The official statement was "The Lada 2107 has become outdated in technology and due to a drop in demand is no longer profitable", and that, I suspect, was an understatement. The Lada 2107's techy bits got outdated in the late 80's, but still they managed to produce them for another 20 years. They had to get something right with it, then.
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| from 9gag.com |
That's the case with the Lada Riva; a proletarian piece of cheap transport, poo if you will, polished and polished until it eventually shone. A testament to simplicity and moderacy, something European carmakers could familiarize themselves with a little more.
If, or when it broke down, even a regular person could mend it. It wasn't difficult and it wasn't exciting but it was honest, and that was, and still is the beauty of it. It's nothing special but it doesn't act like anything else either. It simply is just it, bad. But in a good way, if you know what I mean? A nice counterbalance to the ever-accelerating western mentality.
Lada did something with that model that only few carmakers have managed to do. They created something permanent, something that could one day join the Model-T and the Fiat 500 etc. as a milestone in automotive history. The model maybe ceased production, but the legends, stories and jokes will live on for a long time to come.
I'm sure as hell going to miss that boxy communistwagon, and come to think of it maybe I'll even get one just for the sake of it. At least they're cheap.
Now, let's take a minute to remember the 2107 by these jokes collected in it's memory:
What's the difference between a Jehovah's witness and a Lada?
-You can shut the door on a Jehovah's witness.
Someone wrote in the newspaper: "To the person who stole my Lada in -15 degrees frost. Keep the Lada but please tell me how the hell you got it running?!"
How do you double the value of a Lada? -Fill the petrol tank.
How do you make a Lada disappear? -You apply rust-remover to it.
What occupies the last 16 pages of the Lada owner's manual? -The bus- and train timetables.
What do you call a Lada at the top of a hill? -A bloody miracle!
What do you call several Ladas at the top of a hill? -A scrapheap.
What are shock-absorbers called in a Lada? Passengers.
Why does a Lada need a rear wash-wipe? To remove the flies that crash into it.
-HS
Getting misty-eyed over the 2107?
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But what will people in Cuba drive aside from their '57 Studebakers? Oh well, at least they still build the Niva. It'll probably be in production for another 30 years.
ReplyDeleteDidn't know Ladas were popular in Cuba. Every day you learn, it seems! But yeah, I can't see a reason why the Niva should be discontinued! In my mind, it'd be a shame if it went out of production because it truly is a good 4x4. Totally underrated!
DeleteI was driven around in one lately and the Niva continued its Lada-heritage of being honest, but it had not to be honest about its shittyness because it actually was pretty decent. Basic, but still decent, and for the money I think it's a sincerely good car.
It's just a bit confusing because the Niva is a Chevrolet underneath nowadays, so is it a good Chevrolet or a good Lada? They rebuilt it as a collaboration with GM in 2002, and in the U.S. it thusly goes under the name Chevrolet Niva, and that's not traditionally Lada-simple..