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Evolution Favors The…Not Russian


funny car photos

Submitted by: dunno source via Submission page

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  1. Zaex says:

    ‘Cause there is no need for improvement.

  2. Me says:

    I’d take the ’78 versions over the ’09 versions in all cases. If they didn’t spend so much money on R&D, cars wouldn’t cost so much. Russians understood that, apparently.

  3. Lunartic says:

    The Russian ones are easier and cheaper to repair and run though. The Lada doesn’t need a $3,000 laptop to be able to work on it’s engine.

  4. David Perry says:

    And don’t forget Cuba. They haven’t had new cars since the 60′s

    • Kevin Zhu says:

      No, they got Benz Sprinters, The newest Suzuki Jimny Small SUV, Yutong buses from China (they stink for some reason), Scooters, and quite a few regular cars that are here as well.

  5. Boris Cheykova says:

    Dont make fun of our kar.
    russia kar is superior kar!

    we made glorious technological marvel that is LADA!

    you american kapitalist swine ar jealous of glorious motherland!

  6. Nick says:

    “One of these things is not like the others.”

  7. Harrstein says:

    The american didnt evolve either. still a thirsty v8 and old techniques

  8. Mike says:

    I’d take the 78 Mustang over the 09 one…

  9. meow says:

    xDD
    Turkey has the same old cars like Russia XD

  10. AlchemisT says:

    First picture is 2105, I’m currently driving one. 1978 it was 2103 and it looks that way http://www.autowp.ru/pictures/vaz/2101/autowp.ru_vaz_21013__zhiguli__1.jpg
    Anyhow, there’s very small difference between them. The only good thing in this car is price – $6000 for new.

  11. Orv says:

    Wasn’t there a Top Gear episode where they drove one of those? Something like it, anyway. I remember thinking the only impressive thing about the car was the thickness of its sheet metal.

  12. mechnik says:

    Ah yes, the Lada. Of all the cars in the world to copy, Russia had to pick the Fiat 128. Even though Russia has been building the exact same car for over 30 years, they still haven’t figured out how to make it so the heater can be turned ALL the way off, or design an electrical system that doesn’t cause the front parking lights to come on when the brake pedal is pressed, or how to build an automatic transmission. Don’t get me started on the rust issues…

    Having said that, they are dead-simple in design so repairs are quick, cheap and easy, parts are totally interchangeable over decades, and they go pretty much anywhere, paved road or not. Just don’t hit anything with them because they fold up like an accordion and the chances of your survival is not very good.

  13. Chris says:

    After reading about the Lada I was rather impressed with it’s no nonsense approach. After all if it works and works well, why change it? However, I am going to go to bat for the other models when other were saying that repairing them was too complex. Although this is very much true, one of the reasons that it is so expensive are things added to vehicles since 1978 to improve the vehicles performance and safety. The addition of ABS, airbags, and TCS and makes passengers much more likley to survive a bad crash than cars from 31 years ago.
    I do agree cars as of late have been burdened with comforts (some bordering on useless or way to complex to use while driving) ,but I will not dismiss all the work that automakers have put into making their vehicles appealing to the buyer. They are, after all, in it to win it.

  14. Blackout13 says:

    hell dont insult the russians while there car has not changed because there in no need for it. it s a cheap relliable easy to fix car. perfect for anyone. granted i will say it is kind of bland.

  15. tahrey says:

    Uh… this would be funnier if it was actually true. The Lada Riva (based off the ancient Fiat 124, restyled to look Volvo-ish, and indeed quite long running… UNTIL the Iron Curtain collapsed – in the NINETIES) was canned some time ago, and they’re now making more modern-looking stuff like the Priora and 112.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lada — i thank you.
    .
    If you’re just meaning you see a lot of them on the streets still, then there’s also a good number of the old BMWs, Toyotas, and particularly Fords running about. Just the west is a bit more prepared to junk perfectly servicable automobiles in order to buy into The Next Big Thing… which they’ll typically then end up using for exactly the same purposes, running about at the same speed in traffic that’s running about as quickly as it ever did, and cruising at about the same speed on the highway. (A Riva will happily run up to 90mph or more, btw, though the acceleration is lacking) — I’m a happy beneficiary of this effect, scooping up for a pittance 10 year old cars that were, if not cutting edge, then at least mid-premium models when launched, and thanks to the level of construction we’d arrived at by the late 80s, barely run in. My current one is nearing 90,000 miles but you’d never tell by driving it, apart from a slight roughness to the well-abused gearbox, and the equipment level that seems perfectly mediocre given the flashiness of the badge (hey! this time I got a trip computer, alarm, and electric windows! such progress :D ). OK, the Lada was never actually “good” to start with, but that means it can’t get much worse, and it still gets you about. Apparently the USA is now scrapping significantly more cars than are being bought, probably because people are coming off this habit and getting rid of third or fourth cars they didn’t really need and certainly can no longer afford… and they may keep the ones that remain til they’re quite a bit older than they otherwise would be. What this means for my favoured end of the market, who knows. But this graphic could ring more true in the other direction if the economy gets even worse, and Russia starts to make a killing on natural gas.
    .
    Think before you make a dig against a certain country just to satisfy your own viewpoint of them being a bit backwards, next time?

    • Steven says:

      Yes, and THANK YOU, WIKI for your unbiased, trustworthy information. I can always count on Wiki to give me the facts when I need them the most!

      Wiki is never wrong!

  16. Miles says:

    I’m kinda surprised that nobody mentioned that the Volkswagen Beetle was still nearly the same car when VW of Mexico finally ended its manufacturing in 2001. Ironically, it was STILL a highly reliable, efficient and wonderful little vehicle.

  17. Jakester says:

    I don’t wanna grow up. I don’t wanna get old.

    -the wild boys

  18. enaM says:

    This just shows you, that Russians have made the best working and the most long lasting cars since 1978. Why fix it, if it ain’t broken?

  19. Anonymous says:

    Fixing what is not broken is capitalist extravagance, comrade.

  20. Zack says:

    I used to have one of them LADAs, (russian) I have no idea what year it was, early 70′s eh? it was the 2107. Fun car because it was a piece of crap and I didn’t have to care about it. Never had any problems aside from it catching fire. The harder your drove that thing the better it ran tho. Sold it in 1990 for $100 haha (:

  21. Sarge says:

    in Soviet Russia, the cars just suck.

  22. mr. mike says:

    I’ve seen the Ladas roll in Finnish rally races and they fold pretty good. Catch fire quick, too, though that may have been a sloppy mod of the fuel system. Actually I agree with the pro-Lada people; it’s a basic car that works good enough*, and any car that can fire up in the dead of a Russian winter has my vote. The Sovie car you want to make fun of, however is the Zaporozhets M-966. The car looks like a cross between a Corvair and an NSU Prinz, can only fit two people, and has a loud v-4 motor so it’s kinda sorta the Soviet VW Beetle. Originally they looked like Fiat 600s, but then they switched over in 1964 or so and they kept making them until the mid-1990s….Putin owns one!

    ____________________________________________________

    * This car is the main model the kids trick out with grindingly loud sound systems, hydraulic butterfly doors, air vents, goofy rims, ten thousand racing stickers, etc. BTW, the Finn was lucky he had a roll cage.

  23. Anna Rexia says:

    Would they pass US emissions tests? If so, some pink paint, a halfway decent stereo with an iPod input and I’d drive one. I think it’s cute in an old Datsun sorta way.

  24. Anna Rexia says:

    Mr Mike was posting at the same time I was, so I missed the Zaporozhets mention. I looked it up on Wikipedia and there’s a picture of “Vladimir Putin with his 1972 ZAZ-968 Zaporozhets.” I like it! That one makes me think of old Dodge Dart or Mercury Comet from the early 60s.

  25. AlchemisT says:

    You can buy zaporozhets in good condition for $200 here (in Russia), if you’ll find one. I don’t think it will pass US emissions tests, but I guess you can install a more suitable motor.

  26. somebody set up us the bomb says:

    This is why communism sucks.

  27. Over 9000!!! says:

    One of these things is not like the others…

  28. Tuomas says:

    I’ll bet 1 to 100 that none of those isn’t moving anywhere unless pushed in Siberia when it’s -50 Celsius.

    Except Lada, of course.

    Local climate puts certain limits of the engine (and other) technology used in a car and there’s no way around that. Even here in Finland many so called modern cars won’t start at all at -30C and that’s something that happens almost every winter, so Ladas are still in use in many areas.

  29. Lunartic says:

    I believe the US emissions test doesn’t apply to vehicle over 25 yrs old, so if you bought one made in 1985 or before you’d be able to import it.

  30. PNug says:

    By this comparison, evolution clearly favours the Germans.

    “Sports” coupe in Japan 1978 has developed into family sedan 2009.
    A totally retarded Mustang 1978 is still a white trash Ford piece of shit 2009.
    A Lada by any other name is still a Lada.

    The BMW is the only vehicle in this list which has not changed its intended purpose, and has seen updated styling and the use of new technology

    However Toyota, by far the oldest vehicle manufacturer in this list, is the only reliable piece of machinery.

  31. Noel says:

    that is not true, this is stupid. Modern LADAs are not like that anymore…

  32. Chardrak says:

    Uhhh… Toyota “the oldest manufacturer in this list”? Check again. Ford is significantly older than Toyota, and is indeed the oldest manufacturer listed. Ford was founded in 1906. Toyota Motor Corporation was founded in 1937 as a spinoff from Toyota Industries which itself was founded in 1926. BMW was founded in 1916 so it is even older than Toyota.

    Other than that your opinions are also off. The “totally retarded mustang” is just the opposite of what you portray it. It was and is still a very popular car for good reason. The Toyota well… The old “sports” coupe performs worse than the modern “family sedan”.

  33. PNug says:

    Au contraire, Chardrak.

    Just because something is “popular” doesn’t make it “good”. But of course, that will fall on deaf ears, because clearly you belong in the Mustang-fan camp.

    Harley Davidson. Need I say more?

    Anyways… perhaps you could do some actual research instead of belching up Wikipedia.

  34. forge says:

    Actually if you held up the ’68 or maybe the ’69 Mustang against the 2008, they’d be remarkably similar because Ford’s market research people discovered that’s what small-penised men want, is the car they drove back when their penis actually worked. = ) It’s essentially the same car too, giant V8 gas hog pollutionmobile. Just with air bags and slightly better brakes.

  35. Pronobozo says:

    yeahhh i m russian adn thats true. this shit is still making. but also we have other ladas….same trash) but we have a lot of oil and can buy Bentlys, bmw, audi etc… so we dont giva a shit )

  36. Lada for everyone says:

    Will trade 2010 Lada 1.5 L for 2010 Mustang 4.6 L:)))
    Any interested person?

  37. that guy says:

    ford, dodge, crysler, chevy, and all american cars suck. true cars…..dacia, fiat, renault, citroen, aro, lada etc…. all american cars are too complex. too much electrical stuff that kills performance. hidrualic clutches, power steering etc… things that require more maintnance and money. for example: went and visited romania bought a 90′s dacia combi. beat the thing for six months. went off roading, snow, small rivers. the more you abuse it the more it liked it. replacing a transmision was 80Ā£. it never went bad while i was in possetion of the vehicle. i asked how much it would be. cable trans manual windows and everything u would hate in a car. but goin 160km was pretty amazing and the way it picked up to thay speed. nevertheless u change the oil when u feel like it and put gas when ur low and it will take you cross country multiple times. and it had a aftermarket cd play. the only reason people had problems with replacin parts on old cars cuz aftermarket parts are made of diff and cheaper compound

    • Dr. Robotnik says:

      Some people like cars that will go more than 90mph, and that will retain their value after a few decades.

    • demon says:

      I think the real reason it performed that well was because it was built in the 90s. American cars werent as unnecessarily complicated then either. All modern cars have way too much electrical stuff in them. And what makes it worse is that because of it all being attached to one computer system the smallest mechanical failure can bring down the whole car. Every other part has a sensor attached to it to make sure its working properly and half them have sensors to make sure the sensors are working. But car manufacturers are catering to what people want, especially americans, which is to not have to do anything themselves. Everything is powered or automatic or voice activated. Ive worked on both foreign and american made modern cars and the foreign ones were slightly more of a nightmare.

  38. Stroudomatic says:

    Whole Lada Love.

  39. flammenwerfer says:

    They changed it! Can’t you see? they made the grill larger!!

  40. anomaly says:

    But…what if the Russian car gets 80 mpg?

    • Truemouse says:

      Doubtful, I had one, best I ever got was 35mpg. Not bad for American standards, but pretty sucky for a Euro-car.

  41. Bob says:

    must be easy to find parts

  42. almitydave says:

    I realize taste is subjective, but I like the older Toyota and BMW more. The new Mustang is better, but not as good as ’68. I actually wish they would make modern cars with the same exteriors as classics. I guess that’s why there’s a kit market.

    Also, BMW’s have looked progressively more terrible since 1990.

    • Truemouse says:

      Hell yeah. Danbury do that with VW campervans. I wanna see more Porsche-engined V-dub bugs and Subaru STi powered 2cv’s and H-vans.

  43. VB says:

    I donno, man, that grill is pretty rad.

  44. farrex says:

    its in the inside what matters xDDD

  45. Heart's Soul says:

    Well, the cars were good, so why improve on something good? I loved my Š–ŠøŠ³ŃƒŠ»Šø6 (Lada I-have-no-idea-what-model, it was the LAST ONE) and it was pretty faithful. Annoying and tiny (and note: I rode in one when I WAS 6 YEARS OLD AND I THOUGHT IT WAS TINY) but it ran fine and was really cheap. I’d take one of those than the modern cars any day.

    Er… you know what? Never mind, it wouldn’t move if I’m moving to another city especially if nearly 350 kg is in the car at the time.

    • demon says:

      you can fit everything you need to move to another city in one sedan? Then again americans have more belongings per person than any other culture i can think of.

  46. bitch. same car. screw off.

  47. D-Rex says:

    in Soviet Russia, car evolves you.

  48. evolution90 says:

    looks like someone doesn’t know anything about russian cars… i’m with Boris anyway…

  49. fernblatt says:

    Honestly, I wouldn’t mind having one. ‘cept they are illegal to import into the US because of all the crap that spews out the tailpipe. Give me a YUGO or better yet a *real* Fiat 128. When they break, all these can mostly be repaired with a pair of rusty pliers, a screwdriver and duct tape. A sledgehammer comes in very handy too. lmao

    (Yea, yea, Fix It Again Tony… lol)

  50. Bernard says:

    Evolution Favors The…Not USA
    it is exactly the same car
    would’t be proud of it
    US is fail anyway xD

  51. blank says:

    way to go, not evn using the original six series in the picture.

  52. David says:

    I wouldn’t want to own any of those cars, period. I don’t care how good they are, they’re all eyesores… both the new and the old…

  53. Dangerosu says:

    Hey, dont underestimate russian car, russian car good, strong, reliable, heavy, never spin out, always land on wheels, stick to road good cuz heavy, can use as tank or tractor, go tru wall like knife on butter.
    Used by superhero in LADA RIDER:

    U not laugh at the LADA now…


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