je Yugo po 400,500.000 bez generalne

[@sinisakarabatkovic-fq8qg]

There is a book about cars " Drive it forever." Read it and learn how to get the best out of any car.

[@y40ll]

The Yugo is built on the Fiat127 platform. It's strange that you don't know that all those countries that produced parts for the Yugo were part of Yugoslavia. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, the Yugo continued to be produced under the name Zastava Koral in Kragujevac, Serbia. The redesigned version had a Peugeot engine. All in all a practical car for that time.

[@DavidVerch]

I was thinking the same thing. They are laughing about all these countries and I was like those are the countries that made up Yugoslavia.

[@andrewlarkin3074]

Yup, I was going to mention the same thing.

[@minmogrovingstrongandhealthy]

" ... depends of the build, some are bad some are good, just like ANY car really ... " Leno : "well you wont see that on a Mercedes .... " LIKE WTF is this conversation even?! 1. This is a cheap car from 70s and 80s that did more then what it costs and the follow up models were modernized (Sana-Florida etc) and still remained cheap, most of them were actually workhorse cars that lasted decades ... 2. Mercedes?! OH BOY ... YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT MERCEDES, Germany doesn't build their own cars for decades, the parts come from China and the assembly is performed in low cost living countries where there is barely any regulation going on, the build quality isn't any different then from a cheap Fiat garbage ... The difference is that you are paying for a brand and not the actual car ... And yeah why even compare cars from different classes, are we back at the bad review days where people bash a Yugo etc and compare it to high class cars, like wtf ... Leno needs to wake up, seriously. Automobilska Industrija Crvena Zastava (who made the Yugo and bunch of other things) made great cheap workhorse cars like wtf do you even want ?!

[@justacinnamonbun8658]

Look at those doors. The only thing between you and another car in a t-bone is about an inch and half of fabric and glass. 😆

[@y40ll]

@@justacinnamonbun8658 Fiat 127 began production in 1971. As the Yugo is built on that platform, it's normal to compare it to cars of the time. The main competitors of that time from the B-segment (subcompact/supermini) were Volkswagen Polo, Ford Fiesta, Renault 5, Mini... Looking at those cars, there is no difference in safety. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3a2mY1rfMxpbNE

[@user-nn4ej1ii2b]

How real car people do a review, real pro work! 99.9% of Yugo videos is trashing and repeating jokes, and this is refreshing to watch. Fun, informative, two car guys sharing love and respect for any car.

[@legopunk2655]

It's like a 3 legged puppy, a little broken but still adorable. Reminds me of Oliver.

[@5dstrix]

hammond's oliver?

[@zonie1953]

I was the Yugo specialist at the dealer I worked for . I have a certificate that hangs on my wall that proves it 😊 The reason I was appointed as the guy for them was because my mom was from Yugoslavia ! I have respect for the car . The parent company was Zastava

[@skillzorz101]

I have heard of Zastava before, but only in the context of firearms, lol. Is that the same company that makes AK-47s? Or maybe they just export them.

[@SlavkoMiladinovic]

@@skillzorz101yes, Zastava is the same firearm company as the car maker. They started with canons in the 1800s.

[@mhughes1160]

Yugo. The car that its resale value fluctuated depending on how much gas was in the tank. LoL 😂

[@tedzehnder961]

If you were a specialist on Yugos I applaud you but I wouldn`t brag about it.

[@grahamstefaan]

​@@skillzorz101I own one

[@garysmrtic4077]

My wife bought me a brand new Yugo in '90, so I'd stop riding my ZX10 Ninja to work in -19 degree freezing rain and snow during the winter. $3,400. and a two year bumper to bumper warranty. They'd even refill the windshield washer fluid! I loved it, and it was surprisingly quick to get around in. I have thought that any true car enthusiast would enjoy driving a Yugo, as it teaches energy management, much like any lower powered vehicle does.

[@user-xy7lf1tx1d]

Jay and Jeff had another car follow them to film this excursion. It also served as a guaranteed ride back for when the Yugo breaks down.

[@MyNameIsChristBringsASword]

A selling point of the Yugo is that nobody will believe it is Jay Leno driving. Built in stealth!

[@dabraka681]

When I was a teenage kid in Zagreb - Croatia (part of former Yugoslavia) back in the 90s, we use to "steal" Yugos from our parents and drive around on the weekends. Yugo could do close to 100 km/h in 1st gear. I remember this like it was yesterday, the engine was making all kinds of noises and basically screaming like a scoulded cat but it refused to explode or fall apart. Ohh what a time, what a days. Golden Age of my and my friends lifes. Yugos were everywhere, it was part of the family, your best friend, true working horse and staple of transportation and economy in former Yugoslavia. It will definitely be remembered in our hearts and minds, as part of our childhood, a nostalgic memory, just like huge landsails for young Americans. And especially because it represented and still represents a united Yugoslavia and all of its nations. Oh yeah, and one of my friends had an "racing" GVX version, i remember we all thought it was so darn cool.

[@Fabulousprofound168]

GVX was the one with a factory body kit?

[@dabraka681]

@@Fabulousprofound168 yes that is correct. You can find it on Google

[@fman4234]

Check that: "100 km/h in first gear?" Um...

[@dabraka681]

@@fman4234 yes man almost 100 km/h in first gear, but ofcourse it wasn't good for the engine at all and the car was already beaten and old, and even we were surprised that my friend is pushing it so hard (90+ in 1.)

[@brankospasojevic2034]

It revs >9k.

[@ewathoughts8476]

Jeff saved my life in 2009, so I take the opportunity to thank him here. He told a joke that pissed off my wife and I laughed so hard and long that she divorced me. I am alive today due to a joke, keep it up Jeff. Save some more of us.

[@RandomVids519]

Save yourself dont get married😂

[@briantruck2284]

😂

[@CarbonPhoenix96]

Ultra boomer mentality, honestly. I love the hell out of my wife. Sorry you didn't love yours

[@FYMASMD]

@@RandomVids519no wife, happy life. 👍😎

[@DK-gy7ll]

What was the joke? Asking for a friend... 🤫

[@deagt3388]

'Yugo' ('Jugo')was named in a public competition in the old Yugoslavia (Jugoslavia), ordinary citizens voted and that name was chosen among many proposals according to the wind blowing on the Adriatic Sea, but since it is pronounced differently in the English-speaking area, it was renamed to 'Yugo', in essence is a game of words. 'GV' is the equipment level for the American market and stands for Grand Value, because of the low price, obviously because it was cheaper in America than on the domestic market. It was never a copy of a FIAT vehicle, but a successor to the FIAT 127 and a product of Italian engineers and local ingenuity, although we called it the first fully domestic car. FIAT did not want to put its mark on a model that was produced in Italy, but used the name of its earlier model and tools in a closed factory and made it under the name 'Innocenti Koral' ('Koral' is the name under which it was produced for a while in our country). Even a prototype electric model was made. The car was of terrible quality but we all still love it. It weighed about 750kg, that would be approximately 1655lbs (for your market is a bit more weight, it seems to me because of safety regulations).Greetings for Jay from Serbia! 😉

[@ninoprses5826]

That's the car I took my driving test in back in 1990. (driver instructor owned it). I remember when you go 30mph the feeling was like racing at 80mph. Lovely car, once it was a dream come through, we in Bosnia even have a song about it. Thank you for representing it to the rest of the world.

[@hypnotize2674]

The places that Jeff Dunham is listing at 25:30 were all Yugoslav republics. So yes, the entire car was made in Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia was a federation consisting of 6 republics: Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Montenegro.

[@beno2782]

And Kosovo.

[@supra107]

@@beno2782 Yeah, he mentioned Serbia.

[@markomarkovic5729]

​@@beno2782That's Serbia.

[@xaviv6840]

Yup, pretty much Serbia

[@joemilo2710]

Yeah, crazy the guy didn't know those 6 countries comprised Yugoslavia and he's making a video about it's product.

[@alansmith4734]

The joke was, the Yugo had a rear window defroster to keep your hands warm while you pushed it off the road!

[@mexicanspec]

I heard that about the first Hyundai Excel's as well.

[@HrLBolle]

hab das auch über die Trabbis gehört

[@brianallen9810]

How do you double the resale price of a Yugo ? You fill it's tank.

[@bitkarek]

i heard that for old Skodas

[@HrLBolle]

@@bitkarek me thinks this applies to many of the eastern cars, particularly the bottom barrel brands

[@arpadjszabo]

I will always remember the feeling when I drove a Yugo for the first time. Feared for my life at 80km/h. A few years ago we still had heaps of Yugos here in Serbia. It's now getting very rare.

[@bobolink39]

I had one and loved it. The timing belt broke and bent the valves so I got new valves put them in myself for less than $100 and drive the heck out of it. Bought it for $500 sold it 3 years later for $500. All in all it was a great little car.

[@JoeVinson]

When I was about 21, I worked at a small parts store. We actually sold a carburetor kit for a yugo. I was surprised. No one ever bought it, but we had one.

[@CIoudStriker]

So your shop *tried* to sell a carburetor kit for a yugo.

[@robertcook7144]

My dad had one of these back in the late 90's. It was so simple and dead reliable. In a weird way I really miss that car.

[@adamkatt]

i had one for a short time.. then the whole muffler fell off....

[@unwokeneuropean3590]

My granny had good money and always bought Yugo 45... She had 3 Yugo cars in a row and loved them.

[@casteltheghettomonk4392]

99-100

[@javahne4007]

Do you miss the car or that time period?

[@kakote11]

OH this brings some memories:):):) we had the YUGO 45 from '88 to '92 in 1990 we went with it from Serbia to Greece for summer vacation, I remember we couldn't overtake anybody on the freeway it was so funny, but my brother and I also had our pillows and we were sleeping like babies in the back seats. I don't know just how my parents managed to pack everything for vacation in that little booth these days I'm driving an SUV and we still go almost every year to Grece on vacation and we always have a problem packing everything in a rather large booth. AHHHH these were the days 🥰

[@jeremygeorgia4943]

I'm one of those guys, that always bought used. In fact, I never regretted it. At the used lot, if a car had any bugs, they would either be worked out, or become apparent. There were usually no surprises, if you looked it over thoroughly before buying. I test drove plenty of used vehicles that were on their way out, as used cars. The cars that were in good condition, were typically survivors, and they gave me plenty more years of service. That's one reason, a Yugo never made sense to me. Sure, there's a little bit of promise in a cheap and brand new car. But, if a more upscale new car is going to lose its value, why wouldn't a cheap car lose value as well, as soon as it's driven off the lot? I had always heard stories about various parts falling off at the dealerships, when it came to Yugo. When I was with a friend, I had looked at one of those Cabriolets, that was parked there. One thing I immediately noticed, was that the handle was loose. In fact, the hex bolt that was holding it on had backed out so much, that it was almost ready to come off. Sure, it could have been a pretty decent vehicle, if everything was put together right, but multiply that build quality issue, among all the parts. You have something that potentially shouldn't be inspiring much confidence. In its favor, it's pretty simple. Parts aside, it should probably be easy to maintain. If I were ever to get one, I'd probably go over every bolt and fastener, to make sure it was tight. On the other hand, I'd probably still find it much more rewarding to invest in one of its peers, that had a better history. Although, the Yugo was featured in Aykroyd's Dragnet.

[@robertinfante5222]

In 1989 we saw one one these parked in front of a house with a 'Free' sign on the windshield. The keys and title were in it. It started right up. My friend Jimmy plated it and drove it for two years. The interior plastics were just dust but it ran fine without much trouble. Like Jay said...it's not bad!

[@dielaughing73]

Not _that_ bad

[@John_Mack]

My friend has the same Yugo, from new with 256,000 km on it. He has driven it from Vancouver to Halifax six times. Never did anything more then undercoating and maintenance.

[@davewebster5120]

When the car is so loud the mics barely work. Jeff is absolutely GIDDY about this thing and it's awesome.

[@robertford7318]

I worked in maintenance at a Yugo dealership years ago, and in the Service department was a huge banner hanging on the wall, out of customers sight of course, that said: “The Yugo gets the best gas mileage of any car because one tank of gas outlasts the life of the car!“😊

[@evcarney]

I love how the constantly go to the exterior shots with the motor SCREAMING 😂

[@xxxy9928]

sounds verry sporty XD

[@xxxy9928]

Fiat genetic XD

[@MrWolfSnack]

Tiny high revving engine and a tiny little scooter muffler.

[@hejdiklump]

i drove three yugos during my youth till 35 years...those times were the best in my life...yugo was cheaper to maintain than my tomos moped..greetings from slovenia,,ex country from yugoslavia..AND IT IS NOT THAT BAD AS THEY JUDGE IT TO BE!!!!!!

[@heypero]

25:24 All these parts were made in ex Yugoslavia which had 6 republics. My mom still drives a yugo, made in 2005, it has a peague engine 1.2 with 5 gears and it's pink. After 18 years it's still a good car! Greetings from Serbia!

[@VladanSpasenovic]

I had a Yugo, but 5 five-gear version. It was a fantastic car for young guys, and very popular in Serbia from 1990-2000. The fun thing was that almost every owner knew how to repair regular problems with it, The time mu pad for the gear switch collapsed (it was 200.000km), and I just lay down below a car, took a simple nail, made altogether, secured it with a nail and it worked, only reverse gear didn't work. I was lazy and drove it for a month before repair. I always had a spare distribution cap and platinum buttons, and I knew when it broke and replaced it in 3 minutes. There were no other issues, he was really reliable if you know few tricks. I sold it with 242.000km, but since it shows only 5 digits(42.000), I said he has 142.000, I also bought it with 65.000 on the clock, who knows was he 65.000 or 165.000. :-)

[@George0674]

Back in the late 90s, there was an older guy, Dave "underdog racing" Benton, who used to show up at all the early import drag events (NIRA, etc) on the east coast with a blue Yugo with a custome intake, custom cam, fiberglass body panels, and slicks. The best part was he used to flat tow it to the track with another red Yugo that was was was also his SCCA autocross car. Real cool guy, who was racing for ages. Edit: apparently he passed away this summer. RIP Dave.

[@djkenny1202]

It appears to be for sale recently

[@TrashLefties]

Actually owned one. Double barrel carb, modded cam, suspention upgrades and other slight fixes, it will take on anything on a track. Years of Fiat tuning history on thag 128 engine.

[@indydave1849]

Had a '76 128 1300cc, Weber 2 throat DATRA carb. Sun tach to count the revs. turn the air cleaner lid upside down and that engine would sing like a LeMans race car. Missed a shift one time and the engine spun to 9K and the sound scared/gave me goosebumps. Helluva motor when it was running.. PITA when it wasn't. Monthly payment of $56.12 for 36 months. Front wheel drive was in it's infancy in '78. Loved driving in the snow on Michelin XZX tires. I perfected shifting through all 4 gears without ever having to take my hand off wifes thigh. Wifey rolled the "Fear-a-lot" in '82. Good memories. POS car

[@alen4945]

Fun fact: I lived in Yugoslavia at the time this car was produced and I drove one. The owner was proud that it was an American model. For some reason, some ended up on the local market. Probably some manufacturing error. So, there was also a version for the Yugoslav market and many are still on the road :) The manufacturer is Zastava and there are other similar models.

[@aureaphilos]

Jeff's YUGO looked very much like the 78 VW Rabbit that my wife had for her first car! Functional and self-serviceable. Jay, you should do a special with the YUGO, a LADA, a Citroen 2CV, and a Reliant Robin!

[@dinkokolic4386]

Considering the crappy cars that were on sale in the 80s, in America and especially in Europe, the Yugo was actually a decent little car that, to the surprise of many, didn't break down much and you could fix it on the side of the road for $2

[@gordocarbo]

Those were back when toyotas and hondas were truly bulletproof.

[@markr.1984]

Oh B.S!! Even a Ford of those days was a better car. And I had a 1979 Old Cutlass Salon that was better than a Yugo! And a '79 Salon was a total piece!! The head liner on it was falling and touched the top of people's head up front and in the back and the auto transmission leaked a qt. a day. Don't gimme that Yugo praise!

[@dinkokolic4386]

@@markr.1984 Don't be such a snowflake... You have no idea what kind of buckets were on the roads of Europe in the 80s. I'm not saying that the Yugo was a great car, especially for spoiled Americans, but considering the price, it was a very reliable box that will take you to your destination, nothing more...

[@stephenm8100]

​@@markr.1984there was a lot of problems with constants of quality. My Dad had a 85 Escort and it had some problems. The mechanic explained to my Dad . That there was a problem shift at the assembly plant... My Grandpa had a Mercury same year and never had a problem. Until my brother ran it into the ground 12 years later.

[@patraic5241]

A good friend of mine in High School immigrated from Yugoslavia. He was Croatian. The Yugo was very much the product of national pride. Yogoslavs could build a car of their own. He mentioned to me on several occasions that the Yugo was also in part a bid to unify the country. The parts were built all over so that the disparate regions and ethnic groups had to cooperate to make all the parts for a whole car. That didn't work out so well.

[@dragan221]

Your friend might have believed so but being a son of immigrants from a particular country doesn;t mean you have a first clue about that country. Zastava has been making cars by the millions since 1950s: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zastava_Automobiles#Former_models_list, mostly FIAT licensed cars just like Yugo was. In fact there is nothing special or different about Yugo versus other Zastava models except that some American businessman had an idea to import them into the USA.

[@patraic5241]

@@dragan221 He was a first gen immigrant himself. His Dad still lived in Yugoslavia. When I lost touch with him his family still owned property there. He vacationed with family there several time. In fact he almost got drafted on a vacation trip. At the time Yugoslavia had compulsory service. Only the fact he had a green card and was about to take the Nationalization test allowed him to leave without getting drafted. So. I'm pretty confident he was speaking from a populist view or attitude of the Yugo.

[@toomanyhobbies2011]

@@dragan221 You must be a Soviet.

[@dindinbre]

@@toomanyhobbies2011 He's most likely Serbian. I live in a town where Zastava cars were made. They made millions of cars including Zastava 101 (a licenced variant of a Fiat 128, Yugo's big brother, mechanically very similar car with the same engine, 1.1 million of those made), Zastava 750/850 (around 800k of those made, licenced Fiat 750), Zastava Florida (a small run of a very modern and competitive variant of a Fiat Tipo, at least when it came out, around 30k of those made if I'm correct) and many more. Zastava made millions of cars, trucks and guns. Workers were very, very proud of their work and it absolutely isn't the way people talk about that kind of stuff in these videos.

[@ghoulbuster1]

@@dragan221 always that one guy that ruins everyone's fun

[@RocketToTheMoose]

"The gearshift moves with the precision of a broomstick in a barrel of coconuts." One of my favorite ever lines written in a car magazine, from the Car and Driver review of the Yugo.

[@brrblack497]

I had one, bought new off the lot. Got crushed by a semi, pushed right into a fence made with railroad ties, both doors and the rear hatch were open. It was real fun car to drive, I live in rural Pennsylvania, and my friends and strangers were always amazed by the places it would go.

[@melvinburwell8202]

My neighbors had a Yugo growing up. They were large people. And you would see the whole family piled up in this car. Lol. It ran for a long time. ❤❤👍😂😎

[@scott_3800]

I towed for years. Had many calls with small cars, and very large people. The seats were broken and when they got out, the suspension was at ease. But they liked the car 🚗

[@piotrnaliwajko9834]

This was great! Automotive peasantry instead of automotive royalty. I hope Jay drives more old cheap cars in the future cause this was a really fun episode :)

[@deanbarnette1602]

I remember seeing these cars in Atlanta, Georgia, back in 1988, & they were everywhere. I was only 22 years old at the time & couldn't afford one, but if I could have, I would have bought one, & now at the age of 58 years old today I still think that it would have made a great car for my needs at the time. 💜💯

[@BTech2077]

Yes, all these countries that produced parts and assembly for Yugo were a part of the former Yugoslavia, before it collapsed it was a federation. And you are right, here it is a part of history, thanks for featuring the car in your video.

[@CIoudStriker]

This baby looks like a first-generation Golf, and looks like it's just about as reliable as one too. Beautiful little thing.

[@dielaughing73]

Looks SO much like a Mk1 Golf, in profile.

[@FIXTREME]

It's neither a baby nor reliable 😂

[@kudraadk]

How cool is this, I had the exact same car. Same year and model. Everyone laughed when I bought it but it was a sturdy little car that handled the narrow rough roads where I lived like a champ.

[@engineeringoyster6243]

How long did you drive it? How reliable was it?

[@Samuraj454]

​@@engineeringoyster6243I know a lot of people in Serbia (former Yugoslavia) who have been driving this thing for over 30 years, my colleague is one of them.

[@gordocarbo]

Better than taking the RTD bus. That was my ride til I was about 19

[@kudraadk]

@@engineeringoyster6243 I owned it for five years and put over 75000 miles on it. Really the only issues I had were all the locks froze the first winter and only the drivers door worked afterword. That and the only tires i could get didn't last very long. I sold it to a friend and he had it for a few years and sold it to another friend of mine and he had it a few more.

[@robertshields2066]

LOL for a minute when Jay said about backing over the dummy, and then Jeff bent down like that I thought he was going to lie down behind the car.

[@Marlow925]

Drowning Mona .. the Yugo 45 is legendary !!

[@WhiteBoardFinance]

My grandpa had this car in the states. Legendary car.

[@beograd07]

Jeff is absolutely right about the main reason why Yugo was breaking down so often in US. Demographic who bought a $4K car never maintained it properly or did preventive maintenance on time. Only when it would break down. At the same time in home country Yugoslavia it was very reliable and did the job better than you would expect. BTW Yugoslavia is English spelling for Jugoslavija and therefore Jugo is how it was written in home country. When export started it was natural to change Jugo into Yugo. When you compare Yugo designed for Yugoslavian roads at the time and its presence on US roads, then you can understand its underperformance especially compared to US car market at the time. In those days Yugoslavian rads were mostly two way traffic on a single narrow two way road on windy and hilly terrain. If you could afford any American car from that era to import and drive on those roads, I can tell you Yugo would leave them in dust. Being light and with perky 1100 cc engine it was more than adequate to get it through the bands quicker than more powerful but heavier cars of those days. So it is not a bad car but it was sold on the wrong market. Yes it was rusting badly because of the old technology of manufacturing and protecting metal sheets but the repair was so cheap (in Yugoslavia) you didn't care. Or if you did care then you just wouldn't drive it in the middle of winter when it was snowing and they would use insane amount of salt on the road to prevent the icing. Local models did not have an aircon but because of the roads you couldn't drive at freeway speeds so windows were open anyways. Only in city traffic jam on stinking hot day you would often think about it. And lets not forget it, in Yugoslavia (brand new) they cost even less than $4K so people could afford it. They would rather buy and drive a car without aircon than take a public transport WITHOUT aircon. When they started exporting the car then they upgraded the gearbox to 5 speed but I can tell you from personal experience, the 5 speed was a bit quieter on the freeway and more economical, but I preferred a 4 speed gearbox over it as it was better matched with the 1.1L engine. Gear ratios were better suited. Maybe a 950cc motor (in some models) were ok with the 5 speed but not 1100cc. This model on this video has a special sports exhaust and the timing and carby were probably modified and that is why it is running a bit rough when idling, but the original was idling very smooth and quietly. Thanks for the upload, brings me so many good memories...

[@chill_bloby]

aaahhh the legendary yugo it just brings the nostalgia i wish my grandpas still functioned i loved rideing in that car it just felt right

[@zedhok7534]

my first car back in 80s Yugo 55.

[@markkelleybraswell7345]

In 1996 or 1997, the New York School of Design held a design competition for its students using old Yugos. The exhibition was called "Yugo Next" and the entries were creative and hilarious. Those converted cars are the true collectibles.

[@VAXHeadroom]

I saw that traveling show when it came to DC - pretty hilarious!

[@billschlafly4107]

I recall someone made a grand piano out of one.

[@Bubblun1]

The Motorweek footage of this is great!

[@waddsbadds]

If it's the same show I saw it when it was at the Los Angeles Auto Show, it was hilarious

[@michaelwitas9482]

The Yugo is actually nicely styled for a boxy economy car.

[@davidcooper9930]

We had a 1990 go plus. It had Bosch fuel injection. It made it to 250000 miles. Changed oil every 3000 miles

[@jeffreychristopher5953]

I remember a comedy film starring Dan Akroyd where his character refered to the Yugo as " The pinacle of Serbo - Croatian technology " LOL 😂

[@ronaldvermeulen9561]

Dragnet!

[@slobodanstojanovic8125]

Drowning Mona where whole town drives Yugo kzbin.info/www/bejne/noPdgHaknN1sfdU

[@ronaldvermeulen9561]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2KvqZ-QbdWHiMksi=38z7-yJllHeshyUT

[@Bluz1]

My grandpa still has his Yugo and serves him well. Recently had some issues with overheating but fixed it and now works like its brand new. The car is basically a workhorse, you can use it for anything lol

[@Motosapien46]

I learned to drive a manual transmission in a Yugo, IT WAS GREAT!!!

[@Ice-T.]

YES, that i told everyone, if you know how to shift in Yugo, you will know drive everything

[@erocker78]

When I was a kid I came up with my own slogan for Yugo's. "You go but the car stays" 😂

[@Ada_Isabella]

I absolutely LOVE this car! Beautiful nostalgic Yugo!

[@Zg146]

Grew up with it. Drove in it up to when I was 13 yo. Lovely childhood memories. Greetings from Zagreb

[@awtistiaeth4699]

Loved my Yugos and had several including a 5-speed 1300 GL that actually went well and stuck to the road like glue. Drove on all around Portugal having set off from Wales and had no hassles at all. Are they fantastic? perhaps not but then they were way better than Mini Metros and other base model cars.

[@nodak81]

They were terrible cars, or at least the ones sent here to the USA were. Wheels falling off, door handles pulling off. It's not just that they weren't reliable, they literally fell apart and were unsafe to drive. The old VW Beetles didn't do that crap and that's why they sold millions of them here.

[@ChatNick]

​@@nodak81😂 you're funny.

[@oldscoolcooldiecast1879]

My dads best friend had one of these bought it new and honestly it never broke down and took me and him on many adventures. He was a postmaster and hated waisting money on flashy cars 😂 his famous saying was yugo we all go for ice cream 😂😂 and as kids those was the best days 😂😂

[@walkinondamoon1]

I dont know about reliabilty in the US but my Yugo 45 lasted for 20 years without any issues. Unbreakable. And i wasnt takeing it easy on the car. At the end it had some rust, nothing major, but thats it. It was fun and if you learn to drive on it you can litteraly drive anything.

[@oneanddonetzone3673]

Right before I started college as a bit older college student I bought a brand new Ford Festiva they had some ridiculous deal on them I drove it off the lot for 4995 took it home under coated it with spray cans. Lubed absolutely everything siliconed all the rubber parts used a high-end synthetic wax on the paint. Put mobile one synthetic oil in The motor. I remember it had 13 inch tires. College was an hour each way from where I lived four days a week. I drove the hell out of that thing. Five speed manual. 40 miles to the gallon. There wasn’t a radio there was not air conditioning. An absolute basic car. I drove the hell out of that! Still to this date one of the best cars I’ve ever owned. The best money I ever spent. I wish somebody would make something like that again. No frills absolutely inexpensive to drive and maintain.

[@ianvan3753]

I loved my Yugo !!! I drove it like i stole it and hated the person i stole it from.very durable little car

[@Versys1]

Same here, l tottaly agree.....💪💪💪

[@davidhinkson8856]

Interesting to see something as simple as a Yugo on this channel, and I'm impressed with the condition of this one.

[@milanjovanovic6259]

There is some exhaust problem on this Yugo, is should not sound like that, my brother have one and in is quieter than this

[@slobodanvukadinovic778]

​@@milanjovanovic6259that's right😊

[@numbersix7193]

I bought a Yugo new. Very good car. Reliable and inexpensive to maintain. Wish I still had it.

[@Coa_Kralj_Coa_The_King]

How this man speak 🗣️ with this toy 🧸 It’s just incredible!!! 😂😂😂

[@fl350r]

I remember seeing these in Popular Mechanics when they were introduced. Popular Mechanics hailed them as the beginning of a new era, the era of disposable cars.

[@chuckpierce3084]

Always enjoy Jeff bringing his treasures to Jay's garage. Jay understands Jeff's sickness for odd ball cars!!!

[@danicao.6778]

The Yugo was built as a car for city driving and it lived up to its role!!! It's small you can push it everywhere and park wherever you want!!! The Yugo is driven as a national rally class even today, but with a stronger engine, upgrade suspension and reinforced with a cage inside the shell!!! The savior of Yugoslavian people!!! The standard Yugo is not this loud, this one had some work done on it, maybe the exhaust manifold!!! Of 1991 is all made with parts from Serbia 🇷🇸 (pure Serbian car)!!! Good car!!!😂😂😂 Greetings from Serbia!!! 🇷🇸🇷🇸

[@spankyham9607]

I love cars that are not seen anymore. Good luck getting parts for this though.

[@roberthayden1527]

Brilliant! Such an entertaining episode. Growing up in London, during the 1980s, many minicab drivers (private hire taxis) bought new YUGOs to use as transportation. Bring back Jeff Dunham to the show anytime.

[@dirtpounder]

Personally I enjoyed him continuing to force the puppet bit, I love that dynamic it created.

[@iangrice329]

I had a yugo 45 (1986) and I loved it. It was economical, comfortable and very reliable as long as you maintained it. I wanted to change it for a 65A GLX but the trade embargoes with the UK put a stop to that and got a Fiat Uno instead.

[@SamoMalo2]

I had a yugo 45 from 1988. Windows handle would break once a month, luckily it was cheap to buy new ones.

[@clydestewart1937]

They never mentioned the mpg or how much they go for on used market today

[@iangrice329]

@@clydestewart1937 mine did 35 - 45 mpg

[@robdavis2]

My dad just almost bought one of these. One of the dealerships in town tried to sell them, but they did not sell well. He had had them over a year and had marked them down cheap to move them. They were selling brand new convertibles for $4500. We heard about it because one of dad's friends had went down with three other friends to test drive one. They were all pretty large guys. When they went to get out of it the doors wouldn't open. So they had to crawl out. My dad didn't care he said wicked world a simple X support on the bottom and it would fix all that, and to have a new car for 4500 is still a good deal. We ended up not going that day after working on the GTO all day we were tired, and then we forgot about it. But I always remembered that story about the Yugo.

[@sean6077]

Back in the early 90s, I was into car audio in a big way. I did installs, went to car audio shows and competitions and was all into it. One local show we went to, there was a guy there who had a faded red Yugo with an absolute MONSTER of a system in it. It was funny as hell and everybody laughed at him until he hit the power button. I remember thinking we'd better stand back in case the windows blew out of it. Those things were flexing so much it was actually crazy that they didn't blow out. After talking to the guy, he'd spent more on the system than he did on the car...which wasn't surprising. That thing barely rolled around on its own power. But that stereo was loud as hell would damn near blow your eardrums out.

[@StarkeSu]

Comparing to Skodas, Watburgs, Trabants, Dacias and other eastern Europe cars of that time, Yugo was a really modern and nice car. And, comparing to Golf 1 at the time YUGO was first produced ('80), it was very similar. At the time YUGO was imported to USA, there was already a new version called Yugo Sana, which was exported to UK at that time and got a pretty nice feedback in one Top Gear episode. But they imported older Yugo intentionally to USA because the goal was for it to be fun and cheap. They succeed making it cheap, not sure about fun tho lol but hey, at least commercials were fun:)

[@draganbobic9910]

😂

[@chepinchan]

Yugo was nice and modern until Škoda came out with Škoda Favorit in… 1988 or so?

[@StarkeSu]

@@chepinchan I would say first modern skoda was felicia

[@chepinchan]

@@StarkeSu That was under VW already. I’m talking about the actual Škoda. It was definitely Favorit. It was a great progression compared to previous Škoda models of 70’s and 80’s . Felicia came out way later.

[@joemilo2710]

@@chepinchan Checkout Yugo Florida model, it's last Yugo model that came out I think and looked much more modern than the previous Yugo appearance. The guy in the original comment called it Yugo Sana, but it was more commonly known as Yugo Florida.

[@frederickknapp5340]

As a young sailor, I had a Yugo and I loved it. Had it for about a year and drove it through a Upper Peninsula blizzard with no problem. The only problem I had was when I traded it in for a S-10.. Lost money on that.

[@TheDevilsKnot]

"Does it come w a can opener?" 😂😂

[@clydestewart1937]

I laughed and smiled more on this video than I think any Leno vid in a long time. Jeff is one of a kind! Thanks Jay !

[@bdcash]

I friend of mine worked in a garage that sold Yugos. They had a brand new one in the showroom and one of the dials was mounted upside down. That's quality control!

[@7728abbott]

That was fun! The Yugo really changed up the normal Leno's Garage routine! In retrospect, it's interesting to see one again... even IF it's the top of the line.

[@paunpaun6988]

My parents still drive one. They have been driving it since I was born, which was in 89. The car is still rocking!

[@ivantuma7969]

28:32 "it feels like it could use another gear" ... is exactly what I used to say about my 128 with the 4-speed. The successor to the 128 ... the Fiat Ritmo had a 5 speed and even a 1.9L twin-cam optional engine ... but by then, Fiat was pulling out of the US market.