Re: I wonder if I might be one of the youngest current Packard owners,

Posted by Orange-Lark On 2024/7/4 16:23:12

Well, this would be a long answer, but I kind of know how it happened, logic wise.

The last few ZILs made in that documentary, were not sold to the Russian government for "Victory Parade" as planned, but eventually a mysterious buyer bought one of them. Who is that buyer? Turned out to be Yanukovych! I guess it makes sense, considering his usual preferences.

Here's the former Ukrainian president's car collection

When the USSR existed, it was just impossible to buy them. Letting one of such cars slipping away could carry the crime like treason, anti-revolutionary and depending on the position of the person, lower rank people could face really really really long prison terms, if not executed by firing squad. (some people were denounced when politics got crazy, for suggesting one red flag instead of five on Hongqi CA770's fender. I forgot if he got to live nor not) Senior people might be expelled from the party, such.

But of course, after 1991 everything changed. Everything was for sale, it was a market economy after all! All state-owned entities, nuclear weapons, jet fighters, medals, people (this was bad), classified documents, technologies, even aircraft carriers, as long as knowing the right person for a good price, everything could be bought! It wouldn't be as easy as picking a candy for ZIL of course, but if anyone really wanted the car or the other end really wanted US dollars, it would be very reasonable to figure things out!

And once such cars got out of Russia, it is up to the destination country to figure out if it can be driven on the road or not. Of course, with such degree of privilege involved, it isn't all that hard to figure out neither. (far less prestigious cars with certain owners could even get legally registered, it would be strange if it couldn't be done for ZIL! )

It is hard to say if that ZIL was a diplomatic car. It could be, as Russian government bought a 1999 Cadillac Fleetwood (that car is somewhere in Ohio now, with quite a bit of rust around the back window) later to replace the ZIL, maybe whoever just wanted to make few bucks. Or maybe Politburo class cars ended up in certain people's hands. It is a pile of money on wheels anyway! Very tempting in that situation, very very tempting. )