Trabant - A Plastic Masterpiece of Developed Socialism

The most popular communist car in the world is, surprisingly, not even from the Soviet Union. The plastic "Trabant" produced in the GDR in 1957 is a symbol of socialism and Germany's most hated car, but it was actually far better than its reputation. Definitely not "the worst car ever made", as some haters called it. The leaders of East Germany at the time were looking for a quick answer to the "people's car" that had appeared to West Germans, the Volkswagen Beetle. Unfortunately, there was only one big problem: the lack of metal in eastern Germany. As a result, the car had to be assembled from a newly invented plastic called Duroplast. Today I will tell you about whether the Trabant was actually plastic, how it managed to survive with a 17-horsepower engine and how it has survived almost 30 years of production unchanged. Finally, we will discuss why Germans waited in line for 13 years for a car and how the Trabant turned from a joke into a cult car.
00:00 Introduction
01:50 How this communist car was born
05:36 Not that bad?
09:49 An inglorious end
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[@Setarko]

As many people have pointed out, I made the mistake of calling Wartburg plastic. Tbh, I saw it in some article about Trabant and never really bothered to double-check. My bad, thanks for correcting me.

[@SonOfTheDevil666]

Wartburg also a nice car my father had a station don’t remember the type but with the rounded windows on the roof

[@hansosl]

Some of the 353 had front an back Fender from the same Material ascthe trabant

[@darcgibson5099]

I drove a 30-40 year old Trabant on a Trabant driving tour of Berlin about 10 years ago. The fact that a fleet of Trabants that spent their lives being driven by ignorant tourists who weren’t familiar with how to drive them, and that they survived all these years of abuse and still drove well, comfortably seated 4/5 people, is a testament, surely, to their robustness. If this car had been produced in Japan it would be a cult classic, I’m sure!

[@vHindenburg]

It is a cult classic anyway.

[@give_me_my_nick_back]

if it was made in Japan, they would have made it in 60s and pretty much finished the production in the early 70 at latest, trabant though, was made up to the early 90s! By the 90s is was just a bad taste joke of a car xD And only then, after the German reunification they have actually made the first real upgrade and gave it a 4 stroke engine because it was still runing the 2 stroke like some lawn mower....

[@vHindenburg]

@@give_me_my_nick_back well the 2cv was also made to 1990 and the Beatle was made last 2003 in Mexico. Doesn't change that the Trabants construction was obsolete.

[@obywatelcane6775]

It wasn't bad. If and only if you took good care of it. To drive a Zwei Takt you have to be a mechanic, know your car. Need some tools, literature etc. In Poland Trabant was still used as a family car even in the early 2000's. Mostly in the villages and some little towns. People knew how to repair them on the parking lot, parts were cheap. It was good for people who just got their driver's license. Cheap means of transportation. They could fix everything by themselves and learn some mechanics. If that car broke down beyond the profitability of repair, then it was not a pity to give it for scrap. Trabant was a Daewoo Tico of it's times.

[@LuwiigiMaster]

If it was made in Japan, most of them would be bought by trust fund kids who watch too much youtube and absolutely need to pay the price of a new car for a 30 year old economy car (excuse me, "JDM Legend") from the other side of the planet.

[@real.MinatoYellowFlash]

An oil sheik comes to visit the GDR. Honecker tells him about the great achievements of his country, including the Trabant. The sheik orders one. After a month being back home, his Trabant is being delivered. "Look what a great customer service", he says to his wife, "they've already sent a model!".

[@cedriclynch]

There are hundreds of Trabant jokes. Similarly West Germany (and Austria and Switzerland) had Manta jokes (based on the idea that Manta drivers are really dim) that possibly caused Opel to discontinue the Manta sooner than it otherwise would have. The UK also used to have Skoda jokes. I once overheard two Skoda delivery drivers telling each other these on a train to King's Lynn where the Skoda importer was based.

[@KikirikiSemenke357]

In Serbia, and other former Yugoslav states there was a popular urban legend that pigs used to eat Trabants which even appeared Kusturica's film Black Cat, White Cat 😅

[@xsc1000]

In Czechoslovakia, it was known about rats. And it was known about the first duroplast versions used in P50. They changed recepture, so no rats eats Trabant 601 or 603 :-)

[@KikirikiSemenke357]

@@xsc1000 who knows? Probably duroplast contains something that might be edible so people develope various urban legends that animals ate it.

[@xsc1000]

@@KikirikiSemenke357 Duroplast is mostly cotton with phenol resin. Cotton is edible, resin not. But rats eat also PVC cables so why not duroplast :-)

[@KikirikiSemenke357]

​@@xsc1000 anyway there was no real-life photo from former Yugoslava of a pig eating Trabant, it was just an urban myth, which also appears in one song of one punk band besides the scene in Kusturica film.

[@mariusberger3297]

i own a trabant that i completely restored myself. the design choices on this car are nothing short of ingenious, everything is made to be as simple and easy to maintain as possible. it is one of few cars that can be understood fully by your average joe and working on it is an absolute joy also, the tiny 26hp engine is actually more than adequate, and it performs pretty good if you're not doing highway speeds

[@drdewott9154]

Yeah. Heck I'm not a car guy at all, heck I'm a public transit advocate that's advocating for reduced car use and eliminating car dependency, especially in cities, but if there's a car I'll find alright, its one with the qualities of the Trabant! Simple, easy to understand, durable, reliable, and affordable. Not a tool you are completely dependent upon, nor an extreme luxury. Just a nice thing to have if needed, that is so simple that anyone can fix it. I wonder if anyone one day will have the bright idea of making an electric car with the same simplistic qualities of something like the Beetle, 2CV, or Trabant.

[@nilsmadej9091]

My parents had their own trabants back in the day. My mom even has a story of how once she landed on the roof after driving a little too fast over black ice on a turn. She was able to easily turn it back on wheels, knock the roof back into shape and drive. In Poland we call it "mydelniczka" (soapbox) because of the plastic and the shape.

[@jwalster9412]

I'm somehow surprised the roof dented and didn't shatter.

[@nurbsivonsirup1416]

"Rennpappe", "Racing Cardboard" in Germany ^^

[@BillAnt]

I remember an early 1970's model Trabant in Romania in my neighborhood. The poor owner was always fixing it and had to hand crank it every time to start it. ll

[@lpchgeri]

@@nurbsivonsirup1416 its paper jaguar in hungary

[@martinlutz5446]

I had the pleasure of driving in a Trabant once as a passenger. It really is the worst car I've ever been in. with 4 people inside, it would struggle to maintain a steady 80 km/h even on flat terrain. No seatbelts, everything violently shakes and rattles and the engine is screaming so loud that you can't even talk to your neighbor. Also the headlights went out TWICE while driving a 40 km distance and it was very dark outside, we were lucky we didn't end up in a ditch. Although somehow the driver was able to fix it, even though he seemingly didn't even know what he was doing himself.

[@NikiDaDude]

We had a Trabant back in the day, it's definitely a product of its time and country of origin. I don't think it any sort of electrical pumps, the fuel was gravity fed, the engine was air cooled, the brakes weren't boosted. Even the windshield washer used a hand operated pump.

[@Pandzikizlasu80]

It was a good enough car in 50' but by the end of 80' it was an unfunny joke. Just imagine switching to a damn shitty Daewoo Tico or Fiat Cinquecento and feeling inside like in a merc. Working ventilation and not smelly heating, what a luxury! It can maintain 90 kph behind a semi without screaming like a slaughtered animal and using 20% less fuel, astonishing! It can reach 300 thousands kilometres without four engine regenerations and one replacement, what a durability!

[@NikiDaDude]

​@@Pandzikizlasu80 Oh believe me I know. Later in life I had a Honda 50cc scooter that was manufactured about 4-5 years before our Trabant, yet it would mix petrol and oil on its own and it even had a fuel gauge! So yeah even an 50cc scooter was more advanced than the Trabant.

[@piotrmalewski8178]

Funny thing is that in the entire East Block, the cars from East Germany were the most primitive and lagging behind everyone. Trabant and Wartburg were good when they first came out, but then literally no investment was done for them untill the very end when Germany united and they got VW engines. Same country; Germany, two different systems, and the difference in cars made was like a horse cart vs. starship.

[@SiqueScarface]

Depends on what you mean as "of its time". The constructive base of the Trabant was the DKW F1 from 1932. All later constructions are changes in detail (different cylinder size, compression rates, unsynchronized or synchronized gearbox, ponton car body, leaf springs or coil springs), but the general layout stayed the same, from the F2 up to the F8, from the AWZ P70 to the IFA P50, until the Trabant 601. The Trabant basically stayed the same for 60 years.

[@MartinIbert]

@@NikiDaDude You are not meant to mix petrol and oil for your Trabant yourself. That was totally unnecessary as the petrol-oil mixture was sold ready-to-go at every petrol station in East Germany. (Actually, when it was new, two-stroke cars were still pretty common elsewhere, and so was pre-mixed two-stroke fuel.)

[@timor64]

In the 80s when you emerged from Friedrichstrasse station into East Berlin, the first thing you noticed were the trabbis. Noisy, smelly, smoky and everywhere. You knew straighaway you had entered another world.

[@itstheterranaut]

Here in the UK, in the 1990s I used to work with a lady who maintained a friendship by letter with her husband's friend in the GDR after her husband's untimely death. Over time, the letters became warmer, and something deeper developed. He was a Police Inspector in the GDR, and despite his status, still had to wait a long time for his ordered Trabant to be delivered. I recall that this took some years. The month before the wall came down, his car was delivered :) and this coincided approximately with upcoming retirement. So he followed his nose, drove to the UK, presented himself at her front door. They were married the following year, and had a good few years together before illness took him. The Trabant I believe lost no time on arrival here before making its way to the Museum of Transport in Glasgow, where it still remains- their first Trabant exhibit. I think of them both when I visit.

[@AtheistOrphan]

Amazing story. Thank you.

[@Violet-qf8dr]

One of my father's best friends was married to a woman who was the only one in her family to have left the GDR. I remember hearing crazy stories of their trips to visit family. They said that when you had a child you would immediately apply for a car for your infant. That way, hopefully, by the time they needed a car as an adult, one would be available for them.

[@obywatelcane6775]

They were popular in Poland, even during the 90's. It was one of the cheapest cars. Fiat 126p, Syrena, Zaporozhets and Trabant. Some of them you could buy a used one for a price of a new bicycle. It was cheap to buy, easy to repair. Even when they were new. Fiat 125p, Moskwicz, Polonez, Wartburg, Skoda - they were expensive. In the 80's Fiat 126p and Trabant - 90.000 zlotys, Fiat 125p and Skoda - 170.000 zlotys. People were earning around 5-6.000 per month.

[@mitHundundRad]

Even though he is often depicted smelly, smoking, but if he was properly adjusted and maintained, it was not so intense. Even if we wanted to have a car, it was not do that we necessarily had to have one. As a rule, you lived close to where you worked. The possibilities to buy food were given even in rural areas in small villages. Traveling by train was better than today. In the past, there was a wagon at the back of the train just for freight to transport carpets, household appliances, bicycles and even motorcycles, for example, and that was normal. Trips to the sea or the mountains were possible with luggage in the trailer or on the roof of the Trabant and the interior remained free. Even though it was difficult to get a Trabant, all the more we rode bicycles and motorcycles, or simply on foot, which is done today by car. Today we drive too much and uselessly with cars and neglect good, if not better, alternatives just because the car is parked in front of the house.

[@felixtheswiss]

When Colleagues visited us in Switzerland we tested the Trabi hard. 4 Persons up the Grimselpass to 7000 ft asl. It worked well although the valley was filled with blue smoke.

[@jonnyboombox9211]

I grew up in East Germany and believe me we didn't get all the best stuff in the warscaw pact. The allmighty big brother took everything.

[@vaxuvax]

In Romania the Trabant was considered a very good car. Lada also had a good reputation.Although not comfortable for the modern standards, at that time they did their job well. A couple of blocks from mine I saw a Trabant in good condition in the parking lot. So today in 2023 people still use some of the old cars.

[@anonymous_qUIpXy]

Same in Bulgaria. Visit any small village in Bulgaria and you will see a bunch of soviet cars. When I was a kid my uncle had a Moskovich, it was the strongest car I have seen 🤣

[@obywatelcane6775]

I'm still driving my Lada 2107 in Poland. Why? Because it was cheap to buy, has a big trunk, strong suspension, no electronics. I can fix it by myself. If I bought some VW, Audi or Renault I would have to pay for the mechanics. Russian cars are ok, they are just like the AK-47. Not luxurious. Just do the job. Cheap transportation. If you know how to handle a wrench and a hammer, adjust a carburetor etc. it's a perfect car.

[@GholaTleilaxu]

Nah, Trabants were considered shitty cars even in Romania. If you went for Lada (if you had the money) you were sure to get waaay better quality. Trabant was like certain ;) Chinese smartphones from a few years ago, which look okay on the outside and are hell on the inside.

[@W.I.L_1917]

My mom's first car in thw DDR(gdr) was a Trabant. To this day, these cars are known as "Trabbi" (The colloquial form). And every former citizen of the DDR knows at least one joke about it. But to be honest the car wasnt bad at all and in some way every east-german loves the car until today.

[@paufernandezboj5517]

It wasnt bad for 50s to 80s standards maybe but by actual standards its pretty bad, for The exhume gases and The petrol thing its more like a product of its time like The spanish Seat 600

[@becconvideo]

The term "Trabbi" came after the "Wende" - the fall of the GDR. For us it was alway the "Pappe" (cardboard) - or pronounced with soft saxon consonants "Babbe"

[@heinrichw.seekamp6031]

​@@becconvideoIt's Trabi with only one "b".

[@xsc1000]

The idea of coproduction between Skoda and Trabant wasnt so bad, prototypes were modern and looked good. But it was stopped mainly because of needed investments and also lack of steel eastern Germany can buy - tanks were preffered. So Zwickau produced the same type till the end. Czechoslovak communist were little smarter so after years of stagnation when Skoda made 2 modernization of 60s model, they allowed new model that was ready in 1988 and became succesful also under Vokswagen in 90s.

[@Txm_Dxr_Bxss]

They made a deal with Volkswagen to use the VW Golf engines in the 1988 Trabant 1.1. Modernizing the factory to produce the regular Trabant with the big Volkswagen engine turned out to be more expensive than to just build any one of the new 4 stroke engine cars that the designers at the Zwickau plants had designed over the years.

[@robertkalinic335]

Which skoda do you mean, Škoda Favorit?

[@xsc1000]

@@robertkalinic335 Yes, Škoda Favorit, produced since 1988.

[@ilyatsukanov8707]

Imagine these cars with a stylistic upgrade, an electric engine and a few modern engineering upgrades. An urban dream car.

[@monkofdarktimes]

I remember seeing a poster with an Indian company making electric cars with the aesthetics of cars in the years 1900-1914

[@capslocked7274]

too bad cars have just started getting bigger and bigger, even if 95% of the population dont actually makes use of it

[@jgr7487]

this existed & failed. it's the Trabant NT

[@Rrgr5]

Looks like the best platform for conversion, instead of the Mini and Beetle, funny enough is even safer.

[@ilyatsukanov8707]

@@jgr7487 That prototype looks beautiful. Too bad they couldn't get enough money together to start producing it.

[@tauncfester3022]

As someone who owned and repaired SAAB's 2 cycle cars, your comparison between the Trabant and SAAB couldn't be further from reality. The engines that SAAB copied originally for their model 92's were from DKW. But with the 93 forward to 95 and 96 their engines their own and were much more refined.. First off construction: The cylinders and crankcase were two castings in durable nickle iron alloy, and water cooled with a pump, not thermosyphon like DKW's engine, which soldiered on with thermosyphon for a decade. They also ran on a much leaner oil to fuel mix at 40 to1, so less smoke pollution out the tailpipe. SAAB designed in house, their own oil injection that pumped oil directly into the main bearings so having to premix gas and oil became a thing of the past, this years before Suzuki came up with CCI for their motorcycles. SAAB's oil injected engines were guaranteed for the life of their car, as long as you kept their oil tank filled. SAAB used a very precisely made points and condensor distributor with mechanical flyweight advance and vacuum retard which the SAAB two stroke very flexible and a very broad torque curve, while the Trabant was fixed ignition timing. SAAB treated their entire car bodies with an anti rusting dip followed by completely immersing the body and doors in paint. Rust was not a problem unless there was a lot of winter road salt exposure, their steel was also very strong, well ridged and strengthened by the stamping process. Their heaters were the best that any car had at that time. Clever touches like being able to overnight camp by folding down the back seat, sound deadening and insulation of the floor pan. One of the most refined automotive 2 cycles ever made and a car designed by jet aircraft engineering. The Trabant was maybe not the worst but it was no improvement even on the DKW and that is not something to be proud of.

[@iana6713]

This was one of the best little dives into the history of Zwickau's finest I have come across on KZbin - I have always had a soft spot for those little cars, ever since one of my high school teachers turned up in one when I was about fourteen years old. They liked it so much they bought a second one!

[@achimhaun2726]

As a Czech, a video about us or our cars would be nice to see :) TATRA FOR THE WIN!

[@robertwilloughby8050]

The 613 was something special! It might have been a BMW copy, but, dear god, could it shift!

[@user-ee5oo7xx7o]

Same! As a Belarusian, I've never seen a single Tatra in my entire life, only on photos. Which is sad, cuz those cars look pretty cool. Oh, and even some Russian officials were using it in the 90's. So it's a pretty interesting yet not that well known car. Definitely deserves a video!

[@jezztech]

The Czech,s made lovely cars in their own right, great engineers Porsche Copied off Ledvinker, it was the Nazis, that foooked the the Czech car industry up

[@duckpuncher4203]

In my small eastern german city, i regularly see trabis. If you want to cover another iconic east german vehicle brand, you should take a look at the Simson motorbikes. Many car nerds here love Trabis and Simsons

[@obywatelcane6775]

How is it in Germany? You can still legally drive a Zwei Takt? I've heard that Germans are really strict about ecology, imposed high taxes on Diesel engines. Everything has to go electric...

[@prinzchen17]

YES! Simson and even more MZ! The GDR was after the war actually quite good and inventive in the 2-wheeled Sector! I can highly recommend this little documentary from a motorcycle channel named "bart" kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6LGlJigotaVhsk

[@obywatelcane6775]

@@prinzchen17 Remember Simson Duo??? 🙂I love MZ Trophy == we called them "Tropic". They were used by Polish militia. That design of the early 70's was cool as hell. Square shapes, lots of aluminium. Everything had to look futuristic back then. Motorcycles, household appliances, even meat grinders.

[@becconvideo]

@@obywatelcane6775 yes - all GDR cars apply for a "H"istoric plate (described with the nice German word "Oldtimer") and are exempt from restrictions.

[@HansensUniverseT-A]

Still holds up better than modern cars.

[@pittyman]

The Trabant is the longest car in the world - a 3 metres vehicle and 22 metres of exhausting pipe smoke... 😁

[@gimmedat5541]

My Family had 3 Trabants back in the day. All broke down after a short time one of them was even brand new. Grandpa kept his old Wartburg

[@noheroespublishing1907]

Again, I am always astounded at the shit talking about the Soviet Block in it's technological innovation, they did great under the conditions they were under, I often think most of the "dislike" is often about appearance, and less about the actual technology.

[@paufernandezboj5517]

Or Because by 80s standards was pretty outdated but It was a pepole's car not like The western car cult thing

[@Hortifox_the_gardener]

yeah - but the came the communist party boards and halted developments or investments. The GDR designed some astonishing cars, trucks, motorcycles and tractors. They produced non of them.

[@paufernandezboj5517]

@@Hortifox_the_gardener Because they don't have The resources or The Liberty to produce them like his western counterparts

[@catriona_drummond]

The Trabant was engineering under the worst possible conditions of war torn plants, lacking almost all materials, demontage of production facilities and machines and old stubborn apparatschiks. But it was still German Engineering, damnit!

[@becconvideo]

indeed - and the roots of that construction trace back to Autounion in prewar times - as the private car industry sought to come out with a competitor to the Nacional *Socialist* government sponsored project of the Beetle ("KdF Wagen") The idea to use plastic wasn't new and was first realized in the P70 - in fact a DKW F8 with a modern body - still wooden frame but Duroplast panels. I'd like to know more about the Auto Union development in prewar times.

[@singletona082]

I'm gonna be honest. That little car fascinates me and I want one, purely because it is adorable and so long as one keeps to back routes or country roads they looks like an amazingly fun death trap.

[@itsmebatman]

Almost all East Germans born before 1985 have childhood memories of this car. That's why it is an icon of nostalgia. In Socialist East Germany it was not easy to get another car. My grandfather had a Zaporozhets but he only managed to get it, because he worked for the Wismut, which was the mining company supplying Uranium to the Soviet Union. Most normal people had no realistic means to get something better than a Trabbi. And for inner city commutes the Trabbi was fine.

[@TDCflyer]

There was that joke amongst East German car owners, that the Trabant was cruising even quieter than all western luxury cars - because sitting in it you'd have your ears plugged by your own knees...

[@josefstrauss9017]

My grandpa never could afford one back then (was born in the GDR 1950) but after the wall fell he finally could afford one (red, station wagon) and drove all through Germany. Amazing cars and East German culture. Love it

[@becconvideo]

Old Trabant driver saying: "Hast Du Hammer, Zange, Klingeldraht, fährst Du bis nach Stalingrad" - as long as you have a hammer, a set of pliers and some wire you can drive up to Stalingrad (how far Granny went with his Tiger tank) i.e. "far" in our little world.

[@Isylon]

Loved the Trabant! I remember my dad accidentally pulling the gear shift stick out of the switchboard (yes, it was in the board not down between the seats) while driving us home from school. Or the "emergency fuel tank" that was meant to tie you over while you got to the nearest petrol station!

[@nickadams2451]

I really wish Matchbox would release those Soviet cars since they’ve done everything else. Btw General Motors basically did a similar thing with plastics with their Saturn car line. I actually saw one that had burned. Left very interesting puddles of plastic around the steel frame. 😂

[@lindsaycole8409]

The problem with the Trabant was not when it launched. It was a cheap peoples car, a little to rough around the edges, for instance the original Fiat 500 was launched the same year and is much more refined, but you could see how it fitted into that landscape. It's the fact it lasted in manufacturing till the fall of the Berlin wall barely changed that is it's problem.

[@marguskiis7711]

The Trabant engine was actually brand new in late 50s. The prewar engines were used on Wartburgs and Trabant`s predecessor P70 but for Trabi P50 they designed the new one.

[@nevrunderstandlada]

It was more expensive than a niva in like 2 or 3 country like in Armenia, a niva was 10000soviet roubles and a trabant 13000-14000soviet roubles so... people buyed niva/jogouli/moskvitch/zap and the trabant was rare

[@nevrunderstandlada]

@@mehmetakifaydogdu4126 an average armenian/Soviet citizen gain 200soviet roubles per month... it takes really long to have a car people so people use public transport

[@MaxvonHapsburg]

I'd rather have a new Trabant over any new car made today.

[@dennisyoung4631]

“Such Cute little buzz-bombs!” (Spoken with genuine affection and even, admiration.)

[@furripupau]

One weird twist to this story: The Trabant's engine wasn't a development of the pre-war DKW engines. It was actually a copy of the West German Lloyd's engine. However the Lloyd was in part developed by ex-DKW men who had fled East Germany after the war. Trabant copied the engine because the Lloyd was air-cooled, unlike the DKW, which meant no costly radiator etc.

[@valentinsn-ostalgiemodellbahn]

Great to see, that you have given the Trabant the respect it deserved. All the best Valentin

[@becconvideo]

Something important you've missed to mention: The Trabant was perfect for the GDR and the proverbial communist scarcity: The ability to stuff in large items. The doors open almost 90 degrees. Take out the passenger seat and load a fridge or a washing machine, furniture or large items such as construction materials. For a car of its site the trunk is quite spacious and you can fit a lot of luggage. The Trabant could be extended with a hitch to tow a trailer - not a large one but one enough to carry some bags of cement you'te "organised" somewhere to repair your house or Dacha. Some smart Saxon invented a tent which could be mounted on the Trabant's roof. Together with a "Klappfix" (quickly fold) trailer which featured a tend, extra luggage space end even a small kitchen whole families went on holidays camping (given the shortage of hotels and resorts) - to the Baltic Sea, Thuringa, The Tratra Mountains in Slowakia or even the Balaton Lake and the Golden Coast in Bulgaria. Over 1000km - insane by today's standards. But it worked. Nice memories for many.

[@ThatsMyChad]

What a coincidence! I recently watched a video of an American who purchased one of these bad-boys and was walking us through his experience with the car, and even though most of what he had to say was critical, I could tell just from the details of what he was describing that he was comparing this car far outside of what its intended purpose was. It was a creative solution for a time when creativity was a necessity! I think if this was a toy car from some trendy country like Finland or Japan it would be something every collector would enjoy showing off :) If I ever get lucky enough to purchase one I may just have to consider it.

[@lasskinn474]

finland did import a bunch of trabis. look man, it's not that the countries that used fiat 500's, 127's, renault 4's, 2cv's, trabis, wartburgs, ladas etc unironically didn't think of them as sh** compared to a real cars like a american steel or a mercedes or even an opel kadett or a mazda. but when you don't have money what are you going to do? you use it as a family car - it doesn't mean that you wouldn't have wanted something more proper, but still the best car is the car you have. the actual intended purpose for it was to be a car. it does work as a car, just not as a very desirable car if you have any choice on the matter and that's the key word here: choice. the designers had no choice. the factory had no choice. the customer had no choice.

[@jp-um2fr]

UK The nearest car to the Trabant was the MK1 Escort my wife bought a week before we met. We kept it for 16 years. It let us down twice, the clutch cable broke (10 minutes to fix) and the gear leaver came off in her hand (easy fix by the roadside). I went on to build 2 kit cars based on the Escort - I knew the wiring harness without looking. I'm too old now to fa*t about with cars, but it was fun. The cars we have now? One look under the bonnet and I just wonder WHY?

[@mastermindd]

References Aging Wheels, Doug DeMuro etc... I see you're a man of culture as well. Subbed

[@simongrushka983]

oh, i can still remember the smell of the burnt mixture of petrol (lead one obviously) and oil :S

[@mrdaykurutakuchannel]

Wow! I've seen these 2 stroke daily beaters when I traveled to Berlin 6 years ago, and I noticed these too when I watched Spy x Family!

[@twistedyogert]

The Trabant isn't ugly. It was good for what the average person needed. Just a little something to get from point A to B.

[@muschelpuster1987]

Corrosion is a critical problem of the Trabant! The dangerous, invisible point is the connection between the steel frame and the duroplast body and the bad rust protection. So almost every owner gave it to a workshop after getting the brand new Trabant to get a better protection against corrosion. The used product Eleaskon is a wachs with a little content of oil and solvents. After evaporation of the solvents it was a brown protective film. It was sprayed in every cavity. So the durability of the Trabant is based on the care of it‘s owner. Simply buy and drive didn't work 😉

[@dameanvil]

00:35 🚗 The Trabant, often mocked and ridiculed, was a unique product of socialist automotive engineering. 01:53 🚗 Despite its reputation as "The Worst Car Ever Made," the Trabant had a significant waitlist for prospective buyers. 03:25 🛠 The Trabant emerged as an answer to the Volkswagen Beetle, aiming to rival Western automotive standards. 05:32 🚗 Contrary to popular belief, the Trabant boasted innovative features such as independent suspension and front-wheel drive. 06:57 ⚙ Despite its modest 17 horsepower engine, the Trabant offered reasonable performance and ease of maintenance. 08:10 🏭 The Trabant's design and construction, though unconventional, were pragmatic and well-suited for its era. 09:53 📉 Planned economy and lack of innovation led to the downfall of the Trabant brand, despite initial success. 12:07 🔙 The Trabant, once despised, now garners nostalgia and is considered an iconic car of its time. 13:34 🌍 Attempts to revive the Trabant in Uzbekistan and the global travels of enthusiasts suggest its enduring legacy.

[@AGS363]

There was a follow up modell planned (around 1980) but.."It was so good that any russian would have abandoned his Lada for it; and that was the problem." The goverment canned the project and gave the technical documentation to Moscow. (Source: Trabant-Museeum Zwickau)

[@BrandonBames]

Did you did such a good job with the English narration. Incredible video too. Bravo!👏👏👏

[@EffendiChung]

I would imagine a trabant in its habitat, where parts are readily available would be a decent daily driver, simple engines means simple maintenance. Any gearheads would love spending some time fixing or maintaining one.

[@nootnoot9842]

I wish they made cars like this or kei cars in the USA, the closesest cars to this are a Mazda 2 or a Chevy sonic, and chevy is definitely not known for reliability.

[@Ocinneade345]

Duraplast is basically what is on the Tesla

[@seandoole6504]

It took several attempts and nearly a decade, but someone on YT finally gave the Trabant a fair shake. Nicely done.

[@youfube-]

Let's forget the nostalgia for a second and admit the car was even back then a POS. But when you take account the insane limitations they had to live with, it's amazingly good POS.

[@ClimateScepticSceptic-ub2rg]

This reminds me of the Russian cameras produced by LOMO in the 70s. No light meters etc, but they worked, and you learned more about photography using one than with a bells and whistles Japanese model.

[@becconvideo]

During GDR times mixing oil into the fuel wasn't necessary as all of the far to few petrol stations had mixer pumps. You selected 1:25 for your DKW, 1:33 for an older model or 1:50 for later models and away you go. BTW. Wartburg is not plastic but a rather tinny car. I liked it - I bought one as my first set of wheels in 1990 as a nice bargain when good used cars were hard do come by.

[@phaslow4393]

As a 53 year old Hungarian whose family owned one of these things: 1.Try using this as a daily driver car. 2. Try takig a family of four on a holiday in a Trabant...for example to the the mountains of Slovakia/Poland in a fully loaded Trabant. Yeah....I didn't think so. Assholes.

[@ilpatongi]

Yeah this video leans too much on the fanboy side rather than looking at the car objectively. I bet you won't find people willing to use on of these now as a proper daily, I bet it wasn't an easy task even even 20 or 30 years ago...

[@waffen-tony]

Just buyed a P50 from 1960. Runs fine ;)

[@1955DodgersBrooklyn]

I love the Trabis and think they're adorable and a really cool symbol of a certain place and time. And you're right, when they came out they really weren't all that bad, especially given the circumstances under which they were produced. But come on... by the late 80s, they were *that* bad... you've explained it yourself at 13:05

[@totallymaortal1211]

Terabant is the perfect example of everything wrong with how the Soviet union handled its economy, make one model and never upgrade it and make only so few by the time people could buy them they are outdated

[@chriswatchingponies9877]

Awman. I would love to have a Trabie. It looks so ceh-yute ! These modern-day cars are a f'ing pain in the b***.

[@chriswatchingponies9877]

@@_DeadEnd_ Exaaactly ! And our bank account 100s or 1000s of Dollars/Euros lighter. The Trabant is like my Vespa from the 80s.

[@bromisovalum8417]

@@_DeadEnd_ true, modern cars are a complete scam

[@carllinden533]

I own one of these in Minnesota, on these rural country roads it feels right at home, and in busy low speed traffic even more so! Compared to my brothers VW Beetle I know which one I'd rather work on!

[@mcbrite]

2:03 easy: You couldn't get anything else and it (presumably) beats walking...

[@NormanF62]

The Trabi is a solid little car - durable, reliable and low maintenance. It was ahead of its time.

[@kebabdude6107]

GDR was maybe the best of everything in Berlin but my father lived in a village near Czechia where they had to smuggle ceramic tiles from to build their bathroom. Also the store there maybe had 2 or 3 times a year for a one day maybe bananas and pineapples.

[@Setarko]

Well, most people in Russia saw pineapples for the first time only after the fall of the USSR... It was similar in most USSR republic and socialistic countries - relative abundance in capitals and big cities, shortages elsewhere

[@windhelmguard5295]

@@Setarko well most of those exotic fruit shortages were understandable considering that it was basically cuba supplying the whole communist block by itself.

[@thelovertunisia]

Nice video. I'm half German from Tunisia. We have a Tunisian car called Wallys it is our Trabant. It is based on an old Kia but everything is made in Tunisia even the engine. It sells quite well because cheap.

[@variacenavsiav9945]

Yes. It is popular myth that former Soviet block industry was shitty. It was not that bad at all.

[@stoneylonesome4062]

While I certainly don’t think the Trabant was the worst car in the world, I don’t think it was necessarily good, either. I would rather have to daily an Opel Kadett/Isuzu Gemini/Chevrolet Chevette, or even a Citroën 2CV over a Trabant.

[@diegosilang4823]

The only worst feature is the 2 stroke engines, the rest of the car is fairly ahead of its time when it came out, fairly good looking and practical. However it only gets worse because it never get updated it remained mostly unchanged until a year before reunifocation with a 4 stroke engine.

[@OrataKopata]

Thank you! I mean...Danke? Спасибо? :D Anyways, I don't know why the Gods of KZbin have gifted me with your channel, but I'm more than glad! I need this to keep me out of insanity! Cheers, dude!

[@nlpnt]

Interesting point about pricing during the Soviet-bloc era. Western car magazines at the time reported heavily on the post-Wende price at the 1-,M = DM 1 exchange rate being comparable to a VW Golf, Opel Astra and Ford Escort but not what the Trabi's price was compared to the alternatives during the Communist era.

[@jonathanthorpe1653]

I own a 601 deluxe in the UK. It’s been one of the most reliable cars I have owned. It always puts a smile on my face. As I first classic car I would recommend.

[@motor-werner1989]

As a trabant driver myself I have to say: Finally someone who speaks the truth! 😁 Yeah, for 1980's standards it's really bad, but for it's time of release it was really considered modern. And it's so easy to work on. My brother and I once replaced the engine with a simple toolkit and the whole procedure was done in 90 minutes. And parts are still readily available and relatively cheap. Great Video, greetings from (east-) Germany ✌️

[@jugandoclasicos]

Elon Musk pay attention to this this is visionary not cars with litium explosive batteries Imagine this car in 2020s would be very useful with modern improvements but that do not compromise the original model you can make good safe and cheaper cars and not expensive and unsafe cars

[@BeesKneesBenjamin]

Great video! Finally someone with a proper analysis rather than constant bashing of the car. I own one too, it's a fun car, puts smiles on everyone's face, great road handling, quick and light so it has an easy time going through traffic, easy to repair and reliable... Of course it's not as luxurious as a modern car, but for the small werstern European oldtimers I've driven it's definitely not worse :-). It's pretty comfortable on rural streets, had no issues with bumpy dirt roads, and if you need to take a highway, atleast we can do so comfortably with our speedlimits being 100 km/h, the Trabant goes a tiny bit faster, and stays really stable on road handling. It's not a car for people who seek luxury, but if you like being 100% of control of the engine without a computers assistance, and are looking for a cheap classic car that is easy to repair, get yourself a Trabant. Best money I've ever spent atleast on a hobby hahahaha

[@singletona082]

It feels like it is one of those things that embody the joy of Going. Much as I want better public transit and less car dependance? I do want the option to exist to just... pick a direction and Go. I'm sure one could, with modern means and methods, take the design of the little guy and do something that is in the same spirit of cheap simplicity. Wonder how much lighter it would be with an aluminum frame.... as example.

[@BeesKneesBenjamin]

@@singletona082 It absolutely is, handling such a car is in and by itself a great experience. Whenever you have a free hour or so, you hop in and drive it around a rural area, when you're starting to get done with it you drive to a local map and find yourself your way home again... I wish there would be modern cars with the simplicity of the Trabbi, it is genuinely a great car to drive, it is very honest in what it has to offer and it is very clear in its behaviour when something is up for repair. An aluminium frame would help a bit with weight, then again, it already is only 600 kilos curb weight so it doesn't really need to shed anymore weight to begin with... It has a small air cooled 2 stroke engine, and a gearbox light enough you don't need a jack to pull it out of the car. The structure is quite rigid made from steel, but all the non mechanical body panels are (also really strong) really light weight plastic infused cotton. Hence it steers super easily without power steering. Besides, they really went the extra mile reducing the amount of parts, where they even simply put the fuel tank on top of the engine such that you don't need to waste space, weight and power running a fuel pump hahaha. If they were ever to reproduce the car or one where they take a Trabant (601) as example, to improve safety, disk breaks on the front would be no luxury, neither would be a proper camber correction (the roads are better, it would prevent you from having to rotate the wheels around the car every 5000km). And have it use normal commercially available transmission oil. If you want to make it easier to drive for people used to modern cars, maybe oil injection would be convenient rather than mixing it in the fuel (also such you can engine brake), swap out the graphite pressure bearing in the clutch, ABS could be added, a fuel gauge and one for revolutions... Then again, for me it would spoil the fun, the car is already a great design as is... It was designed like 60 years ago, yet it has better fuel economy and is more reliable than my daily driver, for a reason hahahaha

[@mathiaslist6705]

actually this car was called Trabi by everyone --- famous for a one way trip to Hungary and then crossing what's supposed Europe's greatest mud puddle (Gatschlacken) and yeah you still can drown in it

[@michaeldiogenesbest6127]

Why does a Trabant have a rear window defroster? To keep your hands warm...........

[@foxstdio]

"sparkplug with a roof" I'm dying

[@Mr.DomN_]

Im a trabi driver too! Im glad to hear good from this car from the west! Love from Hungary!❤🇭🇺

[@oliverpetroski4205]

It is a super minimalistic car. If you dont have to manualy mix the oil and petrol and if it had actual full set of gaiges, or st least one showing everything (like on the 2cv6 for example) installed it would have been even more popular. I've seen couple of them still being driven even today. One was even for sale. Similar to this, but slightly better equped were the 2cv, Zastava 750, the Syrena...but not the Beetle. The Bug was posh and expensive compared to the Trabant.

[@dookieday1]

I know a doctor who absolutely loves the trabant,he even has a model in his office.

[@mikicatumbleweed6561]

Design is like smaller version of Peugeot 404 wich was very fashionable for time. I have mine about 10 years, first two year with original 26hp motor and later i put 1,8 vw passat B3 motor and transmission. I holded wery well it was black with 15 inch american wheels, it was head turning beautiful car, and fast to :)

[@SonOfTheDevil666]

Trabant 601 is a big part of my past my father restored them bak in 1991 up to 1996, I would love to have one but they don’t come cheap now. My dad sed you can’t find them on the side of highways and no one cared anymore about them, my hart always warms up when I see one

[@obelic71]

fun fact the road legal registration of trabants is rising again in the German federal republic. At the end of 2020 38.000 Trabants were 100% road legal! During the Corona pandemic 10.000+ were made road legal again. The German MOT (TUV )is not easy so this is a big hats off to the home mechanics. Personaly i know a few home mechanics who converted some trabi's into crazy versions. Electric, Mazda Rotary , Yamaha TZR 2 stroke and even equiped with a Suzuki 1000 cc 4 stroke Hayabusa motorcycle engine! A Trabi with a dual Tesla electric engine is also nearing completion soon. Who thought that a Trabi would become a blank canvas for engineers to tinker on. Like it or not a Trabi is super cute looking ( like the Polish FSO Syrena) and a perfect candidate for a sheep in wolfs clothing.

[@nox5555]

The Hayabusa engine is pretty common in conversions, i know of atleast 2 full driving ones. its a cheap used engine because idiot drivers normaly just kill themself with that bike while the engine stays intact.

[@obelic71]

@@nox5555 correct the 1000 cc Kamikaz.. euh Hayabusa is already insane, and there is a 1300 Hayabusa😱 In the Netherlands some crazy motorbike engineers installed a1000 Hayabusa in a Suzuki Cervo /SC100. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bHLUholmlr6VkJo

[@tauncfester3022]

​@@nox5555, there is a lot more practical moto engines for converting the Trabi, if you want to kill yourself in the Trabi the Hayabusa would do it quickly. Frankly something like a Honda ATV or Yamaha Bigbear where you have a semi auto transmission and reverse gear. Or even a water cooled Lifan ATV 230 cc single for economy. The trick is being a good enough fabricator to link the moto engine to the front axles.

[@neilwalsh4058]

Did the Berlin Trabant tour in February. Absolutely superb , great guide , brilliant to drive the roads these little heroes of the DDR were in daily use on before everything 'went west'.

[@antesosic1600]

Trabant is one of my favourite cars of all time and one of my dream cars. Im hoping to buy one soon

[@magicmike7791]

No oil changes, no coolant, no valvetrain... seems pretty smart to me for an econobox of the 60's.

[@Arbeiterunfallversicherungsges]

East germans waiting 3 years for a car made out of plastic and cardboard:

[@professormicron6470]

I'm always amused by people who say Trabant was the worst car ever. Because there is a good chance they're only saying this because they don't know other communist cars. If they did they would know at least 3 or 4 cars that are arguably worse than the Trabi. Which one's the worst depends on who you ask, but what about Zaporozhets, Syrena and Polish Fiat 126p? The debate between Trabant and 126p is especially heated. Or what about disastrous attempts at making modern compacts like Tavria or Yugo? Thanks bro, but I think I'll take the Trabant

[@becconvideo]

The SAS "Zappo" was even unpopular in GDR as it lacked luggage and transport space and tended to overheat in the rather warm climate in Germany. We never had 126p (meanwhile I can understand how it felt in a 126p when I'm in Poland in my A class given the large Landcruiser Prados, Mercedes 4x4s they have there meanwhile :-) )

[@sptony2718]

It got its job done. I think that's about what you would expect from a car. My mom had a friend who ran hostels in West Berlin. When Germany reunified, she stockpiled on Trabants and gave them away for free to guests.

[@no-damn-alias]

The problem was, that the east German car industry went into stagnation as further development wasn't allowed anymore. So much stupidity. For the Wartburg they had developed a 1.0 3 R3 four stroke engine that would fit the then current model with minimal adjustments. No that was halted and shortly after Günther Mittag decided that they have to use the VW engine which was too big for the car and the adjustment of the platform for that was more expensive than developing a completely new car. Only so they didn't have to buy new tooling which also didn't work out..... Improvements on the Trabant were only allowed when they saved money. My father was in the engineering department back then and lead a team which improved the CV shafts in the mid 80s. Citroen supplied a factory and in change the GDR sent cv shafts and could use them also for their own vehicles. These were so overengineered for the Trabant that you could almost run them dry and in term they saved on the expensive and hard to get molybdenum in the cv grease which in the end was cheaper than the old cv shaft AND more durable. As premium he got a Trabant for free without waiting time. He walked next to to the conveyor during production and gave everyone involved in building his car a small tip to get the better part which he had prepared and so everybody worked extra careful. After driving home from the factory he instantly dismantled the car. Added soundproofing to the fire wall an improved exhaust with bigger heat sink for heating and added corrosion proection to the metal frame as his previous Trabant that he bought used was pretty rusty. That car was very quiet and very warm in winter. It was an 1986 car and it still ran in everyday service close by in 2012. After that we lost track.

[@milanbikics3144]

Trabant was a very smart design indeed, spartan and indestructable!

[@windhelmguard5295]

oh it was destructible... at -20°C the panels would loose their flexibility, making them crack very easily.

[@milanbikics3144]

@@windhelmguard5295 Interesting! Fortunately there's rarely that cold here. A young colleague of mine drives a 34 year old Trabant and it's still in very good shape.

[@windhelmguard5295]

@@milanbikics3144 yea i know this mostly because we used to use trabant panels as sleds back in the day. under normal conditions they worked quite well, but whenever it got too cold there was a real danger of the panels cracking. the roof and the hood were particularly effective.

[@cageybee7221]

TL;DR it was actually a decent car, IN THE 1950s! the problem is that it barely changed since then.

[@DextersLab99]

6.7 liters per 100km is a staggeringly insane amount of fuel spent for such a weak pipsqueek engine

[@becconvideo]

The direct competior of the Trabant in West Germany wasn't the Beetle which is a bit "upmarket" (though I cannot see it) nor the various Kabinenroller ("cabin scooters") - Isetta, Messerschmidt but the (in)famous Lloyd ("Leukoplastbomber" - called after a famous patch) Compared with this model - with similar features - the Trabant scores fairly well. In 1957 it was revolutionary - in 1989 a nuisance.

[@DaMasterPilot]

I would dump the 2 stroke and put a mini coopers engine lower it a little and put a stiffer suspension with straight pipe exhaust. My neighbors would hate me.

[@cnark7190]

I have seen few models of Trabant and eastern bloc cars in GDR Museum in Dresden, I would recommend everyone to visit there.

[@hmshood9212]

The AKM of cars