The End of an Era
As of last Friday, the Zastava automotive plant in Serbia closed its doors and ceased production; the Zastava plant was best-known for producing the Yugo, which went out of production earlier this month.
The Yugo is best-known as one of the great automotive punch lines of all time, the subject of innumerable jokes, and one of the last truly awful cars available in America. Perhaps others are better-informed than me, but I was shocked to discover it was still in production.
Some will cackle at this news, but I'm a bit saddened. Whether you consider the Yugo an object of lust or disgust, all can agree that it was a unique little car that spiced up our lives with its very presence. I think it was a sharp-looking little car, and a throwback to simple, blunt-object cars like the Citroen 2CV and Volkswagen Bug.
And, if nothing else, the Yugo was useful for purposes of context--it made everything else look just a little bit better.
--Chris H.
Yugo
Bill T. on November 25, 2008 at 09:39 AM
Yugo did one thing - it offered basic transportation for a low price. If you want a good laugh, see the movie, "Drowning Mona." There were a few Yugos featured in it.
David Colborne on November 25, 2008 at 10:16 AM
I'm saddened, but not particularly surprised. The Zastava factory was at the tailing edge of automotive productivity in its heyday - after a civil war, NATO bombing, and countless other disasters befalling it, it's nothing short of miraculous that it made it this long. That said, when you're only cranking out 11,000 low margin cars a year, you have to expect that somebody is going to turn the lights off.
Bricklin was thinking of importing ZMWs (Zastava Motor Works - oy) a few years back...
http://www.forbes.com/2002/04/23/0423yugo.html
In a way, it's almost a pity that didn't pan out - by the looks of some of those cars, they could've given Detroit's interiors and paint a run for their money.
Cookie the Dog's Owner on November 25, 2008 at 11:14 AM
Don't you mean "The End of an ERROR"?
Jim Bob on November 25, 2008 at 12:09 PM
As bad as the Yugo was, it's passing marks the end of another cheap car for the masses in less developed countries. IT was not a particularly good car by modern standards (or the standards of 20 years ago), but it is in line with the likes of the Citroen 2CV, VW Beetle, Ford Model T, BMC Mini, Austin Seven, Zaporozhetz 965 or Sachsenring Trabant P601. None of those cars are particularly good in terms of longevity either, but they all were used to put their nation of origin on wheels cheaply.