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Volga (USSR)

Large and high, simple (four-cylinder in-line engine, manual column gear shift, solid axle, leaf springs), modest (very low compression, the engine swallows almost every combustible liquid) but a bit too expensive for "...the next level of evolution of humanity thanks to the success of Marxist social experiment...", the Homo Sovieticus (wikipedia). Volgas were typical cars for officials and their tough construction made them popular in taxi trades.

The blue M21 and its white successor M24, both have just a couple of miles on the odometer. Every single car in the museum is either unused or completely rebuild with NOS parts, down to the smallest screw. The long-legged M21 has a certain potential. I like its translucent blue bubble speedo with Sputnik-touch (pic 4).

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Very nice styling. Thanks for posting.

Guscha.
Your pictures are bringing back memories - Volga, and Pobeda, were much used in Norway as taxis in the late 1950s and 1960s as eastern bloc cars were exempted from purchase permits (which was necessary until 1960) and low purchase taxes.
Tom

What car was the Volga, pobeda, Lada etc copied from???? Fiat maybe??? Simca maybe????

Let me put it another way:
Have the Russians ever came up with a car of their OWN design???

Dave (clipper47), I don't believe that a Volga ever made it to Canada. But from 1978 to 1998 Lada had a foodhold in your wonderful country. Well, by the help of the government...


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Tom (Rocky46), could you please expand on this?

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Ford Mainline et al. -> Volga M21
Opel Kapit?n et al. -> Pobeda
Fiat 124 -> Lada 1200

The co-operation agreement between FIAT and USSR determined the delivery of Western technology in exchange for Soviet steel. Two serious consequences are based upon:

1) the good reputation of LADA
2) the bad reputation of FIAT (rust)

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No Keith, not to my knowledge. And pretty much every Soviet advancement was tantamount to a loss of competitiveness.

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Guscha, The Lada did sell in Canada though not in any great numbers. They seemed to be well assembled however the dealer network and sale promotion was very weak so they never became popular. The little cute ute Niva 4x4 occasionally come up for sale and I wouldn't mind owning one.

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After the WW2 there were restrictions for all imported goods to Norway, due to lack of currency. All resources were to be used in rebuilding the country. Not luxury articles like private cars! Wanting a car not absolutly needed for your work was prohibited and would be unheard of! You had to apply to prove that you were "worthy". All cars imported were heavily taxed, and all car owners had to pay a luxury tax every year.
In the late 1950's the Norwegian government made a deal with USSR: We buy cars from you in excange for fish (herring).
To speed up sales in Norway, you could buy these cars without applying for a permit. In addition the "normal" purchase taxes were reduced.
In 1960 the car sales became "free" and the "eastern bloc"-car sales dropped. We still have one of the world's heaviest car purchase taxes.
One example May 2015 Ford Mustang 5 litre engine:
USD 158.000!

Tom

Tom, I'll bet that not many 2015 5.0 Mustangs get sold! I complained about paying the one time only 13% tax on my $500 winter beater Mazda 323. I will have to revise my thinking.