After A Whole Lada Production, A Russian Classic Retires
Surf over to www.lada.ru, and click on “Автомобили” (automobiles), and you’ll find four model lines: Priora, Kalina, Samara and the classic, Putin-favored 4×4. Not pictured in the lineup, but still present in a sidebar on the site, is a link for one more model: the 2107. The first 2107 (then called the 2101), was built in April, 1970, developed off the internals of the Fiat 124, which itself was already four years old. And ever since 1970, the 2101 “Classic” has been rolling off an assembly line in Tolyatti, providing over 16.8 million sets of cheap wheels (MSRP: about $7,500)… and the model accounts for two-thirds of all Ladas ever built. But, reports Automotive News Europe [sub]’s Luca Ciferri:
The Classic was scheduled to die at the end of 2009 when sales began fading, but the Russian government scrappage program introduced in March 2010 gave it a new lease of life. Helped by the incentive, Classic sales last year doubled to 136,006, making it Russia best-selling car by far. In the first half of this year, sales grew 35 percent to 69,500.
But the scrapping program ended in May, heralding the end for the Classic.
The Lada Classic will be replaced by the Lada Granta, which was launched inauspiciously, when, in a scene straight from “Borat,” the car refused to start for President Vladimir Putin. But perhaps, if the Granta is built for another 40 years, car writers will be looking back fondly at it someday.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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Lada inherited Fiat's rust - one snow belt winter here and instant rust bucket. Polski-Fiat 125 P was more savvy...
Just a small point, Vladimir Putin isn't the President of Russia. The President of Russia is Dmitry Medvedev. Putin is Prime Minister.
Now that America has descended to developing nation/banana republic/ woody allan comedy status I think they should shift production over here. $7500.00 - why not?
This reminds me of back in 93 when Volvo finally phased out the 240DL. The final ones had a classic emblem on the back and came with really nice mesh alloy wheels. Back in the late 60's I had a neighbor with the Fiat 124 version. Needless to say they only had it for a few years, the tinworm got to it.