are there any budget manufacturers left? or has their market virtually dissapeared in the years following the fall of communism? was this because people in russia/eastern europe prefered second hand VWs or renaults to new cars of eastern make?
Korean - Kia, etc.
In message , beerismygas writes
I think the last one went into receivership last week :)
I don't think Lada went out of business - they simply stopped importing them because they didn't comply with emissions regulations and it would have been too expensive to make them comply. In my poorer days I had two Ladas over a period of nine years - hardly the height of technology but they went and they served me well. Damned sight more reliable than the Vx Omega I had a couple of cars ago!
Kev
Skoda is now VW. Lada (and FSO) are still around. Theye pulled out of the UK, but I know people abroad who just bought a new LPG Lada Niva as a cheap runaround.
Even Zastava (Yugo) has risen from the ashes of the Baltic war!
Quite. GM now has a stake in Lada Niva. In fact I fail to remember that any car maker has just imploded; a troubled car maker is usually absorbed or collaborating with some other manufacturer.
According to
THE FUTURE!
Lada production continues in Russia at a rate of 1 car per 21 seconds supplying the home market and Europe. New models in the pipeline with AvtoVaz looking for support from Western giants like General Motors and Fiat, the future doesn't look too bleak. The cars and their drivers will be around for many years to come.
I had one a few years ago, I part exed it when the value of the repairs needed for the MOT exceeded the value of the car. However it was reasonably reliable, economic once I'd fitted the Weber carb and damn comfortable. And I could give a BMW a run for his money on a twisty lane.
No! Try looking in the freeads or ebay for cars made by proton or Perodua. The downside to these cars is usually the handling and badges - the upside is the reliability as they are based on older Daihatsu and Mitsubishi models.
No-one said they were status transport but if relability and economy is what you are after, you could do a lot worse....
Adam H
Holy crap! The "Yugo Koral" seems to be the same first car I had, "new" 20 years ago, 15 years out of date then, but with a spoiler on the front.
Remarkable.
They even seem to be selling the predecessor to the 41 (the old 5 or 311!)
Pete.
Except Rover of course...
Chris Bolus ( snipped-for-privacy@FARINAb0lus.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :
Mmmm. Who was the last one to actively disappear?
I can't think of one, either. Not a "biggie".
I'm sure we've not seen the last of the MG badge (again), and I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Rover badge reappears somewhere down the line, either.
That's business, it's cheaper to let a manufacturer go down the pan and then buy there name cheap than absorb them into your own company, problems and all.
Andy
Nik&Andy ( snipped-for-privacy@adenleyremovethis.f.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :
Anybody?
In Rover's case, no doubt, because of all the baggage. But why, then, did BMW not do that? Why did Mercedes not do that with Chrysler? Or so many other "rescue" mergers and acquisitions?
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