Rare Rides: A UAZ From 1991 Brings the Iron Curtain to the Midwest

Earlier this week, we brought you a Rare Ride straight from the Eastern Block. The Skoda 120 was Czechoslovakia’s answer to the middle-market family sedan. Today we keep it Communist and look at Russia’s answer to the decadent and capitalistic Jeep Wrangler and Land Rover Defender, the UAZ-469.

This four-by-four can really do some work.

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  • Lorenzo I'd actually buy another Ford, if they'd bring back the butternut-squash color. Well, they actually called it sea foam green, but some cars had more green than others, and my 1968 Mercury Montego MX was one of the more-yellow, less-green models. The police always wrote 'yellow' on the ticket.
  • ToolGuy Some of my first cars were die-cast from pot-metal in 2 pieces: body-in-white plus chassis. I spray-painted some of them, the masking was a pain. The tires did burn realistically.
  • Vulpine Tesla has NOT said they're scrapping the Gigacasting process, but they have also said they wouldn't cast a one-piece body. The concept is to have a total of 5 main pieces: Nose clip, tail clip, 2 sides and belly. They're already using the first two and the sides are not necessarily going to be castings. The belly casting, however, is being delayed as the battery technologies are changing far too quickly to lock into any one fixed design as the battery packs themselves are currently consisting of at least three different types based on the cells being used within them. It's a matter of convenience for the company to let the technologies stabilize somewhat before locking in on a specific design.
  • MaintenanceCosts I've never prioritized color when looking for a car, but there are usually some colors (particularly bright reds and refrigerator whites) that I just won't accept.That said, one of my cars gets parked outside in a city environment, and it's silver, and that's good because silver does not complain too much when oxidized to he!l. The brown BMW is neat because there aren't many brown BMWs, and the green Legend is historically correct because the mid-'90s meant green.
  • ToolGuy • Black vehicles and dark interiors burn more petrol and are bad for the planet (look it up, I'm not gonna hold your hand on this one lol).• If your current vehicle was new when you took delivery, and you didn't get EXACTLY the color you wanted (blithely accepted what was foisted on you by the dealer), shame on you. You are the problem with today's franchise system. In future, please notify the dealer that your policy is to collect a Non-First-Choice Paint Upcharge in such a circumstance. I recommend $1200.• Also, fine-thread drywall screws (in wood) waste electricity (and time). When I am President of the Universe, fine-thread drywall screws will be banned in favor of the more environmentally- and wallet-friendly coarse-thread variety. (Again, you can work out the reasons but I am absolutely correct.)