Why did Yugo suddenly disappear?!?

If you’re my age, you might remember Yugoslavia as a sort-of Communist country that was a nice place to go on holiday. But you’ll definitely remember it for the cheap, tiny hatchback thrust upon an unsuspecting public - the Yugo. It went from an amazing new inexpensive car to the butt of many a joke in a short space of time, then suddenly disappeared from sale. What were the Yugo’s origins, why did its meteoric rise end so suddenly, and what happened to the company behind it?
Zastava documentary: • Zastava Documentary
A big thank you to Branko Prlja for the Macedonian subtitles!
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Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslavia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zastava...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zastava...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_128
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugo
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_127
sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%97%...
sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%88%...)
www.automobile-catalog.com/
Malcolm Bricklin interview: • The Bricklin Stories -...
www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brickli...
web.archive.org/web/200710072...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_Pu...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FCA_Serbia
#bigcar

[@brucefrank5202]

I bought my new Yugo in 1986, from Bryan Pontiac in Fayetteville North Carolina. I loved it. I drove to many US States in that car. Ultimately, after about 4 years it threw a rod and died. I was not disappointed one bit. My Yugo had a personalized license plate that read “YUGONE”. When it died it had over 275,000 miles.

[@user-br6cu5jm1q]

275,000 miles are you on crack? the only way would be if it was an efi one? but I seriously doubt it, my god door handles broke day one, radio knobs fell off, never went in gear, underpowered, timing belt issue, no way i don't believe you.

[@yeah4me1]

Loved mine too...great in deep snow in Upstate NY, great gas mileage...super fun!

[@davidwright7916]

I bought my Yugo that same year from Bryan in Fayetteville, NC, too. I loved my car. The car was dependable and I drove all over the US, too. Unfortunately, I moved to Germany and left the car to a sibling who did not take care of it. I have no regret owning it.

[@InitiateDee]

@@user-br6cu5jm1q You get some spare parts and just do the repairs in your back yard, this is a very simple car with a very simple engine

[@mik823]

@@user-br6cu5jm1q my brother in-law had one. He clocked up 750.000 km. The majority of people who purchased these cars in the US were cheap, cheap, cheap.. they were so cheap they didn't service there yugos. I don't care what car you own if you don't service it it's going too fall apart.

[@Andy-ro3ml]

When I first started dating my wife in 1992, she owned a Yugo. She didn’t tell me for 6 months because she was too embarrassed. She purchased it in 1991 for $500.00 and sold it in 1994 for $750.00. We never had any issues with it.

[@francoisnoir10x]

Too embarressed? I hate it when people give a fuck about someone’s oppinion

[@tikitorturedmf]

And you still married her?! LOL!!

[@cloed0ll]

@@tikitorturedmf Just because someone has a cheap car, doesn't mean you shouldn't marry them. I hope people like you never find love.

[@KilibardaMujo]

@@tikitorturedmf he sold her along with Yugo for $750. Yugo itself was $500 as he said. 3 years old used wifes doesn't worth much these days! 😂

[@halfemptyfox]

@@tikitorturedmf YES, he married her, because it isn't the damn car that matters.

[@scstinger5]

I owned one in the 80’s for several years and that little car dramatically made my life a lot better those years! It was practically brand new, really reliable, great gas mileage and incredibly cheap to buy. I put a ton of miles on it and it never let me down. I know people make fun of them but I have nothing but good memories of my Yugo 🤙

[@ChoppingtonOtter]

Same here. I had a 55 and the engine was actually a fiat engine and it never let me down once.

[@jimharris9394]

And I strongly suspect that it got a lot of love from you, as in regular oil changes, a periodic change of the gear oil, and other necessary maintenance. IMHO, (unless the car is a true lemon), any car will last for just about forever if properly maintained and not abused.

[@maxlife4]

Mine broke down. I can't go. Yugo. hahaha I am old enough to remember Yugo jokes.

[@eneshalilovic5487]

I'm 48 and grew up in former Yugoslavia...While I was a kid, my father had ZASTAVA 101, my first car was a YUGO 45 and later my Dad bought a YUGO FLORIDA (very decent car at those times, actually), so this video brought back quite some memories 😁

[@markm3869]

Bravo majstore. Ja sam moj prvi (zadnji i jedini) YUGO-55 kupio u Sarajevu daleke 1986. Bila je to dobra masina. Naravno bilo je malo zajebancije s vremena na vrijeme sa karburatorom. Ali sluzio je dobro.

[@Offical_LadaRiva_1982]

Glavni problem kod ranih Zastava 101, Yuga, i Floride je bila korozija, a kasnije i ratna proizvodnja. Jedine Floride koje vidjam su one napravljene posle 1999

[@2tomana7ue]

From a Serbian perspective, this is by far the best and most detailed story of Yugo on KZbin. Cheers and keep up the good work!

[@BigCar2]

Thanks!

[@florkgagga]

Yes, fantastic intro, mentioning the 750 etc, but what about the zastava tempo? Same car, rebadged (i guess, because.. Yugo by this time didn't stand for anything. Anyway, I've seen a few in Croatia. I was a teenager when it came out and we felt kinda proud it would be exported to the us. While it was a proper car compared to the 750 and looked better than the 101 I didn't like the steering wheel position (like a trucks) and pedal spacing (way too close) and the rear wheel camber looked weird. I felt at home with the Renault 4, part of which was also assembled in Yugoslavia, at the other end of the country, modern Slovenia. What it lacked in looks it made up with so much practicality - the top-to-bottom rear door...memories.

[@aidahodzic7337]

balkan bros!

[@2tomana7ue]

@@aidahodzic7337 Yugo connects people! :)

[@duskobestguydbg5942]

Yup. We love our Yugo

[@DetroitYugo]

I actually daily drive my 1987 Yugo here in Detroit, in the good weather. It's in decent condition. I absolutely love it and don't think I'll ever sell it.

[@damjandakic2003]

my family here in serbia skipped owning the yugo despite basically everyone driving one back when yugoslavia was still a thing, dad used to have a opel rekord and in comparison it felt like a sports car comparing it to a yugo

[@paveantelic7876]

hold on to your car, here in croatia very good yugos can go for 3-4 thousand dollars, so i imagine it will be worth more in the usa

[@mercedesclassicswithpierre1753]

It’s good that you don’t think you ever sell it because I don’t know if anybody would ever want to buy it. Just kidding. They are becoming collectible now

[@wilde.coyote6618]

Roads in Michigan, terrible .

[@christopherdesbaux5950]

Get in contact with regular car reviews!

[@danielboguse4249]

I still have my 1988 Yugo GVX that runs and drives great. No mechanical problems in years. It now has 66000 miles on the odometer and everything works well. Even the A/C.

[@StephiSensei26]

It's so unfair that the YUGO was the butt of so many jokes, and here's another one! "When you get into a crash, You- Go!" Had one, been there, done that! Hope you like the pale gray plastic interior! On the other hand, I only paid $500 for it and I sold it again for the same money! Good resale value!

[@NarwahlGaming]

I bought mine for $175. Sold it 2 years later for $300. 😂

[@StephiSensei26]

@@NarwahlGaming Whoopie!

[@AndiKravljaca]

I remember being jealous of the US spec Yugos. The 'Yugo Amerika' model was unattainable and luxurious, and we were so proud to be exporting a car to America.

[@rbagel55]

I am from Texas and my ex-girlfriend had one for a short time. She ended up giving it to her younger brother who ended up smashing it up in a demolition derby, a favorite American motorsport for junk cars

[@robk9685]

What was so "luxurious" about the American version vs. the other one? It came standard with windows so you wouldn't get wet? The radio had 3 speakers instead of one? It came with a spare tire? Pinstripes? C'mon, inquiring minds want to know.

[@AndiKravljaca]

@@robk9685 I can't give you a detailed explanation since it was a long time ago, but things like rear seat headrests, a radio, exterior trim parts, alloy wheels, and of course a larger engine (as I recall the America model had a 1.1 liter engine, and the domestic variant had a 900cc engine, but I could be wrong). Here's a pic of the American Yugo: drivetribe.imgix.net/asdztHBaRrCjvCc81y-u-g?w=742&h=473&auto=format,compress&fit=crop&crop=faces And here's the domestic one: altdriver.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/yugo-the-car-e1574465369837.jpg?w=1200&h=627&crop=1

[@robk9685]

@@black.iczelion I remember one being lit on fire at the Detroit International Auto Show.... inside.

[@JL-sm6cg]

@@robk9685 c'mon, the old joke was it came with a rear defroster standard to make sure your hands stayed warm as you pushed it. lol

[@truthsmiles]

We grew up poor in a large apartment complex. Most of us took the bus, and a few families had old jalopies. Then one day in 1985 one of the other kids proudly announced that her mom had just bought a brand new car. Not only that, it was an import and one of the first sold in the US. We all dashed to the parking lot and gawked at the shiny new Yugo, fresh from the dealership.

[@redrock3109]

Was there then a collective groan as the crowd walked away shaking their heads? LOL

[@ressljs]

@@redrock3109 Considering the set up to his story, I doubt there were groans. Even a Yugo is better than riding a city bus.

[@godslayer1415]

nice bullshit story, kid,. When you are flexing a Yugo you already lost

[@batsonelectronics]

@@godslayer1415 my family was lower middle class in the country. ( after he left the Navy ) My dad bought a new Yugo to go back and forth to work. ( 40 miles each way ) It died after a year and he got a used Hyundai excel which also had problems after a year or so. He eventually bought a used 84 Toyota Tercel that went almost 200K miles before he sold it super cheap to someone at church who needed a car. Some people just wanted basic transportation and that was what was promised. Our family car was a new Town and Country van in 1984, 1988, 1997, and a 2013 or 14 they still have. Funny thing is, my dad owned a VW bug and tiny Subaru back in his Navy days. He liked tiny cars with no frills. I can completely see even a Yugo being a big deal when you grow up without a car at all. My first car was our old family car before we got the van, a 79 Dodge Aspen. I was 16 and thrilled to have any car at all so yes, I was proud of that car.

[@calculator1841]

@@godslayer1415 Which uncle touched you?

[@dimitrijearsenijevic5597]

As a proud owner of a Yugo convertible, thank you for this vid, shows the true story of these lovely little vehicles. Mines a bit of a later model, specifically a prototype for a Yugo Ciao Convertible from 2003. but the point stands, over the last 20 years, first my mother and now me have gotten around 220k km out of the beauty with any engine issues yet to happen. Granted, I did do a full refurbishing and full maintenence on it a few years ago, she was getting there in age, but hey, most modern cars are made to run for 5-10 years, shes allowed to get a facelift after nearly 20!

[@blanketyblank604]

Are you a communist? I see your love for this commie car.

[@dimitrijearsenijevic5597]

@@blanketyblank604 You don't have to be a communist to love the design of a car lmao. Frankly I'm extremely anti-communist when it comes to politics. By this logic you would call a Nazi anyone who likes old Volkswagens.

[@blanketyblank604]

@@dimitrijearsenijevic5597 The cars represent a murderous era of our history. Besides the beetle and these commie cars are very ugly.

[@dimitrijearsenijevic5597]

@@blanketyblank604 that's your opinion, frankly i quite like the boxy design of cars from the 70s. It's a matter of personal preference

[@blanketyblank604]

@@dimitrijearsenijevic5597 Yes thats my opinion but no communism in my garage. Its bad enough joe is trying to commuize our government.

[@zmilorad]

Great in depth story and history lesson. Keep up the great work. This channel is much more than only about cars.

[@BigCar2]

I love history, so yes, there's a lot of socio-politicial stuff in there. Usually stuff I find interesting when I research it.

[@Alexx975]

Yugo 55 was my first car. A lot of beautiful memories are attached to Yugo, so it will always be in my heart. Greetings from Slovenija, ex republic of Jugoslavija.

[@theMPrints]

Yess it was a really unreliable piece of crap, but nice to drive.... :)

[@Alexx975]

@@theMPrints to be honest, my next car (Renault Clio) was waaay more unreliable than Yugo. So I can't complain at all.

[@dzonikg]

haha same story..my first car was Yugo ,second Yugo Florida and yes they rusted and quality was low but never left me on the road..my 3th car was Renault and it left me on the road 2 TIMES 400 km from home

[@samomarincek478]

during this time the Reno 4 was much better and reliable

[@deadfishparty]

Cheap common cars are much more rememberable than rare exotics. Great doc once again.

[@BigCar2]

Indeed

[@enioveiga2439]

Here in Brazil we had its brother, launched in 1972, the Fiat 147, which revolutionized the market as a popular car, an excellent car for urban use. In 1987, it gave way to Uno.

[@daletrotman992]

I always thought of a Yugo as a tin can on wheels like the original VW Beetle. Later production Yugos might have been slightly safer, but I doubt much.

[@enioveiga2439]

@@daletrotman992 But at that time society was starting to talk about vehicle safety, there are several studies done by agencies, that big cars were not synonymous with safety. More people died, suffered serious injuries and it still happens because they don't wear seat belts and disrespect the driving rules. How many motorcyclists lose their lives or are permanently injured by refusing to wear a helmet, or wearing one that doesn't protect anything.

[@jameswyatt1304]

​@@enioveiga2439 American boats were known for crushing chests, "glass necklaces", single-cylinder brake systems, rusting-through in 2-5y, and so much more. But we were proud of them and didn't see why we should adopt better safety because press didn't want to run afoul of Big Auto. That pride and ignorance caused a lot of misery. Remember, cars are designed to 1) cost less to make (not repair or maintain), 2) be stolen (so you can get an affordable loan), and 3) barely pass local country regulations. There's no profit in much more for most cars and most customers won't pay for it when buying a car. Now we're walking into 5-7y notes, so warranties matter more.

[@sebastijanglozinic8630]

I grew up in Croatia during the 80s. I remember the "Stojadin". You can actually still rarely spot one on the road here and there today.

[@ognjennovakov9355]

Great little documentary, true facts and nicely spoken. Thank you for not saying bad words and think positive of the car, many people drive them still like you mentioned. It was a great little cheap car. Greetings from Novi Sad.

[@afastcuda1970]

We use to say "sometimes Yugo, sometimes you don't".

[@antonbruce1241]

Here in the U.S., we said "Yugo from the dealer to the junkyard"...

[@kraklindog]

In communist Yugoslavia junkyard come to Yugo

[@jamesdavis5096]

Yugo find parts

[@jamesdavis5096]

@@antonbruce1241 Yugo find parts

[@milesaway3699]

My neighbor had a 4 door. The Wego.

[@zoltanbatiz]

I was a proud owner of a “ticket me red” Yugo GV back in the late ‘80’s early ‘90’s. She was a fun little car, but as many who owned them know the materials that were used were not “automotive grade” in the least. Knowing this going in, I was especially careful with it. My brother and I even changed out it’s timing belt when due. Kept up on oil changes. Rolled the manual windows down when hot as the horrible dealer installed AC never worked. Rocked out to the tape eating cassette deck and dreamed of having cruise control whenever “racing” at 56 miles per hour on the freeway. The engine finally went kaput at 107,000 miles. That’s right. I got over 100K miles on my little Yugo! Once I even got a speeding ticket in it! Granted I was going downhill where the cop was positioned to nab speeders. I remember the judge smiling at me in court when I fought the ticket on the grounds it was a freakin’ Yugo therefore I couldn’t have been “speeding”. Lost that of course. Fast forward a few years and I ended up selling it to a collector for $500 cash. Complete with its blown engine. He was excited to get it. Showed up with a flatbed and hauled it off, title in hand. Thanks for this video. Obviously it dredged up some memories!! 😀

[@gordonlawrence1448]

You were a bit unlucky. A guy I used to know in Russia got well over 250,000km out of his. Rarely drives over 60kmh though. It still worked when he sold it - to a collector too. I think he got about $1000USD in 2006. Almost exactly what he paid for it as it was second-hand.

[@dutchray8880]

Changing the timing belt by the manual's recommendations was important to keep Yugos going...most people didn't.

[@zoltanbatiz]

@Keto Cajun oh yea I forgot about the clutch. I had that replaced at around 73,000 miles. A local shop did the repair. I remember it was over $300 for that back then.

[@zoltanbatiz]

@@dutchray8880 Technically that’s important in ALL cars that use a timing belt. It’s amazing how many folks I know who ended up with a junker from never changing that belt. For those that don’t know, a broken timing belt in an interference engine usually means a total loss as the engine will be destroyed.

[@dutchray8880]

@@zoltanbatiz Certainly it's important to replace the belt per manufacturer's recommendations, but with a Yugo it was every 40K miles.

[@vulcan2882]

I have an uncle who won one of these in a raffle, he looked at it and asked if he could switch it for the second prize instead ( washer/dryer ). The washer/dryer lasted for a little over 20 years.

[@frankgesuele6298]

Your uncle choose wisely🦉

[@is_it-smashed837]

Good Choice😂

[@yourmother9359]

20 years? "Great Choice"? I have a Yugo in my garage. It is 37 years old, it has 873000km on it, it runs and drives perfectly. I also have Tesla, it is 3 years old and it is currently waiting for "tesla professional" to come and fix its damn door handles. I spent 60k€ for it and it spend more time in the shop being repaired then me driving it. It is utter garbage. Fit and finish of that musk car is horrible. And we are talking about 60k€ car, not 3k one. Perspective, the killer of stupidity.

[@L4ki0]

@@yourmother9359 good point sir / mam Also to add, on every charging, your tesla "fuel tank" is shrinking and eventually you will have to replace it with new one for 10k. "Fuel tank" itself is more expensive than whole Yugo car

[@bizarremagick]

We had a Yugo for several years. It took our family on many holidays, we loved it.

[@jugostran]

Finally we get the full Yugo story! Thank you. Greetings from Serbia!

[@BigCar2]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@SDZKProductions]

@@BigCar2 if you said anything bad about it, Serbians would have flooded your comment section defending the Yugo

[@BigCar2]

@@SDZKProductions Well, I said it was shoddily made!

[@gustlmollath4306]

@@SDZKProductions In the early 90s we had also a Yugo Florida. In my town in East Germany were driving two Yugo - our white and a black Yugo.

[@aleksandarstefanovic3283]

@@BigCar2 That is a compliment 🙂 And awesome translation for Zastava 101 aka Stojadin. I've grew up driving in Zastava range, not Yugo though. 101 and Florida were my dad's rides till late 2000s. 101 was solid if bare boned car, while Florida was really a mess (and that was restyled one). All in all, those cars relied heavily on maintenance bit at least it was cheap to maintain them :) Thank you for this lovely video.

[@rebeccamd7903]

Wow!! My mother worked on designing the Yugo interior. I knew Bricklin...mom worked for him when they imported the Yugo. You still went super deep with info I have never heard. Fantastic job!! 👏☺️

[@BigCar2]

Thanks Rebecca!

[@harrybaulz666]

🥱

[@ljhm6816]

Well feminist's take note, now off to the brickworks with you 👍🏾🤣

[@DrWhom]

@@ljhm6816 apostrophe?

[@ljhm6816]

@@DrWhom yeah, it's apostrophe, why? Becohz! ( That's a great example of "apostrophe entitlement" right there 🤣😂)

[@wadewilliston5424]

I remember hearing when I was younger of a Yugo that was blown off the Mackinaw Bridge in Michigan during high winds.

[@Thomsonicus]

I had a 1976 Zastava 1100 in Poland. I bought it in 2001 as my first car. It was not the polish P model. Later on I bought and a Mediteran. I loved it, broke every time I drove it. Learnt pretty much everything needed to drive a car as a young driver - you broke it, you fix it (+make sure nobody knows).

[@mihapejic4900]

another well made historic video. Well done mate. We had 5 Yugos over the years and they were doing exactly what customer should expect from them. Ofc you cant compare them with BMWs of their time as they were made for be cheapest and most simple entry level vehicles on a market. And what you said on video is very very true: they started breakind down for real because they were destroyed by owners who treated them badly while stroking their "cadillac" in dry gareage. We maintained them as any other car and never ever had issues. Regards from former Yugoslavia.

[@alejandrayalanbowman367]

I had one brand new in 1982 and it was a very good little car. It coped excellently with a foot of snow when many other cars couldn't even get out of their driveways.

[@Commentator541]

That is so true. Yugo is an absolute champion in the winter.

[@JTA1961]

Well... it was a cold war car...

[@Pfirtzer]

@@JTA1961 You mess thing up, Yugoslavia was never a part of the Eastern Block

[@sreethampan]

Thank you for the video on Zastava car.

[@elfpimp1]

I worked at a Pontiac Dealership in Syracuse NY that sold Yugos. By the time I got there they weren't allowed to sell their leftover stock. That sucked as I wanted the GT. The running joke here was, "Yugo: You go as far as they go, then you walk." If maintained by their manual, yes, they would last a long time. I had one customer that was in his Yugo when he and his girlfriend were hit by a Semi truck. They got out relatively unscathed and attribute that to the car. They came to our dealership because he really wanted another. I felt bad we couldn't sell him one.

[@walmartdog1142]

I was in Louisville Kentucky delivering an auto auction purchase to a dealer’s lot. My crew was late picking me up, so the dealer and I started talking. He grew up in Yugoslavia. I asked him about the Yugos, and his face lit up. While attending college, he was part of a group of engineering students that helped design the Yugo.

[@rollowarlin8450]

Bet he was the only one proud of that.

[@danbasta3677]

@@rollowarlin8450 Yeah, a real bodula. That means crazy in the Ygoslavian language, these cars were nothing but junk, and my heritage is from the old country, Yugoslavia as I AM half Serbian , half Croatian.

[@harrybaulz666]

🥱

[@hugokatz]

So they deported him?

[@walmartdog1142]

@@hugokatz As far as I know, he is still in Louisville Kentucky. I don't know how he got here.

[@Lazlow007]

My first car was a Yugo, and no that wasn't that long ago. It was in 2017. It's still a very common car here in Serbia. Parts are cheap. I actually loved my Yugo. Since then I've had 5 cars, from Nissan, to Opels, and by far my Yugo had the fewer issue of the bunch. It's not a great car, but it's not a bad one either .

[@MarkoKraguljac]

Our Hungarian comrades :)

[@leilal8053]

I loved mine too. ♥

[@karmano1472]

An excellent off-road vehicle, far the cheapest for the purpose: I can ride 40-50 km/h on the same road with my old Yugo (Zastava), but then only 20 km/h with my Skoda. Recommended for fishers and countrymen.

[@HamburgerHelperDeath]

Your mind would probably be blown driving a Lexus. My model traditionally can run for 350-500,000 miles and beyond with proper maintenance

[@bogdancivric3442]

@@HamburgerHelperDeath Yes probably we would be blown by lexus but lets be honest, changing driveshaft on yugo is about 30 euros and 15 minutes of work in backyard so i would choose old simple reliable engine and mechanic that can be fixed in a field over lexus.. yugo wasnt car for long comfy rides but it clearly did more than what you paid for... maintaining such a car is no cost almost that is his main strength...also consider that here is average salary of 400 euros per month

[@holgerhn6244]

Finally smone on YT who knows what he is talking about. This is precious.

[@matejarmus4084]

I just have to say that you are doing an excellent job. Very interesting and high quality content. I enjoy your videos. Thank you for that and greetings from Serbia.

[@peehandshihtzu]

Gotta love them, "yugo here yugo there but you never go that fast". The best part about them was if you got stuck you could just get out and drag it out of the ditch or whatever it was. They were really light. I had one and it was actually quite reliable and a great commuter. Thing cost me like $250 in the 90's, never broke down on me once, sold it to a friend would still has it. :)

[@thetman0068]

“Why did the Yugo suddenly disappear?” History buffs: _Sweating nervously_

[@MilanKV1]

@You Play Video Cheap and regular maintenance and Yugo can be enough good for a long time...

[@richd9658]

The first car I ever drove was a yugo, we picked it up at an auction as a laugh when I was a teen, we became quite fond of it and was a bit sad when we sold it on

[@2pugman]

It was a POS !

[@richd9658]

@@2pugman undoubtedly! But it had character 😅

[@DoeShow]

Very informative! Thank you!

[@hipjones]

I currently own five of these in Ohio. One is still in great condition. This car is a great example of "prejudice prior to investigation".

[@singleplayer75]

It's nice reading something like this in 2021. You are clearly enthusiastic about this car, I'll share a funny story with you. (I'm from Serbia). Back in the day, the late '80s, and after the civil war in former Yugoslavia, (early '90s), people have sometimes reported finding written notes inside the car doors, after removing the door panels for repairs, paint jobs, etc. The notes said ''this door is still better than my paycheck'' ;-) You can still buy one of these used for 100-300$ here.

[@protonneutron9046]

No Hip Jones (kzbin.info/door/KmAT0sB67Vigp_CBcmqOYg), they sold a lot (no prejudice there m0r0n) at first but since were comparatively crap they stopped being bought. Learn econ before acting the fool.

[@singleplayer75]

@PompierCanadien People have made what their governments could provide, or allow at the time, it's not the people's fault. You too have modern examples of communist thinking all around you, in North America, more and more each day. Just look around you and watch the news. Just wait and see.

[@jeffmccrea9347]

I had one in Florida but I can't say that I completely agree with you. My program of sobriety demands honesty from me so whenever I bring up my Yugo, I preface it with, "Go ahead and laugh, get it out of the way now but I bought a new Yugo in 1987......"

[@singleplayer75]

@PompierCanadien I'm far enough, thank God.

[@nonamesplease6288]

A mechanic friend of mine used to have a couple of these. He swore by them (not at them), and used to say they would last forever if you changed the oil on schedule and the timing belt every 30,000 miles. Most of the Yugos that died in the US seized up or broke a timing belt and wrecked the engine.

[@charlesphilhower1452]

Apparently it had an interference engine. 30k is very low mileage for needing a timing belt am Americans are not used to putting that much maintenance into a car.

[@justinl9077]

@@charlesphilhower1452 yeah 30k is often but it's easy and cheap to do. A friend of mine was a technician at a Yugo dealership. He said people would buy new Yugos then never change oil or belts then when it'd blow up at 20k miles they expected a new engine for free. Service manager would ask for proof of maintenance, and the people would laugh and say hey it's a 4k car. I'm not maintaining it. So they'd have to pay out of pocket for repairs.

[@charlesphilhower1452]

@@justinl9077 Never did a timing belt on a Yugo but that seams pretty frequent on some cars like a Dodge Neon timing belts are no that easy to do. While it may had been a simple car it does seem like it required above average maintenance.

[@michaelmcneil4959]

@@charlesphilhower1452 If you were bought up in the 60's your culture was based on large engines, improved with the efficiency of a plant that needed to get a tank through world war two and improved them for another 20 years. The problem with a big old American car is they wanted to sell you another one the year after when it was still running in. So they purposefully designed cars that would break down after 3 years max, so I heard.. America was so rich, people accepted it for the bonus of having a brand new car regularly. Am I wrong?

[@charlesphilhower1452]

@@michaelmcneil4959 Actually cars were simpler back then. They were no where near as a expensive as they are now explaining why no one put money into fixing them. Some of the automatic transmissions like the power glide two speed transmissions were simple but very inefficient. Cars now are much more complicated and to save costs in manufacturing electronics are being placed all over causing many repairs to being difficult and expensive and because electronics are being placed lower in the car they are more prone to major damage in floods causing many cars to be totaled after the flooding sometimes the damage caused by flooding may not be immediately apparent but can cause major problems in the not so distant future causing totaling the vehicle to be a better option. This also makes purchasing latter model cars more risky.

[@rogerrendzak8055]

"The smaller engine (the 848cc, zastava) was abandoned, as the engine was too weak". Do you think?? It's a friggin' motorcycle engine, size🤭. I just learned last week, about The Brickland, and how IT, went under. This probably, all ties in. Truth is, the Yugo was deprived of exact engineering, manufacturing. My neighbor next door had one, and when it broke down, it sat in the driveway for YEARS, as no parts were available. The joke went, if you got a Yugo, Yugo nowhere😄!!! Thank you for covering the history, and demise of this not 'forgotten' about, little auto👍!!

[@awtistiaeth4699]

Owned several including a 1.3 513gl that went like stuff. With my family, I also drove from Wales to Portugal in a 45 that I paid almost nothing for. Totally reliable, very thrashable and it used no water and no oil during the month's holiday.

[@BELCAN57]

There's still a place in the West for an inexpensive, basic car.

[@ElCineHefe]

That's the future because few can afford a $40K car.

[@marzsit9833]

the problem is, the manufacturer wants to make a profit, the wholesaler also wants to make a profit, the dealership also wants to make a profit and the salesman who sells the car also wants to make a profit. all of this markup makes an inexpensive basic car impossible.

[@ethograb]

I suspect electric cars will soon become economical. Whether or not a cheap electric car comes with significant draw backs, I still think they have the potential to be very cheap cars. Less parts, less money, there are also a few cheap battery chemistrys coming up. For an example of this look at cheap Chinese electric cars.

[@davidhollenshead4892]

Agreed, my 1986 Ford Escort Pony cost $4800 and was a great economy car. One of the best things about was the lack of extras, as it had no AC, Power Steering & other power options. It even had a 4-speed manual trans when everything else had a 5-speed. And by far it was better than the imports being sold in the US at the time...

[@ffjsb]

@@ElCineHefe UH, Honda Civic???

[@jefferyepstein9210]

The Yugo will always have a special place in my heart. I learned to drive a manual transmission in one when I was 13. My older sister had one and taught me how to drive it.

[@jimmyh6601]

I thought you were dead Jeff😉

[@jefferyepstein9210]

@@jimmyh6601 😂😂

[@hoedenbesteller]

Ps; you did not suicide yourself

[@markrossow6303]

learned on this 1943 Willys MB ~12 years after this profile photo

[@postersm7141]

Nice!

[@mrg-ghx8052]

This is a great chanel, very well researched and we are very lucky for the effort.

[@ThomasDoubting5]

I was coming to mock this car, but I see how much it meant to so many of the commenters and I respect that so I'll give it a miss.

[@milan51259]

My brother went yesterday to Serbia for his yearly vacation in our house. First picture he sent was a Yugo parking in front of the house :'-D

[@Niraol]

No one denies it was bad, but at that time, europe had some terrible cars like trabant, where yugo wasn't the worst of the bunch. It also hold a culturally important place in history of the Balkans and surrounding countries.

[@beardsntools]

It was a terrible car even by late 80s standards, but it was the cheapest new car and given that a struggling communist country made it, it's not that bad after you take all of that into account. They really did the best they could.

[@AnnatarTheMaia]

@@beardsntools actually they didn't: they purposely sabotaged assembly and left notes in the doors like "kakva plata takva vrata" ("doors according to pay") so they could have made a high quality vehicle but didn't because people from the Balkans just don't give a shit. And then they wonder why they have so much corruption and why they're piss poor...

[@beardsntools]

@@AnnatarTheMaia I thought this "kakva nama plata, takva vama vrata" note left in panelless back seat "door" was a joke: I had no idea this actually happened. But yeah I know the quality wasn't their concern at all, I mean it couldn't be because the demand was so great they couldn't even keep up. There are videos even from 80s where they did review of yugo in us, said it was decent and they say the cars were already bought before even off the ship and people were paying thousands over the retail price which was only $4k for a new car.

[@thebestisyettocome4114]

Had two for my daughter's. 1987 and 1988. Both got them through high school and college. Very little issues.

[@robotube7361]

The truth is, it was a Spartan car- but if you handle it with care and not expect much from it- it would deliver. It was meant to be a high school/student, beater car for town/city commuting. Americans thought they could use it for long freeway interstate driving packing their whole families in it. Also it got negative press by being a "communist car". I think it is unfairly judged for what it was and what it wasn't.

[@AHoundOnAHonda]

Two for your daughter's what?

[@sanitar-otti320]

Thanks for all these interesting informations!

[@kmckenzie2461]

GREAT VIDEO, YOU DONE YOUR RESEARCH AND PUT A LOT OF WORK INTO THIS VIDIO, IT WAS COOL! THANKS!

[@Howlingd0g]

I remember my dad got one of these as a courtesy car whilst his Saab was in the garage. Sitting in it, I felt a bit like in a box of Tic Tacs, with the same amount of rattles and possibly even less safety. It's a cute little thing though, despite its flaws. If I got the opportunity to buy one now, I'd snap it up!

[@jasonkeen712]

I live in the u.s. and one of the bar owners in my town drives a Yugo frequently. It's the only one I've seen in years. Cool little car.

[@joestrike8537]

In the mid 1980s I worked for an ad agency that was pitching for the US Yugo advertising campaign. Their slogan: "The little bear that gets you there." They didn't get the account.

[@manofthehour6856]

Wow, this is fantastic (as usual, so why am I surprised?)! I remember the hype regarding US introduction in 1985, but it seemed synonymous with "joke" from the get go. Considering this car was introduced in the booming mid-1980s and gasoline prices were nowhere near the forecasted "$5 a gallon" mark, the entry-level end of the market (and actually even below because under $4,000 for a new car was outrageous at the time), economy cars were looked down on. The mindset of the times was similar in Europe: good times and no cares, and the most popular cars here were imports particularly. And I think the car's origins may have worked against it. I knew enough that Yugoslavia was not hardline Russia or East Germany, but it was still behind the iron curtain; remember, this was the Reagan years and many had the attitude "better dead than red". And even if a potential buyer wasn't familiar with the history or politics of Yugoslavia, it wasn't a country known for its automobile industry, or indeed any industry really. This video is fantastic as I didn't follow its eventual demise, but of course I remember the civil war in Yugoslavia. I feel I got a very comprehensive explanation of the car, its development, and demise; I despise videos that have clickbait titles like "Yugo was the Worst Car of All Time". I found this video to be very sensible in a history of the car.

[@godaistudios]

My first car was a Yugo - well, bought for my use by my parents when I was 15 back in 1991. Used it for about a year till we moved to Hawaii. My sister made the joke of "You go, but the car doesn't." For the most part, that little car was pretty reliable, and as a challenge we actually had as many as 9 people (all of us teenagers) in it - and yes, drove it. It was also how I learned to drive stick shift, something I still use today.

[@GameOn82]

5:42 looking at the competition then, it was a beauty!

[@frederickknapp5340]

Bought a Yugo in 1988, Loved that car, small, cheap and solid in the snow

[@HickSquatch]

Yugo was an interesting car. I almost bought a used one. It was quite like my VW Rabbit. It had the coolest toolkit that included every light bulb and the tools needed to do just about any repair on the roadside. This particular car had structural damage so I passed on it, but I did get to drive it for a few days and actually liked the car.

[@ivanjaram8761]

My family owned a 1985 Zastava 101 GTL55 and we had it for 16 years. It never let us down. Ok, the quality was never too high but I believe British cars rusted far worse than Zastavas. We simply loved our "Stojadin" and still have very fond memories of it to this day. We treated it as a family member and I even celebrated its birthdays as a kid.😂😍

[@mattbanks3517]

Stojadin is close to the Serbo-croatian pronunciation of 101, Sto i jedan. In Macedonian it's sto i eden (Сто и еден).

[@BigCar2]

Errata: The restyled Yugo was sold briefly in the former Yugoslavia in the 2000s (I said it wasn't sold). The Yugo was sold as the Innocenti Koral, not the Innocenti Mini. Tito's name was "Josip Broz". His nickname was Tito.

[@jaapverhoeven422]

Haha. The priest of the orthodox church in the village where my wife grew up was still driving one a few years ago. A corn yellow one. Now they are very rare. Which makes the highways there quite a bit safer to drive.

[@miguelplano2538]

Also there is a mistake you said Innocenti Mini. That was another car and it was a BL vehicle with Mini drivetrain which in 1983 got a Daihatsu engine. The Yugo was sold as Innocenti Koral.

[@BigCar2]

@@miguelplano2538 Thanks. I've added that to the pinned comment. I could swear somewhere I read that in the late 80's they looked to sell it as the Mini (but plans may have come to nothing - the source wasn't clear), which is why I said they agreed a deal (not that it went through).

[@TheSuperdjica]

Good story, but you didn't mention that Zastava produced 200,000 Zastava 1300/1500 in Yugoslavia known as "Tristać" (Fiat 1300/1500)

[@BigCar2]

@@TheSuperdjica The focus was on the Yugo, so some things had to be cut.

[@deagt3388]

But we love Yugo a lot even today.. Greetings from Serbia (former Yugoslavia) ;-)

[@KeithCindyPanama]

I remember comedian’s joking on this 🎉. My favorite was : Friends don’t let friends drive Yugos:)

[@MrAuriga67]

Always liked the shape of the Yugo 45A & 55A. Ran one for 18 months, and as you say, maintained correctly, it was a reliable car that was easy to work on. It never let me down.

[@charliemanson4808]

I served in The Former Yugoslavia during the early 90's and these where the posh car, not quite the Yugoslavian built Golf but Zatstava cars where everywhere. To be honest, they worked better in the Balkans than here, they worked great in the extreme cold and rough road conditions up to maybe 50mph, after that you would be safer driving through one of the many minefields!! Peace Charlie 🇬🇧

[@ravenouself4181]

They are still everywhere. For the bad reputation they have in the west and all the jokes - they are unkillable

[@mattbrown4857]

I can remember driving my old yugo in freak heavy snow. Good ground clearance and light weight. Had good heater too.Basic engineering is all that's required sometimes

[@DexMaster881]

Almost like the west got all the worst ones :)

[@charliemanson4808]

@@DexMaster881 nah just never looked after them like they did in Yugoslavia. They where expensive there, so looked after but cheap and disposable in the west. The trouble with budget cars is their value, it's worth paying a mechanic 1000 to fix a car that cost you 15k or more but not one you paid less than 5k for, so they just got scrapped.

[@user-cn9mh7np7n]

Thank's !!! For us, Yugo was good car.

[@sseennaa5588]

This is a great video. Very good job.

[@cobaltblue1975]

LOL @ 6:01 They got that violin propped up in the back seat to let you know this is quality and refinement!

[@malvasia17]

Yugo and JAT were admirable and unforgettable....greetings from 🇬🇷

[@nenadjovanovic4507]

That's quite a detailed account of the company. You must have invested days of research into it. Even I as a native of Yugoslavia did not know many of the things you mentioned. Here in Serbia you can still get a "decent" Yugo for about 200 euros and yes, it HAS served many people in good stead for years, at least those who maintained it. Yes, it's had its flaws but is far from the worst car in history.

[@youneverknow111]

200euros hah we got it for 20euro

[@milan51259]

Milan from Vienna here. Thought about buying a Tesla Cybertruck, but f it. I always dreamt of a real typical red Yugo. Gonna buy it for these 200 Euros you mentioned!

[@ibrahimibro9452]

Helli from Bosnia. This is the best story about Yugo 💛💛

[@manojloo_13]

It didn’t really dissapear in Serbia, and I still have some great memories of me playing in my fathers Yugo Tempo! Lovely car!

[@scottcochran384]

had one and Loved it.. as I live in Pa. where we get a lot of snow.. this thing was a beast in the snow.. and gave great gas Mileage, I owned a Repair Garage and often used it to push non running cars into the garage, even used it on weekends to push start 800-1000 HP Sprint Cars .. kept it well maintained and abused it at the same time.. Never had a Issue with it.. and the best part was the shifter was a lot like stirring soup so nobody ever wanted to borrow it..even seasoned standard shift drivers had problems finding the correct gears.. I had zero problems.. :)

[@TheAtarashiiKaze]

I have owned 2 Yugos, a GV and a GVX if I remember correctly.. Loved them both. They were great little dirt road runners. If you took a corner too sharp and tipped it over it only took 2 strong guys to pop it back on its wheels and keep going. "Plucky" is actually a really good description for the car. If they were still available I'd buy another no worries.

[@rollowarlin8450]

lf the Yugo was sold today even as it was back then it would cost 15,000 to 20,000. You still want one ?

[@dejanbozinoski8782]

Thank you sir for telling that it isn't bad car ever, that deserve a litle respect. Good you tube clip. 👍

[@jaimz33]

I had one in the early nineties. It never let me down.

[@user-my2qm5to5k]

Thank you so much,making a video on such a legend here in Serbia

[@fidemclam]

Thank you for this video. Greetings from a ex-yu country Croatia.

[@DreamCarsPro]

*Rimac is almost as good as Yugo!* 😎

[@PJAvenger]

Croatia is awesome! I have a hat from Plitvice :)

[@sv_cheats1970]

@@DreamCarsPro if only Rimac made city cars.

[@adambrady9989]

Croatia is nice !

[@agrameroldoctane_66]

Croatia is not ex-yu country. It was just occupied by Serbs and communists who were using that name. It is like calling Poland ex-3rd Reich country.

[@duncangrainge]

I purchased a new 311. I was looking for a car after moving on from a moped. I had a couple of grand and went to look at a used escort mk3 Next door was a yugo dealer. A brand new 311 was 2500 pounds. The crappy 1985 escort next door was 2000 pounds. So I got a brand new shiny red yugo. 17 years old and a brand new car. I put 80000 miles over the next few years. I went around Europe sleeping in the roomy back and university. I sold it stupidly. I loved it. Only broke down once electrical prob easily fixed. It was quick for a 1.1. But I had a brand new car at 17 that I purchased myself without a trust fund or parental involvement. I loved it. Red with grey interior. I miss my 311 😢

[@joseCalderon1976]

Great content. Subscribed 👍

[@Lexa-106]

Finally a detailed story for the Yugo and Zastava, been subscribed for a year now. Btw greetings from Serbia 🇷🇸

[@bkrmar]

You got your self a subscriber. I like how you don’t mock our Yugo ( I am Serbian :)) but rather understand the complex history behind it. Keep up the awesome videos!

[@pg1171]

Yugo is a PIECE OF JUNK! I know from first hand knowledge... A brand new one might last a few months, a used one...no...Ours blew up before we got it home! J U N K!

[@paulmulville1835]

I completely agree. Given the destruction of plant, equipment and people during WW2, as well as the woeful economics behind the communist system, it's a total credit to Eastern European engineers and factory technicians that they could make these passable copied designs. I, like everyone I know, laughed at the jokes, but it was out of innocent ignorance of the conditions in which those folk had to get on with things with such limited resources💪🏽💪🏽

[@ianmedford4855]

If Zastava built them, I simply cannot believe that they would suck. My Zastava M-70 variants are fantastic. Thousands of rounds and never a single malfunction.

[@diaperjoeisaped1723]

It was made in Yugoslavia, NOT Serbia!👎👎

[@BlueSky-ub4fx]

WoW!! How nice to listen to!! NO background music! 💪💪♥♥♥♥♥♥

[@marcelromijn2227]

I had a chance to drive a Yugo Florida/Sana - apart from cheap plastics on the dashboard, it was not far off from e.g. a Citroen ZX of the time. They did get the exports going to various western EU countries but then the war ended it all.

[@prohunterhawk]

I lived and worked in Kragujevac in the 1980's for Yugo GB i think this is a good video of the history. I really enjoyed my time in Serbia and would love to return one day.

[@mauricelevy9027]

I also had a couple of Years with Yugo in Reading ,UK ..What the Company DID have was a staff of field service men sourced from a number of other Manufacturers (such as BMW ,VW and Alfa),Most of us drove the larger cars which for the money were not bad value BUT as in the USA (later on) ,many of the cars were on long HP loans to families that could barely afford the repayments let alone service and repairs. As is previously stated ,the then range was in fact Fiat based and that companies history and engineering capability more than compared with other European makers . We ,the field staff often covered 30k a year so the mechanics of the cars was not as bad as made out in the video and as regards the factory people I found the engineers in Belgrade (the engine plant) and the manufacturing plant in Kragujevac were on a par with any others but of course the plant machinery was old and in the main -worn out . There were and are in fact now many cars that in basic engineering still today fall short of what ZCZ gave the world

[@kamilkarwat2706]

Yugo marketing department: "He go, I go, YUGO!"

[@lenholloway4390]

I bought one of these for my daughter. Nothing fell off of it unlike the rear axle that fell off one of my Rolls Royces

[@anthonyperkins7556]

The Zastava Yugo 55 was also sold in the UK through Yugo UK dealerships as well as the 45 and Sana models.

[@dimekoza]

I live in Macedonia, we still have Yugos on the streets, I actually learned to drive in one. We owned a 101 before the Yugo. They were simple cars, but they were ok, nothing like western or Asian cars, but not that terrible. They were easy to work on and spare parts could be found everywhere and were cheap. People did modify them a lot, used Fiat engines and parts and got very descent power outputs. There is a race series with Yugos and is fun to watch. There were general quality issues with Zastava cars, but the thing was that it varied. Some cars were great and had descent performance, and other cars with the same spec were less powerful and poorly made. So it was down to luck what you got.

[@obywatelcane6775]

Zastava 101 or 1100 was good for countries with no winter. In Poland it was rusting even faster than Polonez and Fiat 125p. A lot of salt on the roads :-(((

[@Quebecoisegal]

@@obywatelcane6775 Ah, the FSO Polonez. I think not too many of those around any more.

[@paganpoet3]

You live in North Macedonia.Period-

[@zvodno]

@@paganpoet3 (anyway) sorry, he lives in makedonija

[@nikosz66]

@@zvodno Northern !

[@dragomirstijovic5569]

As a member of classic Slav family, thank you 🙏🏻 😂 First we had white one, then beautiful turquoise in which I learned to drive

[@zorancolic7329]

Astonishing quick review of a thing that we thought we know

[@benclark3621]

In the Dragnet movie, 1987, starring Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd, the two detectives are punished for breaking their squad car by being assigned a Yugo. The Yugo is then flipped over by a bad guy who lifts it by its bumper lol

[@ekim000]

Zastava remains the only volume producer of a close derivative of the Mauser 98 rifle action so even if they don't make cars anymore they've got my thumbs up!

[@tucoramirez4558]

Last I read their version of the AK47, the Zastava M70 is very popular among gun enthusiasts in the U.S. Pretty much a high quality version with improved ergonomics and better parts. Real irony their car division don't seem to have had the same philosophy.

[@Pfirtzer]

@@tucoramirez4558 Problem is not all guns coming from Zastava are great Zastava 99 is terrible as an example. Serbs love guns more than cars, we had many wars so a good gun,rifle means more to you than a good car.

[@sunbeam8866]

I have three Zastava pistols - a 9mm M70a, 7.65mm M70, and 7.62x25mm M57.

[@Stuartrusty]

Ageing Wheels would love this. He still has a Yugo, albeit a heavily modified one....

[@beardsntools]

That Yugo is actually great now

[@wendyokoopa7048]

I see men of culture

[@daviswall3319]

Friend of mine had a Yugo in the late 80’s. I drove it a few times and aside from being underpowered, the main thing I recall is that the radio cut out whenever you put it in reverse.

[@750count]

Appreciate this excellent history of the Yugo. If you can believe it I drove one as a company car.in 89.I did not own a car but had a motorcycle at the time. This thing was so close to the road sometimes I felt like it was like riding my motorcycle with a shell

[@musshwins412]

Few will truly understand the off-road capabilities of this awesome machine.

[@kdrapertrucker]

The onroad capabilities were so disappointing.

[@kendallevans4079]

By off road, do you mean when it's on a flatbed?

[@clarencecarter960]

My dad had a mail route in remote, mountain ess Western NC. He bought a new Yugo for his route. An automatic transmission would not last more than 6 months because of the start and stop and the terrain in which he was driving, (He burned up 2 his first year). The Yugo worked so well that he bought a low mileage second one for a backup. Then later he bought a wrecked one cheap just for extra parts. He completed his mail route when others couldn't! He loved his Yugos! He would put studded snow tires on the front (front wheel drive) during the winter. Lots of snow there and delivered his mail one morning after a 24 inch snow. Being in the remote mountains most of his route was not touched by the state's snow plows! He always said there is no vehicle made that would go in the snow and ice like the Yugo. We did all of the maintenance and repairs so we knew the Yugo very well. I would love to have one now!!!!!!!!

[@pipospipou5033]

My first car , Greece 1992 ! Absolutely loved it, that car was a horse !

[@bobblowhard8823]

1) The Yugo had the distinct look and feel of having being assembled at gunpoint. 2) Almost everything, mechanically, had problems: the engine, the transmission, the brakes...BUT at least the rear window defroster was reliable which kept your hands warm in winter while pushing the car off the road. 3) In an episode of the 80's USA sitcom "Moonlighting" Maddie gives Bruce Willis' character a Yugo as a birthday gift. When they were in the vehicle perusing a suspect, Bruce's character yells: "Put the pedal to the plastic!". as a reference to the cheapness of the Yugo.

[@edwardprice140]

I remember selling Yugo at a Ford dealership in 1980. The coolest thing was the car would go with just the starter/no engine.

[@davidsilvercreek8541]

My best friend was over the service department at Bryan Pontiac Cadillac Honda Yugo in Fayetteville NC and they were the first to install an A/C on a Yugo... Not even the factory had done it...

[@mrc6182]

I was a Yugo owner in that era and I sincerely doubt that engine could've successfully supported air conditioning in midwest USA summer conditions. The engine was already weak and what emissions controls Bricklin had to add made it even weaker.

[@otm646]

@ThePatUltra Unfortunately your understanding of AC compressor technology is off by a decade. When this car was launched they wouldn't have fitted a rotary piston type compressor, they'd have been fitting and old school York and power hungry On the old VWs we'd use them like a jake brake getting off the highway they put so much load on the engine.

[@INKASANT]

You can still find Yugo in many countries in the Balkan, hell few of my neighbors still drive these beasts, which proves the point that every car if maintained correctly can have a long lasting live. Funny story: a few months ago there was a very big snowstorm in my city, my peugeot and my girlfriend vauxhall were ill equipped but the few Yugos blazed through the snow like it wasn't even there.

[@bluruckuscrx8124]

True here in N.Macedonia they are still really commonly

[@INKASANT]

If you go from Gevgelija to Ljubljana and you don't see a Yugo, then you are in some other reality 😁

[@obywatelcane6775]

I can say the same thing about my Lada 21072 :-) No ABS, cruise control or 4x4. Two Polish stop-sign shaped road blocks called "trylinka" in the trunk that's all I need.

[@iowa_don]

Consumer Reports had a great photo on the cover the month they tested the Yugo. The car was in front of a semi truck and looked like it was about to be run over. They concluded that sure it was cheap but needed a bunch of features that regular cars had. If you added those features you would have a nice Corolla. The last time I saw one was in August of 2014 at the Concours d'Lemons in Seaside CA. A tongue in cheek Concours. The owner claimed it was a "garage queen".

[@zombiedodge1426]

My dad subscribed to Consumer Reports and I remember that issue well. The Yugo review was absolutely scathing. Even the freaking *radio* was terrible.

[@jimharris9394]

The Yugo is remarkably similar to the Lada Neva (a 4-wheel-drive vehicle) - and other VAZ cars manufactured in Russia - especially the spare-tire over the engine and the transverse brace to support it. I "owned" a 2002 Neva, (it belonged to my son in Russia), and I helped maintain it whenever I was there. My opinion of the Neva was that it was a phenomenally engineered car. It was deliberately designed to be repairable and was originally designed to meet the needs of people in Siberia where many farmers and such were miles away from the nearest anything - so you could rebuild and repair just about any part with the tools and equipment a farmer in the middle of nowhere would be expected to have. Along with easy serviceability, it was a full-time 4wd vehicle that had a double gear-box with two levers. One was the standard 4-speed manual transmission and the second was a special transfer case that had two levers that allowed a super-low gear ratio and the ability to lock-up the transfer case for all four wheels when the transfer case was in low gear, so that no wheel would ever spin. (And you could just about pull stumps with it given enough traction.) For the period of time I drove my son's Neva, it was a *BEAST* and could go anywhere you wanted it to. I kept a tow strap in it and periodically pulled Toyota Rav-4s, Range Rovers and other fancy cars out of ditches and snow-banks. It was truly a beast car that was designed for rough service in out of the way places. The problem with the Neva wasn't the engineering - it was the slap-dash production that was insanely flimsied to reduce its price - though replacement parts were/are cheap and plentiful. It's important to note that the engineering was so well done that Chevrolet licensed a version of the Neva, (the Chevrolet Neva which is still sold in Russia), that was what the original car *should* have been, had the production been done right. As far as I know, it's still being manufactured and sold today and given the chance, I'd buy one in a heartbeat. I also owned a US version 1990 Hyundai Excel 3-door hatchback and - properly maintained, which is the key word here - you couldn't kill it. I drove that car everywhere and eventually sold it years later with 160,000 miles on the clock.