It's Curtains For The Lada 2107 – Sing The Internationale One Last Time

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

Lada will end production of their Soviet-era 2017 sedan, since citizens no longer have to line up to buy a car and can purchase one of the free market. Sales of the 2017 were down 76 percent in Q1 2012, and Lada, which now makes vehicles that aren’t warmed over Fiat clones from the 1960’s, decided to axe the venerable sedan.

Based on the old Fiat 124, the Lada Riva, as it was known outside Russia, was a “pure automobile”, with just the bare essentials for getting one down the road. A radio and a fan were optional, for example. While the Russians could get to the moon, the Lada’s loved to corrode and break down (despite the fact they they were mechanically simple, quality control was hardly a strong point). The Granta will fill the gap left by the 2107’s demise/

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • Mikey Mikey on Apr 17, 2012

    We had them In Canada for a few years,and they were a total piece of garbage. Google "Jamaica Bauxite for Ladas" The Jamaica government sold the pos to the folks, and give them up to 15 years to pay off the loan. They called it the Love And Debt Asociation. To Quote a cabbie "Dis ting is a piece a s--t mon"

    • CJinSD CJinSD on Apr 18, 2012

      I was in Jamaica for a few weeks in 1996. I spent about a year and a a half in the Caribbean all together. There seemed to be at least four Lada parts cars littering Jamaica for every one still clattering around. Running Ladas seemed to be about as common in Jamaica as running American cars of the late '60s were, but non-running Ladas were everywhere. Toyota seemed to have captured the new car market at some point, although I was staying in Montego Bay and didn't venture into Kingston. A 15 year loan on a Lada would be like a monthly reminder that you're a fool.

  • Skotastic Skotastic on Apr 17, 2012

    I'd love to know how many here have actually owned a Lada, driven one, or actually seen one in real life. They sold them here in Canada for some two decades (hardly "a few years") and finally pulled out in 1997. They were rust buckets compared to...what exactly? I'd love to see how many 70s, 80s or 90s Corollas and Civics would survive a decade or two of Russian winters. Yes Ladas rusted, but so did everything else in the north, and many 'good' cars alot worse. They were not the most reliable in the world, but they were reliable, and when issues arose, they were (and are) fairly cheap and easy to fix.

  • Garak Garak on Apr 17, 2012

    Those Ladas were everywhere in Finland when I was young, but when the sales stopped in 1997, they disappeared quite quickly from the streets. And yes, they rusted extremely fast, even compared to Japanese cars - you still see 1980s Nissans and Toyotas every day. Currently I own a 2000 Lada 110. It's lightyears ahead of the RWD models in every way and can actually be driven for hours without giving the driver a leg cramp, but is still a complete joke compared to western or asian cars of similar age. And yes, it's one of the rustiest cars you'll ever see on the road.

  • Mullholland Mullholland on Apr 18, 2012

    Kudos Derek! What a bracingly un-PC report! And lots of nit-picky minutiae in the comments section. Well done all around! Heater? No heater? Wow! I want my 2 minutes back.

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