So the Yugo is no more. Do you care? Not one dot, I’m sure. But there are plenty of people round the world, particularly in Eastern Europe, who will. For many, it was the only way they could afford to run an a new, or used, car.
The always reliable Yugo!
The Yugo is probably the last remaining relic of the dire Eastern European cars of the cold war era. At one time we had Skodas and Ladas and the like floating around our roads. Skips with wheels, one and all. The Skoda has of course morphed in to a VW, but those horrible heaps of the past had gone. Apart from the Yugo. But its time has finally come.
The Yugo did actually have its time in the sun. At one point it was Hollywood’s Honey, and turned up in a plethora of diverse films, like Die Hard 3 and 101 Dalmatians. With its 100,000 mile warranty and £3,000 price tag it even managed sales of over 100,000 in the States. But there are always nutters who’ll buy anything!
So should we mourn the Yugo? Of course not. But, surprise, surprise, it’s not completely gone. Fiat has snapped up the old Yugo factory, and will no doubt turn the old trick of using the tooling from defunct Fiats to rake in a few bob (think Polski Fiat). They may even badge the cars Yugo Fiat!
Have your say - leave a comment