The Trabant Was an Awful Car Made By Communists

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The Trabant was built by Communists in East Germany from the 1960s until the late 1980s. They're rare in the United States - but I had the chance to drive one. Here are my thoughts.
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[@MeLikeGuns]

"Yeah, I drive a German import."

[@detailernetwork17]

Hahahahahahah....cracked me up!

[@motoemnk3839]

A Mercedes ? No, the one from that country that didnt even exists anymore

[@detailernetwork17]

@@TooManyInterests775 Hahahahaha....would be cool to have the corresponding Ad...with a Trabant!

[@detailernetwork17]

@@TooManyInterests775 I imagined that you had that in mind ;-) Will try to come up with something....could be a fun project! (Credits to you, naturally!)....just need to search around for Trabant footage that isn't copyrighted 🙄🙄

[@j_freed]

It's funny that a Trabant cost more than an early 80s diesel Jetta that still runs well.

[@fairway46]

"What's the 0-60 time?" "No." "Oh, ok."

[@james64ibm]

This car can actually do close to 70 mph if it's really well maintained and the ignition is freshly calibrated. And it can do up 75 mpg when you're just cruising around at 45 mph, and it's close to impossible to get less than 25-30 mpg out of it.

[@TheCatBilbo]

Or, wait 2 Revolutions and a military coup... 😜

[@user-mx1fq6qm6i]

@@james64ibm the only way to get less is to try to do burnouts, and fail miserably

[@bigsponk7849]

I laughed out loud at this one

[@bernhardbregen217]

Its does 100kmh, i think it takes about 28 seconds

[@kev3d]

I once owned a Trabant and one night I accidentally left the garage unlocked and to my horror and dismay, in the morning I discovered someone had left another Trabant in my Garage.

[@witchcraftanditsconsequenc4280]

Free spare parts!

[@Offical_LadaRiva_1982]

​@@witchcraftanditsconsequenc4280yay

[@sergeiyazvenko5617]

A common Trabant joke. - How do you double the value of a Trabant? - You fill it up with gas.

[@AkhmatProductions]

trabant was actually a well made car

[@groundedgaming]

So you drive one around, and then its value gets halved?

[@realrebelli0n]

@@AkhmatProductions clearly not if you watched the video

[@AkhmatProductions]

@@realrebelli0n that guy doesnt know anything about the trabant... this video is just a mockery of this car because it was made during communism, im suprised you still havent realised that what im saying is true

[@superdrinkerb6432]

Another Trabant joke: -What means a Trabant on top of the hill? -A miracle. 🤣🤣

[@dannythompson5514]

No need for lock because Not your stuff Our stuff

[@rikupv]

In america you own stuff In soviet russia stuff owns you

[@risingembersgaming7740]

Hahahahahaha

[@ercushkakulmetov7458]

Communists still believe in personal property which is what a car and stuff is. Just not private property which is what a business or large amounts of property would be.

[@31olegna]

LOL

[@prestonsadler35]

@@ercushkakulmetov7458 heck off, commie.

[@phone4R]

Drove one in Berlin last year. Great fun. Had a race against a bicycle at a green light, nearly lost.

[@LEJapproach]

If that was the case, you didn't do it right! 😜

[@CrazyBikerGuy]

phone4R that's a slow cyclist haha

[@jonathantan2469]

If the exhaust didn't choke the cyclist, you WILL lose. :D

[@hornypervert3781]

Lamborghini aventador does not even have rear seats.

[@elijahthomas2691]

Horny Pervert least they managed a glove compartment.

[@greese007]

I was in Germany shortly after the wall fell, and Trabannts were coming over the border. The west-German autobahns were littered with Trabbys that had expired while trying to keep up with traffic. The used-car market in Germany was going wild.

[@aaronwilliams6989]

LOL!!!

[@antonk3533]

My parents were artists around that time and bought literally dozens of Trabbys for a few Mark. My Dad removed the roof of one of them to make a improvised cabriolet for a summer vacation.

[@daddyrabbit835]

I was stationed in Germany at the time. I remember.

[@therealuncleowen2588]

Driving something that slow on the autobahn must have taken extreme bravery. Stay to the right and pray.

[@Gourmondise]

My dad owned 7 of these cars one after the other. He also swapped engines from better ones with low or very low mileage. He had a handbook specially made for the Trabant in which the author pretty much shared all his knowledge on how to upgrade or forge parts for the car if needed. All in all the Trabant wasn't fantastic, but was able to run okay.

[@smalltime0]

Lots of the eastern bloc cars were made to be easily disassembled with a few tools and a little knowledge. They also came with their full service manual, which you use to be able to get in the west too.

[@hyzercreek]

How do you double the value of a Trabant? Fill it with gas.

[@connorbloop3826]

hyzercreek Or attach the fuel dipstick to the cap

[@snake9134]

hyzercreek or put 3 grand in the trunk

[@hyzercreek]

you mean $30

[@romansionis5051]

hyzercreek so funny, you dipshit!

[@ruutiperse9223]

how to triple its worth put a banana on the backseat.

[@num1shinfan]

* slaps roof of trabant "this baby can go from 0 to 60 going downhill"

[@charliemcguire5051]

xD

[@abhishekrao1525]

*slaps roof of Trabant *Trabant falls apart.

[@1iJob]

😂😂

[@feuerreiteroderso8655]

Btw, a perfect maintained Trabant runs up to 125 kmh (around 80 mph)

[@Pintkonan]

@@abhishekrao1525 actually its quite the opposite. a trabant could be fixed what we call "panzertape" ( its this greyish heavy tape). i once saw someone fixing his trabant with this tape in front of my school back in 1991 after a crash on a crossing, while the "westgerman car" had to be pulled off to the workshop - the trabant driver fixed the holes in his chassis with the tape and went driving on ^^

[@kellyanderson1319]

I started my three year assignment in West Germany the day the wall came down. I got to witness the shock on East Germany faces when they came over to West Germany. The poor Trabays were in many accidents(mostly fatal). The E.G. people were coming out of a fifty year time warp. Very interesting times.

[@sqdi]

mostly fatal 😢

[@eastfrisianguy]

You are not the only one who despaired of the gear shift. As a "West German", I had the chance to drive one in a parking lot. A colleague of mine drove an old Trabant, and I didn't dare drive it on the street. It was a strange, funny experiment, though! There were waiting lists in East Germany, where you had to wait up to 15 years for a Trabant. Used, ancient cars were sold at black market at almost new car prices, because otherwise it was almost impossible to get a car. Welcome to communism! I was born in 1988 and could hardly believe such stories. When the wall fell and Germany was reunited, even East Germans came all the way to us in the very northwest of (formerly) West Germany to buy the used car market empty, because the whole GDR was fed up with the Trabant and wanted "modern, western" cars - You couldn't blame them.

[@SorinChiruta]

I drove one of this in Romania. We say this is the longest limo in the world. 1% car and the rest is the smoke.

[@Josh.V]

LOL

[@cohenkane2148]

It took me a minute to get that. Haha! Cheers!

[@unkameatgoodbar2315]

This car made me laugh so hard

[@imthejuggernaut6205]

Hahahaha 🤣🤣

[@94ab]

Bunicul meu avea una galbena.

[@boardofstories9109]

“This car can get up to 300 hectares on a single tank of kerosene” “What country is this from” “It no longer exists”

[@richardgagne3255]

PUT IT IN H!

[@olrikparlez3152]

+Michael Essa Hahahaha! A HECTARE??? A hectare is 100 acres and a measurement of square footage. I get where you were going though.

[@olrikparlez3152]

@Milquetoast Eugenicist Or I don't watch it???

[@elmoantero99]

@Milquetoast Eugenicist latveria man what

[@oni101]

@@olrikparlez3152 He meant tot say, "It can FUMIGATE 300 Hectares on a gallon!"

[@Apophis1966]

In 1992 I slightly rammed a VEB Sachsenring trabant station wagon with a VW Passat variant. Nothing was to be seen on the VW, the fender of the Trabant was broken, the bonnet was rammed into the windshield like a knife. Luckily nothing happened to anyone. I bought the same Trabant in the next village for 100 German marks and gave it to the people.

[@jensgleisberg9659]

A true Trabant enthusiast would never let his Trabi be so neglected. By the way, this car can be made into a really chic "racing cardboard" with little effort. Here in Central Germany there are still some very well-preserved and well-maintained Trabant 601s that are quite capable of surprising with great looks and impressive driving characteristics.

[@johnzeszut3170]

Remember - if the Trabant does not have it as "basic" or on the list of "options" you do not need to have it.

[@zwoelfventiler]

You mean east Germany?

[@valencianiste6451]

​@@zwoelfventilerCentral Germany, Mitteldeutschland.

[@soggypotato7734]

You don’t need to lock the doors on a trabant because the car itself is the anti-theft device

[@ArtifactSkyline]

Even if they stole the car, they wouldn't get anywhere.

[@jimby_vokk3110]

@@ArtifactSkyline just a quick update my father and grandfather and my cousins father had a trabant as their first or second car , these cars are unkillable , my uncle said in early nineties when the new BMWs and Mercedes Benz rolled in to ex communist Hungary , he pulled a couple out of a ditch with this 28hp car , they were fun to drive and they were also used as race cars , this car is so special to me btw Trabant was made by IFA and ifa made a motor oke called the simson which I drive every day 100-600km I get 120mpg and altho my top speed is 80kph so 50mph , it's again a very reliable motorbike and I assure you as a 16 year old boy , I make use of all my 6 horsepower and redline the heck out of my bike , been going strong for the last 3 years and I've driven it like 30 thousand km with barely any problems ( besides when the engine siezed up )

[@teutonalex]

Also there was zero car theft in east Germany

[@Zlervo]

Exactly 😁😁😁

[@kevinadams9468]

@@teutonalex Or graffiti...almost no rape or murder, no homeless people. The real reason is because the country was over-policed, combined with an amazing sense of Prussian self-discipline, and you could always count on someone knowing your business, something not unique to Communism in Germany. I lived there. I know. Better than we have it now with smash and grabs, attacks on old people, lazy, fat parasites collecting money for NOT working. I would gladly take the Wall and the lack of 'western luxuries' for the safety and security we had back then. You don't have to be a socialist to appreciate the value of close personal relationships between neighbors and citizens. We lost that in exchange for iPhones and Teslas.

[@regularreviews3658]

“What is zero to 60?” “It doesn’t go to 60” Edit: damn 3.4k likes? Also, it’s been a year already?????

[@potatozamanco4550]

“What’s the zero to 55?” “Yes”

[@Fifthcell]

pugg productions lol

[@Nightstalker314]

Not even in free fall.

[@nickbrock6894]

It will go 60 on a hill

[@lordzorddan8971]

My father's friend did 80 with it after a bit of tuning.

[@kiwischeisse]

Been from West Germany I had the pleasure to own a couple after the wall came down - you got them literally for free! As a motorcyclist I enjoyed the opportunity to have a rainy day vehicle for no other cost than fuel - but these things do guzzle! Anyway, had the time of my life. You know what they say: a car made of duraplast need a driver made of steel! On a note: my exhaust manifold fall off one night and I swear this is till today the loudest vehicle I ever drove - it made my ears bleeding :-)

[@queenpurple8433]

Damn this comment makes me Thankful to live in the USA

[@olliefoxx7165]

What would you estimate the fuel economy to be? Did anyone make aftermarket parts for them?

[@robertbracy7748]

I drove through East Germany to visit West Berlin in 1964. I remember seeing a lot of these things belching blue smoke. Always wondered what they were.

[@ymenoptero7911]

The car we all paint as kids does really exist.

[@suckmydingledong]

And it's called the Volvo 740

[@ahmed52255]

😂

[@KatyushaWarThunder]

Tri Poloski

[@marjiarani4802]

be thankful to the communists they brought you this

[@thecrazeecow1682]

Mercedes W123

[@sandweiler4640]

What is a Trabant on top of a hill? A miracle. What are 50 Trabants on top of a hill? A Trabant factory.

[@martinkis5682]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIS9aoCAmcimlas do you know them? :D

[@chesucat]

So, I guess if you want to get on top of a hill, you hired some big guy named Boris to push you up the hill?

[@jasonlisonbee]

Producing ahead of, in hopes of hyping demand?

[@caralho5237]

@@MadCapMag And they never do it again

[@erejnion]

@@chesucat If there is no road, yeah, a big guy named Boris should be enough to pick it up and get it to the top.

[@santiagoortiz3665]

Doug: "What's the 0-60" Robert: "Uh, we'll, it doesn't exist" That killed me! 🤣

[@blckhorse02]

I rented one on my last trip to East Berlin. The reverse gear was so confusing that my two buddies and I would just half pick up and half shove it into the parallel parking spots. It was so terrible that we took it back after a couple of hours and walked/rode the bus everywhere else we went. Good times...

[@carloleinardi5695]

What a livello car! Don't forget that the engine come from DKW and it is easy to elaborate, hats off for 2 strofe!!!

[@gambler7531]

Still waiting for the AMG version.

[@mrducky179]

with an astounding second hand civic engine with 60 hp and cardboard trims to reduce weight

[@dominikschindler2330]

@@mrducky179 it basically comes with cardboard trims from factory...

[@cmercierracing]

0-60 in 0.003 seconds

[@miljororforsprakpartiet290]

Although they both suck at design, I'm afraid Mercedes and Trabant aren't really the same company...

[@mrducky179]

@@miljororforsprakpartiet290 its a joke -_-

[@calebhu6383]

Q. How do you make a Trabant go faster? A. Call a tow truck.

[@MrMcKane]

I would have answered with "push it off a cliff"

[@manco828]

💀💀💀💀

[@manco828]

💀💀💀💀

[@kalagi13]

It could go 110 km/h. The maximum speed allpwance was 120 km/h on the highway. Acceleration was better than BMW or Audi had at starting. I was the first when we started from traffic light even I did not want. :-D

[@douglashamiltonswe]

Q. How do you double the value of a Trabant? A. Fill it up

[@michaelmckinley2221]

somehow i got a hold of a maisto 1/64 trabant... instantly fell in love with the body style.... learning about the extended history of this car was quite a journey.... Doug, I am so happy you found one, and gave us all a really good look at one!!!

[@Jiphoune]

I'm disappointed you didn't mention that the body was not made of steel but of some strange kind of resin, which was quite innovative in the 1960's when the Traband was first released.

[@martinhroch344]

Yeah, it was fiber-reinforced plastic made with cellulose, usually from scrap wood or paper. That’s where all the lovely nicknames like “angry guitar pick” or “cardboard boy” come from.

[@slnoll21]

Doug’s future teenage kid: “Dad I want a German car” Doug: “THIS...”

[@neuro.weaver]

This what "German engineering" produces without the American Marshal Plan.

[@Sevan_UP]

Doug: thiiiis is my money saver

[@eugene44569]

hes better off with a much realible toyota and honda

[@flywithtb5005]

@@neuro.weaver Messerschmitt bf109 and me 262 worked without very well. Whilst 70s american cars were and partly are pretty shit. Get your soldiers out of germany!

[@flywithtb5005]

@@neuro.weaver As you can see money isnt everything to succeed. See america. And none cant achieve anything see Russia. So inovation is needed. German engineering

[@johnbergeron5015]

“I wouldn’t buy one, but I’m glad he did.” The ideal friendship.

[@josephstalin7995]

Touché

[@wattson3683]

Indeed.

[@judsonroberts495]

I'll buy you one johne boi ;)

[@PFPTHEGREATEST]

Usually said about a boat

[@iannordin5250]

Something something boats

[@baomao7243]

As a 2-stroke motorcycle rider (Suzuki RH599) and pilot, i immediately loved this car when it saw it in Berlin. NO COASTING ? No problem! The “no coasting, except in neutral” is exactly like a motorcycle (where you hold the clutch and just downshift) if you want to coast. NO GAS GAUGE? Correct. Same as an RG500 and other early bikes ! DOOR LOCKS: The right door that only locks from inside and outside lock only on the left side? Sounds crazy until you’ve flown Cessna airplanes like C172/182. Fun to see & probably drive!

[@roymartin3002]

I remember these cars on the Autobahn when the wall came down. The families had all their earthly belongings in and on the car driving slow as hell, it was sad and funny at the same time as we watched familial generations who had no clue what freedom was attempt to navigate a truly new beginning and a testament to the abject failure that is communism.

[@Glenn1967ful]

Poland used to export Polski Fiats, so called because they were Polish versions of old Fiats, later called FSOs. These weren't as desperate as Trabants, but were still horrible cars with engines like tractors, terrible handling, awful build quality and bare metal everywhere.

[@AkhmatProductions]

@@Glenn1967ful nah not really, most my family (from DDR) says that living under communism was normal and not as bad as you guys say, sadly you got brainwashed by western propaganda

[@tr4visfr4ntt21]

My Czech parents had to wait 14 YEARS to get one of these back in the day :D

[@averagejoe6031]

Wow

[@tech9803]

In Bulgaria you could get a Trabant with no waiting but nobody wanted it. 10 year waiting list for a Lada.

[@philsmgb4393]

Yes, and many families became much larger while waiting the typical 10+ years and the car was too small to haul the family.

[@michelbeauloye4269]

Why didn't they order a Skoda ? Skoda was way better than this cardboard thing.

[@dannydethanos6994]

Did they ever put you in the back seat? Jk I would take off my seatbelt all the time as a kid

[@harkalyjonas]

Fun fact: its exterior does not rust because it is made of plastic.

[@dirkprivat5106]

Sorry, but plastic was out, it was made of cardboard

[@harkalyjonas]

@@dirkprivat5106 heated plastic between papers.

[@antoniosalvatore7986]

old jeans actually

[@adv5755]

@@antoniosalvatore7986 the only true answer it's like carbon fiber without any benefit

[@antoniosalvatore7986]

@@adv5755 Comie Fiber*

[@omgwtf6156]

Hi, do you still have it? Something was wrong with your engine. If you run it at 1:50 gas/oil mix it will not smoke that much. Have you forgotten to disengage the choke or is there a trouble with choke linkage? Also might be a problem with the carb float. Then, also check ignition timing. May be a bit late? Unless on the highway, the Trabant feels very agile and quick. 55 mph top speed is ridiculously low too. Something wrong! My Trabant Universal (wagon) did 115 km/h (~70 mph). Lovely lil screamer.

[@asamisato6944]

My great grandpa had a Trabant with one deluxe edition, an automatic transmission 😂

[@westsenkovec]

*This must be the basic model. The expensive model had the fuel dipstick built into the fuel cap* 👍

[@westsenkovec]

Also, you didn't mention the most important thing; the whole body is plastic

[@mihaimihai6348]

Nope, cardboard.

[@Anoalekontrieger]

That is a must have feature mate!

[@kilesengati]

It must be indeed a basic modell without any or with only a view "Sonderwunsch" (special request) options - it surely is not the "deLuxe" or the "Hycomat". The "S" doesn't stand for "Sport", by the way, it stands for "Sonderwunsch".

[@DjJooze]

Flame Beats LMAO

[@hraharahra]

very old comunistic joke: What is the longest car in the world? Trabant - 15 meters with the smoke!

[@Nelle996]

*"3 метра лима, 5 метери дима"* 😂

[@pete_lind]

Seat belts in Trabant ?? What a waste of money ... you hit anything in 20 miles/h and that plastic car is in 1000 pieces .

[@sakariaskarlsson634]

But comrade, a zil limo with smoke is 20m at least

[@King_Fred_II]

How can you double the value of a Trabant? Fill it up.

[@jasonlisonbee]

@@King_Fred_II What's the best theft deterrent for a Trabant? Don't give it more fuel than you need in a short period.

[@zanycatswelove]

Love your auto reviews Doug! Keep on bringing us new ones. I look forward to what you will find. Michael.

[@janakakumara3836]

what is the 0 to 60 in this car? Depends on how steep the downward slope is.

[@Diwasho]

"What gear am I in right now?" "Let me feel it, I can't tell by looking" This killed me.

[@rexsceleratorum1632]

This is how (many?) motorbike gears are in my experience. The aircooled 2 stroke engine and twist fuel valve are also normal on older motorbikes

[@lordwalrus8615]

@@rexsceleratorum1632 dont even have to go far to find many of the features. Late 90s early 2000s cruisers still had twist fuel valves, no fuel gauge, no tacho, air cooling. Ofc they arent 2 stroke anymore but still lot of similarities

[@SPTSuperSprinter156]

I drove one today and yes, each gear has its own unique feel 😂

[@jeanyvestheriault8362]

It is a sound gear device, simple no!

[@berkkarsi]

Best line in the whole video 😂

[@beefcakeandgravy]

Two Trabbi facts missed: 1.) It's made of duraplastic (sort of budget fibreglass). 2.) To buy one new, you had to apply to be on a *TEN YEAR WAITING LIST*

[@logan-df5vm]

Beefheart Vandercrease and some people waited upwards of 20 years

[@kobibenlevi5523]

You should know the Ronald Reagan joke about this. When someone was getting their car after putting up the money in advance the dealer said "come back in ten years" and the buyer said "morning or afternoon?". The dealer said, "well in ten years- what difference does it make?" And the buyer said, "Well the plumber is coming in the morning."

[@garoover]

Beefheart Vandercrease yes very important facts! and they used to warp in the hot weather

[@kaiserlicheautoritatimpoleon]

@@logan-df5vm The regular waiting was 13-15 Years on average. My Grandma told me, her Mother (so my Grand-grandma) set her on the waiting list as she was 6.

[@RobAzula]

And it was worth the wait!

[@user-fl1qc1ob7l]

I've owned a Trabant in Connecticut for almost 2 years, and absolutely love it. As long as you're not in a rush to get anywhere, it's a lot of fun to drive. It will get you where you need to go, which is basically what a car is for, but without all the frills we've become used to in the West. It's simple to work on, and thanks to the German Trabi clubs, parts are readily available. I encourage others in the U.S. to own one!

[@rulecelebrate]

In my country, there's a joke about an American who came to the East Germany in order to visit his brother and treat him with a new Trabant. He ordered one, and later, he decided to write a good review about the brand. He wrote: 'This Trabant must be truly luxurious carmaker. They sent me a drivable, paper model of the car I ordered.'

[@Tc4ify]

"The exterior design changed very little..." Well, as we all know - you can't improve upon perfection!

[@FabFunty]

Exactly and when you even don't have enough steel to build cars you don't waste it for new press forming tools every 5 years 🤣

[@irmakaymelek]

In fact, like many small iconic cars, the Trabant has undergone very little changes in its exterior design. However, the 1963 and 1990 Trabant are not the same.

[@akovacsrealtor]

🤣🤣🤣 Thanks for the laugh!!

[@kha6905]

correct :-)

[@annoyinguser]

The same happened in Russia where there is at least a model that is still in production since the soviets and had just minor modifications. I don't know other car manufacturers but Romanians had at least decency to modify the 1300 making the lights different, improving the car a little and modifying the interior at least 4 times in that car's life.

[@abcdefg9613]

I had a friend who replaced the engine in this car with a golf 3 gti engine. Man, at 150km/h you feel like death is just around the corner, and it is.

[@scottkingentertains]

That's the most funny/scary sentence I've read all week.

[@abcdefg9613]

@@JohnSmith-eo5sp the trabant engine? No idea. Small update about why these cars were hated by almost everyone who had it. Because the car is not made of metal and in their development costs were cut everywhere, there were tremendous difficulties in opening/closing the doors/trunk. For example, I remember my father going fishing with a friend who had a Trabant and the car was left half in the shade and half in the sun. The problem was that the drivers door was in the sun and expanded so hard that it was impossible to open (and the passenger door does not have an outdoor lock). Many times you had to break into your own car by messing with the windows.

[@krzysio53a]

this one is 2 stroke, just by the end of production of this cars (mid 90's) they stick a 4 stroke 4 cylinder 1.4 litre engine from VW polo, also the reason you don't see a rust on this car is simple , all panels , except the roof , was made from cardboard

[@JohnSmith-eo5sp]

WRONG wrong wrong! Its production run ended in 1991, and its panels were never made of cardboard- - but cheap thermosetting plastic(which cannot be recycled) that was reinforced with recycled cotton or wool fibers. In the last 2 years of its production (East & West German merger) they made numerous upgrades like you mentioned, but too late to save the line.

[@nowayout2657]

John Smith you have been also wrong "cotton 68%, plastic powder of all plastic what could not be recycled 7%, Mix of Metalpowder (alluminium, zinc, copper, lead) 3% and 23% naturel softwood resin"

[@thepoleontheroad]

As a Pole, this car is a big part of our culture along with all the cars of GDR and our own car factory FSO: so many stories from people that had one, comments about how much fumes it made etc. and a high chance you'd find one on a Polish street in the 70s, 80s and onward... stacked between Polish Fiats 126 (coloquially called "Maluch", which translates to "little 'un" in English), an even bigger cultural pillar of ours.

[@TrevorDodd-ev1sx]

I had one just after the wall came down which I bought off an East German student. A nightmare to get insured in the UK. We have to have an MOT every year (a test to make sure it's roadworthy and the emissions are allowed). It failed on all these point, but I had a friend who worked in a garage and he passed it for me under strict instructions that I never drove it.

[@Dennster2005]

"A man driving a Trabant suddenly breaks his windshield wiper. Pulling into a service station, he hails a mechanic. 'Wipers for a Trabi?' he asks. The mechanic thinks about it for a few seconds and replies, 'Yes, sounds like a fair trade." - Found that on Wikipedia

[@TB-pu9qm]

Hahhahahaha

[@derrickstorm6976]

😂😂😂😂

[@AiOinc1]

A gas cap for my Yugo?

Here's another one, quite fitting here. A German guy takes his Trabant to America. He drives to a gas station, rolls down the window and asks for a refill. The attendant looks at the "car" and says: "Yes sir, shall I also fart up the tires?"

[@redstickham6394]

I've heard a similar joke about Trabants. How do you double the value of a Trabant? You fill the gas tank.

[@WHAAMS]

Z = Zu (Close) A = Auf (Open) R = Reserve

[@ehrenfeldmichael]

Indeed, Doug just went for the R as in reserve, everything is just a learning curve

[@HenningGu]

Rückwärts Or am I getting whoooshd?

[@williamjordan5554]

Reverse?

[@WHAAMS]

William Jordan reserve gasoline

[@BarryMaskell]

Reserve is the gear you have in reserve (reverse) when it won’t go forward

[@kingcurry6594]

Two stroke engines - God. My friend had one of these and a Wartburg Knight. When he started them up, it was like a 2nd world war destroyer laying down a smoke screen.

[@rohlicek3884]

my grandfather had a Trabant the Combi version my dad grew up on the rear seats of a trabant. my Grandfather was actually happy with the trabant because you didnt have to put any cooling fluid in it. They even gone to a vacation to Croatia with this Oversized lawnmover. then parked right next to a Mercedes. (i live in Czech republic Přerov so thats where they were going to Croatia from) and no, they were not the only ones on the highway with a trabant. there were lots of other Trabants and smoke.

[@501pj]

You only needed two people to build a Trabant - one to fold and one to glue!

[@veenoable]

Bruce Lee its true ..u can see visioracer chnnel

[@tacokoneko]

the advantage, cheap construction and cheap labor! more money for food... oh wait 😂

[@triggamusician]

and it still took them 14 years to complete your order! hahaha

[@luuk3213]

and one who cuts

[@xroppa5290]

Only one is able to build a Trabbi. His name is SATAN.

[@samthomas7740]

Went on a Trabant tour of Berlin once: car broke down, tour company didn’t have a mechanic. I’d read about how easy these cars were to take apart and fix so I took the front wing and panels off, stripped the air filter and throttle out and fixed it with no tools. I am not a mechanic. I’m still a legend at work to this day.

[@alucardonus]

Well... This (and few other) cars were known for their super easy maintanance. When engine belt broke, you just used womens stocking tied as a belt to replace. Could make like 50-100 kilometers with that. And that isnt urban legend... This little car (we call it Rintintin because of the sound it makes) is cute, sweet, bad and forever... There is no way it can break to the way you wont be able to fix it.

[@Grimenoughtomaketherobotcry]

Using pantyhose as a temporary fix for a fan belt wasn't exactly unheard of in the West.

[@quantumevolution4502]

My grandparents used to drive this car in communist Romania back in the 80s . I use to visit them and we would go on summer vacation trips to the sea and the mountains with the trabant . As a small child I was fascinated by it . And I remember clearly the noise and cracking the engine and frame would do as well as the gasoline smell inside the car. Absolutely fond of those special memories .

[@Alans-channel]

The car was " invented and build" to serve a purpose in a country that went through very bad times. And it did that very well for many many years under good maintenance.I have beautiful memories sitting in the back of my parents Trabi kombi. And if i could get one here in Australia i would buy it.

[@lightningbolt99999]

This makes the Yugo look like a luxury vehicle

[@Steve-es3fc]

Looks are deceiving. The Yugo would break down 4 times before the Trabant does once, and even when the Trabi fails you can fix it with a tie or a coin or other household item. :) It's a tremendously simple and resilient thing - as long as you don't kick the side, because it's made of a very thin & weak wooden panel. But you can also lift the car with a handful of stronger people present, it's only ~600kg. :)

[@brothermagdi5637]

@@Steve-es3fc in Egypt we had Naser128 car which is Fiat 128 clone and it was very famous me myself own one 1987 model which is far far advanced than this turban it's 4 stroke engine deliver about 40 hp ,capacity 1100cc going from 0 to 100km/h in about 13s and drive at maximum speed of 140Km/h note that legendary Fiat model was originally designed in 60th and yogu model was based on this model but with 1300cc engine comparing to tarbant this is shows how far the communist germany lift behind

[@dociebiemowie915]

It made the Polski Fiat 126p look great and reliable.

[@rickhall8833]

It was a lot better car than shit boxes like Pinto,Gremlin,Chevette or Vega for that matter.You did not see a lot in your life my friend !

[@fungo6631]

@@Steve-es3fc You can fix the Yugo the same way.

[@gilgameshthekingofweebs5924]

He said he got that one for 3000$?? WTF? In my country they get sold for 50$ -.-... a kid who got money from his mom to buy toys can afford one...

[@Mitche23]

This car is exotic in US so people who own them jack up the price to sell them

[@VorpalDerringer]

Supply and demand. There's no point importing them except as historical curiosities, even during the Cold War, so there just aren't any around in the U.S.

[@samerhamod326]

VorpalDerringer itd cost you more to import that thing that what youd get off it

[@bowlchamps37]

Avg price for a trabant in the USA is around 3K.

[@medek2711]

Lol same here

[@FirstAid1]

I love the blue smoke, can already smell it. Reminds me of my first Motorcycle I bought back in 2007, a '77 Jawa 350 from Czechoslovakia delivering a tremendous 27 hp. It was a heavy smoker, as it run with a 1:33 mixture, but in all those years it never let me down and I truly miss it. The problem with coasting is, that the twostroke engine gets its lubrication with the premixed gasoline (no seperate oil pump). So if the engine revs quicker and you coast, it only gets its vital oil from the idle jet - not enough to provide sufficent lubrication. This is why many twostroke cars had a switchable freewheel (quite what you know from a bicycle) My Jawa didn't have something like this but when I coasted for example downhill I periodically pulled the clutch and gave it a quick rev. Worked well for nearly 10 years.

[@frederiksnk9397]

I think the Trabbi wasn't all that bad when it was introduced. In western Europe small two stroke engine cars were around as well. I think the idea behind the car was to use only few recources so anyone could afford it. So the doorlocks make sense this way. The major problem was that it didn't evolve. There are old tv ads for it where new "features" are presented. They just seem ridiculous. And even though only few recources were needed to make one you were waiting for over a decade as you ordered one.

[@TheBeatlesShow]

When it was introduced, it was a very clever car

[@einirjonsson2674]

Here in Iceland we had the deluxe edition which had a rear ashtray.

[@livefreeordiehard8898]

😂

[@anotherwizard2222]

"Luxury"

[@dociebiemowie915]

That’s crazy talk. You’re lucky that you didn’t get that entire car seized. If the wrong person found out, your trusty luxury Trabant would have been taken away. Imagine that... a Trabant with a rear ashtray. Btw... did the extra weight from the ash tray make a dent in the overall top speed?

[@eligeidel9357]

Do you see them driving much?

[@einirjonsson2674]

@@eligeidel9357 there used to be a lot of them but now only a few during the summer.

[@NilsJungenas]

Why have seatbelts in a car that can’t even outrun the neighbours dog?

[@adobotachibana732]

“Because safety is number one priority” -CrazyRussianHacker

[@hundsboog]

Because otherwise you wont survive the collision with the neighbours dog. But the dog will at least.

[@kalagi13]

Because it could go with 110km/h on the highway.

[@Cr-lw3ky]

What if you get hit by a speeding car

[@kalagi13]

@@Cr-lw3ky Most likely I will die it depend on situation. :-) But I most likely will die on a pedestrian cross... I have never have accident with my Trabant, but an idiot hit me on the pedestrian cross.

[@lpz3sn]

3:00 That the door gap becomes smaller, can not be at all. ...that is, when delivered in its original state. Because during final assembly, an angle grinder was simply pulled through the gap, so the Trabant should have had better gap dimensions at the time of its delivery than a Ford Mustang that comes off the production line today. Disadvantage of the method; the door fits perfectly only with their original Trabant and no other Trabant.

[@petergibson2318]

Why does a Trabant have a heated rear window? To keep your hands warm when you are pushing it.

[@Mastersoftheyoutubeverse]

The fuel valve translates as follows: Z= Zu= closed A= Auf = open R= Reserve = reserve This was mandatory due to the fact that there was no fuel gauge. You run the car in the A/open position until you recognize it starting to cough and starve. That's the time to put it in R=reserve so you can drive with a remaining liter or so to the next filling station.

[@Velktron]

Well that's how many carburetted motorcycles still operate: most of them have a fuel petcock with a reserve position.

[@fernandorosales2548]

Put it in H!!!

[@boonamai8926]

​@@VelktronAnd also most outboards for boats

[@Doctor_Subtilis]

The lock system is low key genius, impossible to lock your keys in the car.

[@liamkneeson8866]

No.. no..

[@RH_UU]

This car has manual transmission, so US idiots can't stole it.

[@luc-perrin]

RH ÜÜ generalization of a country’s population... not cool

[@leopoldo3884]

@@luc-perrin wahh

[@freakymrq]

my aw11 mr2 I can lock the drivers door from the inside when the door is closed but not when it's open so it forces you to lock the door from the outside.

[@spiderfam5036]

7:22 DOUG SAID A NO NO BAD WORD

[@ikkyunakharin634]

7:00 and now we can coast! and now we can coast! just like like in any other moter mobile.

[@McLarenMercedes]

1. Making fun of the *old* (like really old) Trabant is like making fun of a senile old man in a nursing home or a mentally impaired kid. 2. It wasn't nearly as bad as some ignoramuses think it is. For what it was designed it was actually pretty clever. Bear in mind most *west-Germans* still drove Volkswagen Type 1's at this time and they were designed in the 1930's. 3. They proved to be remarkably resilient and have an impressive longevity. If anything breaks it's really simple to fix or repair using simple tools. As a cheap people's car it certainly did the job.

[@datenjournalist96]

ANd you couldn't lock your self out. Actually quite clever!

[@johnsmith-sp6yl]

except for when the mice eat it in the winter. then you're fucked, nešika.

[@95thFoot]

Which all rotted away...

[@AladdinSaneNYC]

Well said, McLarenMercedes...I agree!

[@azbesthu]

We had some on the roads here in Hungary about 20 years ago. Once I saw a two seated Trabant with a platform on it and tow hitch in the back. That's what I call optimism :)

[@horiachiorean8592]

I grew up in Romania and when I was 16 one rich kid get a Trabant for his 18 birthday. We race every day and he won only when my bicicle chain felt off. When I turn 18 he let me drive the beast and I notice the fourth pedal. He said it' s the latest model with an airbag pump.

[@crusadr_4966]

LOL so you're telling me its faster to bike than to drive a trabant

[@Micro13bk]

The trabant makes the Dacia 1300 look like a luxury car :)))

[@charlesloko7698]

Why don't you join the elite cycling team? Either you are super human, the car was old heap of trash or you made it all up incluiding the airbag. As a joke your comment may e great as an assessment of Trabant no value whatsoever.

[@chocolatechiclid7654]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Micro13bk]

@Sebastian Guevara One way that I know of is that if you have family in the communist party, you were one step above the rest of the population...

[@mariusbaronquandel3802]

In east Germany and to a part in west Germany this car to this day is cult. You’re always happy to see one in the street and it’s just joyful to see how far people can push this car to do things it was never meant to do. Even tho it might not be a good car, it still is an important part of German Automobil history.

[@Herr_Keystyne]

warum hiess er trabant 601? 600 wollten ihn aber nur 1er hat ihn bekommen.

[@ekscalybur]

I was in West Germany when the Soviet bloc started to fall apart. Each time a border opened up, these things poured into West Germany. The Trabants and their drivers were a menace on the Autobahns, because they were so much slower than traffic.

[@Jeffrey314159]

Eks calybur And less than safe to drive! Those little cars had their gasoline tanks in the front of the car, right above the engine.

[@johnmilner3030]

quite dangerous cars in new territory, yes. the trabant was made of cardboard and plastic, many died in the first month on western roads.

[@Jeffrey314159]

John Milner Not actually cardboard, but not much better. They were made of a composite of plastic and recycled materials like cotton or wool made from old discarded clothes from the Soviet Empire. Later they used wood fibers(Masonite?). The frame was made of Steel, not stainless!!

[@spicey4522]

South Efrikan probably didn't really effect the pedestrians due to the shit acceleration xD

[@Jerkwad152]

All the pedestrian had to do is walk faster than a stroll, and they could avoid it.

[@DrPWelles]

"Isn't this car harmful to the environment?" Tribant: The what?

[@rufis8528]

DMichael Kimbley 😂😂😂😂

[@738polarbear]

No more so than MILLIONS of lawnmowers.

[@nickm5419]

@Number Nine i love the Trabant so Yes

[@toastie1648]

The environment didn't exist back then.

[@Gonken88]

CO2 is what makes the grass grow.

[@hoderharris]

Drove a 1990 version of the Trabant a few days ago while doing NGO work in Romania...Doug is exaggerating a bit here in terms of what the car is and isnt imo .My version was the four stroke engine making about 40 horsepower. The 1990 version was a turn the key and go version unlike the older versions of the vehicle that Doug drove in this video. Was actually pleasantly surprised how well the car drove and its torque ratio. There were two of us in the car and I had no issues driving the car around town and getting to 50 mph..The brakes however are very strange in terms of stopping power( they felt like they would not stop car in time but they actually did.) I think what surprised me the most is that I could feel the German suspension tradition while driving the car. In other words the Trabant drove well, like a very rudimentary German car with tight decently tight driving dynamics. I drove a 2007 TDI Golf right after the Trabant and I made note how the VW had some of the same suspension characteristics as the Trabant..Anyway it was a very fun experience and as an American who had only seen these cars in the movies it was an extraordinary experience to drive one especially while in Eastern Europe in a former communist country..what a fun privilege it was!

[@Iauchmitschlauch]

What you are talking about is the new model that was really rare and only produces for a short time. He is reviewing the common model.

[@rushthezeppelin]

Do you really need seatbelts when everyone else was driving a Trabant?

[@avada0]

Not everyone was driving Trabants. There were Wartburgs, Skodas, Ladas, Polski Fiats and a few others.

[@caralho5237]

The seatbelts were to keep you from leaving the car

[@rattyrat]

@@avada0 dont forget the worst of all.... Dacias

[@avada0]

@Patrik Ratter Was it? Trabants have an equally low regard. (Though I saw lots more of them around in the nineties)

[@tbt0380]

@@avada0 At least the trabant's steering wheel didn't lock up on turning.

[@rippspeck]

Should have mentioned that most of these were actually made from fiber-reinforced polymers.

[@YAUUN]

Cardboard?

[@onrr1726]

similar yes... People who owned these had reported that if the car was left near a farm Cows would eat the car body's.

[@onrr1726]

+Un om ordinar lol

[@rippspeck]

As _Un om ordinar_ mentioned, they used different materials depending on availability. That's why I decided to use _fiber_ instead of a definite material. After all, this was the same socialist nation that bought burial shoes with paper-thin soles from foreign nations for people to waer as actual daily shoes. The nation that couldn't build houses after they spent all their bricks and mortar imprisioning their people. Planned economies with all their faults and that. I might not have been alive at the time, but I live in the former GDR. It was shit back then.

[@user-hl7jd2uh5m]

Dick SteeleTheDick

[@jasonrodgers9063]

My first car (1967 Mustang) didn't have an electric pump for the windshield squirters. It was a PEDAL on the far left side, under the dash. I let a friend of mine drive the car once, he was GREATLY amused when he thought he was applying the parking brake, and the windshield got squirted!!

[@moetocafe]

It was a very and surprisingly capable car - when I was a kid a friend's of mine's dad was an owner of Trabant and took us with him off-road. The car handled it very well.

[@andykeri8370]

Hi I'm from Hungary. We had to wait for 5 years to buy our first car the Trabant. 600cc 2 stroke air cooled engine ,top speed i did 120 km/h. Front wheel drive manual steering column gear shiftier. It always started even in -20 C cold. It had a Reserve tap inside ,for the fuel tank,never had to measure the fuel level. It was a great car. I was a TV Tech ,i could fit 3 CRT type TV-S ,when i took the front passenger seat out. It was great on Snow ,cause it was light and front wheel drive. It never broke down in the 10 years i was driving, just had to replace CV Joints once .

[@Nelegyenmabenneanevem]

Kicsit úgy érzem, az 1000-es Suzuki Swiftek a mai Magyarország Trabantjai:D Ugyanúgy minden körülmények között IS elindul, alig kell szerelni, megy rendesen, kicsi, könnyű, OLCSÓ, alkatrész tonnaszám... Apámnak van egy 98-as évjárata. Kb 10 éve kínozza és mustrálja napi 50-150 km-rel, és mostanában kezdett el csak baszakodni kicsit. De nem vészes.

[@bendeguzagardi7584]

gec kovetkezo az ezres suzuki lesz xddd

[@a_lex235]

ANDY KERI na vegre valami reasonable response itt. Nagyon jo kis auto volt ez, de ezt nyugaton nem fogjak soha megerteni, de nem is baj:)

[@thejay8963]

Finally, someone to clear up the stereotype of them being unreliable! I mean, if someone’s ever seen the engine bay of one, they would know what I mean, how would such a simple car be unreliable?

[@patrickcowan8701]

They worked,easy to fix,and got you from point a to point b isn't that what transportation is supposed to do, love nice cars but we have become too obsessed with them, a guy with a horse drawn cart or a poor man with a bicycle would think of this as a limo.

[@jirkak5998]

Fun fact, some dudes tried to go round the world trip with Trabants, I think they actually succeeded.. partly because you can fix it with a hammer

[@jimby_vokk3110]

I travelled a full country ( like every city and interesting place in Hungary ) in a 1978 simson s50n ( same company who made trabant , it was a 20k km trip I did it once a week I got 2.2l/100km or above 100mpg , it was the time of my life I still drive this bike everyday , these were really reliable machines , my dad and grandpa also praised the trabant

[@irmakaymelek]

​@@jimby_vokk3110 They were really beautiful. They weren't tin snails like the 2cv. Also, there are very few intelligent people here who will take your sensible comments seriously.

[@ryzlannreza1873]

Dont forget a sickle

[@adrianapostol8360]

if it has a 2 stroke, you can fix it with wire and duct tape :))

[@M0rket]

Should be up there in Jeremy Clarkson's favourites, then!

[@yvobroekhoven972]

I really love the way it looks. We have one (disfunctional) one here, for decoration. I'd love to transform one into an electric one once. I love how basic they are...

[@ExtrovertedCenobite]

I had a friend in high school who had a 4 door Fiat that wouldn't/couldn't go over 55 mph and reminded me of this vehicle. One time we found ourselves on the bottom of a steep hill and the only way to get out was to go in Reverse, not enough power in forward first gear to make it up the hill.

[@anggahartoto]

Q: Whats the longest car in the world? A: Trabant, 2 meter car, 10 meters of smoke. Q: How to stop a Trabant? A: Just put a gum on the road...

[@sebczykk1]

@08srt8charger A joke? Do you know some?

[@anejpuncoh8255]

omg im dying rn

[@andrasgaspar3889]

How do you double the value of a Trabant? You fill it up with gas.

[@neriozulberti1492]

Trabant:full speed 55 Bugatti:me on neutral

[@AdamG1983]

"What gear is this in?" *SLAP* "WE will ask ze questions!!"

[@kodenarmstrong3114]

Lol

[@matthiaskrause1155]

You did not mention that the Trabant's body is not made from metal, but from Duroplast. Germans liked that material to cardboard, which is why they called the Trabant "Rennpappe" - racing cardboard …

[@IchbinSchalker]

This is for sure one of the best videos ever made by this channel. And Robert is a warrior indeed!

[@c0reftw717]

me: mom, can i have a BMW? my mom: no, we have a german car at home german car at home:

[@carabouttohityou6421]

Can *WE* have a BMW

[@Rami7605]

Haha

[@hayosiko9119]

I have a german car at home.... Its an old beetle

[@Big-man-aman]

@@hayosiko9119 that's cool tho

[@hayosiko9119]

@@Big-man-aman its everything but cool,its slow,it uses way too much fuel for how fast it goes,it cannot heat up in the winter and is a generally rubbish car

[@stoem]

My dad bought me one of these in 1991, I guess as a practical joke. I drove it for two years. On the last journey I broke down on the autobahn near Kaiserslautern and a drunk driver in a big Merc stopped, turned around (on the motorway) and tried to jump start us. When that failed he towed me off the motorway at (literally) 100km/h. I almost shat myself because the car had never driven that fast before, especially not at a distance of 2 metres to the car in front. I survived. We scrapped the Trabbi after that.

[@leonardovalladares4315]

🤣🤣🤣

[@AndrewWillson350]

That's a great story.

[@obamalore]

What’s the maximum speed?

[@sven471111]

@@obamalore some made 120km/h some just 90.Depended very much on the engine quality and how careful you treated it and how easy you made the first kilometers and if you put enough oil in the benzin,better a bit more.This video is just shit,this idiot making communist cars worthless,just saw a video about a Volga and wrote an angry comment.

[@Kvikveg7]

@@sven471111 I thought only the ones with the new 4-step engine (or however it is in English) could go faster, the old ones with the 2-step engine could not climb a steeper hill (and that is a fact, you had to have some speed before reaching the hill or you were stuck halfway)

[@laura-ann.0726]

This Trabant makes me think of the car in "Goldeneye", that Joe Don Baker's character Jack Wade has to hit the engine with a sledgehammer to get it to run. But IMDB says the prop car in the movie was a 1963 ZAZ 965 A "Zaporozhets". That was also a 2-stroke 4-cylider engine that could asphyxiate it's occupants from the smoke.

[@jrr...9356]

If you had to choose between a Trabant or Yugo which one would you pick?

[@audinos4827]

The smoke was known in East Germany as "Trabbifurz" or Trabant fart.

[@STEAMRADIO]

They only smoke badly if poorly maintained.

[@bigboi2089]

@@STEAMRADIO which they normally are

[@aaronrodriguez9760]

😂

[@markplain2555]

@@STEAMRADIO Uhmm if you ever owned a2=stroke motor bike you will know that the oil mixed into the fuel burns white and makes smoke...... ie: they ALWAYS smoke.

[@Isochest]

They have an atmosphere of their own: Literally!

[@CockatooDude]

You have no idea how many of these are still driving around as daily commuters in Hungary.

[@davidsolt9669]

CockatooDude is Hungary a good country?

[@matyasnagy8293]

the best my friend ;)

[@CockatooDude]

David Solt Whatever state Hungary is in, it'll always be better than Romania.

[@propolice1547]

yeah, they work at least. and if they don't then you can hit them with a hammer until they change their mind and work again

[@rucsok15]

I guess only in remote villages, because in Budapest I don't see any

[@fatherkosh1631]

They're good in the snow. We had a few when we lived in Hungary. One time we went to the beach and my mom opened another Trabant with our key.

[@ArminWoods]

…a few things to keep in mind: - THIS was, what the East Germans were allowed to build by Russian authority! E.g. no 4 stroke engines! That was reserved for Russia. So that kind of puts the UAZ Wolga in a new light, as they were free in their engineering choices! - to get one of these in East Germany, you usually as parents ordered one for your newly born so she/he would get one 18 years later!

[@Felixxxxxxxxx]

I had some family who lived in east Germany. They were unfortunately not rich enough to own this type of luxury car.

[@lightshineministries3549]

luxury Car?

[@carachan3073]

@@lightshineministries3549 in eastern countries any car was a luxury

[@spakkkomat]

@@carachan3073 I actually am East German and I know the Trabant was never regarded as a luxury car. A luxury car would have been something like this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zp7IeWtjbJqYeNU or that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/narbmZRrjr2ShtE.

[@jefref4826]

@@spakkkomat for the tatra i have no idea how they even got their hands on a v8 (im slovak)

[@spakkkomat]

@@jefref4826 😀 That's why it was luxury - noone could afford it, only party bigwigs had those. Friend of mine got himself one after 1990. Amazing car! Pozdrav z Berlína

[@Dehibernation]

We still have those driving around in Bulgaria. As well as the good old Wartburg as well. There's even a joke about it: - What is the longest car in the world? - A Trabant... if you count the smoke behind it.

[@fu7134]

i love to hear that :D have you ever seen a wartburg sport (313)? saw a restored one some weeks ago in Leipzig :D

[@kgm8990]

in hungary there are lots of them we had a trabant 601 L . i think it isn't a shitty car.

[@medek2711]

Lol they were legendary in the Czech Republic too... still got some drivin' around here

[@AnnihilatorCZ]

I just saw one last week in Brno, but then I thought "When was the last time I saw one of these?" Thinking of it you're probably more likely to see a Porsche or even a Ferrari on our streets. Guess we're getting somewhere. :D

[@medek2711]

Lol ani tak ne, u nás je tak max. jedno Ferrari ročně :D

[@greekartvlog8712]

3:39 dimming mirror, i didnt expect that, this is luxury. Some cheap city cars from 70s to 90s like Subaru vivio that it had only just a simple mirror.

[@JohnGalt2016]

@Doug DeMuro, have you done any coverage of vehicles that had been converted to vegetable oil?

[@telejeff]

When I lived in Germany in 1995, I was in the East, and Trabis were still everywhere. As they were integrating into western society, kids at school told ossi wessi witze (east west jokes). In one of them, there's an Ossi (east german) farmer, a Wessi (west german) farmer, and an American farmer, all boasting about how big their farms are. The Ossi says, "my farm is so big, that it takes me over an hour to walk all the way around it." The Wessi replies, "That's nothing--my farm is so big it takes all day to walk around!" The American replies, "Yeah, well it takes me a whole day just to to DRIVE around my farm in the USA." The Ossi replies, "yeah, I have a car like that, too!"

[@yurika12]

does "Ossi" sound like the English slang for Australian "aussie"?

[@denzzlinga]

Yes pretty much, the difference in pronouciation is minimal.

[@camelstrike]

im still waiting for the punch line

[@punkkumies1283]

you just didnt get it..dumbass

[@philippduermaier7578]

How do you double the value of a Trabant? You tank it up