Russian Fiat 600...??

[ILay]

Hi Glocky:

works quite fine.
My father has a gas-driven 'Niva'.

No problems with it.

And it has quite good off-road abilities. Just block differential gear, go to the depressed transmittion - and pass all the so-called 'off-road' cars like Jeep Cherokee, Toyota 4runner etc. standing.

There are few cars which outperform 'Niva' in dirt or snow.

Btw, it was called 'Lada Taiga' in some European countries.

[_Jaroslav_]

I watched "Trail-blazers" on the discovery channel..where they were in the "far-east" of Russia..they had two 4X4's one a UAZ..the other a Nissian Pathfinder..most people would think the Nissian would be more reliable..?no way..the Nissian kept getting stuck in the mud..and had a couple of break-downs..The UAZ kept going..no problems..the ride in the UAZ might have been more rough..but at least it gets you around..The "export" version of the Samara that was shipped to Finland..are being sold second hand to Russians who take them back to Russia...why..?the "export" version is much more nicer than the domestic version sold in Russia....it has more "luxuries"..?would "heat" be one of them..(just kidding...)I saw quite a few UAZ's in Estonia..used by the police mainly..

[Dr_Woland]

Hi Glocky

Unleaded fuel is practically unavailable here. AFAIK the Niva would run on it without conversion if I could find any. I usually fill-up with "92".

2 ILay & all

Have you seen the new pics of the prototype CHEVY-NIVA? No, this isn't a joke! Chevrolet are teaming up with VAZ to produce a high-quality 4x4 for a great price, with sales in both Russia and overseas. The car would be built at Togliatti (near to Samara). The expected sale price is $8000, and production is likely to start in Sept 2002. Chevy have been "delighted" with the work coming out of Togliatti on the prototype so far, "Moscow Times" reported. The new car will have a specially-built engine-block built by Daewoo.

By the way, there were also some pictures of the new "Misha", which is supposed to be a very cheap "everyman's" car, made in plastic pre-fabricated parts which clip together. The Head of the GIBBD (Russia's Traffic Police) commented that "what we have seen of this car so far is not likely to meet safety guidelines". However, they are planning to make soooo much money that they will be able to GIVE the $2000-priced car (?!?!) to certain deserving groups who could not afford one anyhow. Watch this space...

Dr W.

[ILay]

Hello Dr.W.!

Do you mean this one:









Well, personally I do like it.

[ILay]

You remember the old joke?

Russians created a new super-off-road vehicle and invited the Germans, Americans and Japanese to demonstrate it.

After the demonstration, during which the car has shown superior abilities and all the excitement of the foreign guests a German stands up:

- Its brilliant, its perfect. I never saw anything which could be near as perfect as an off-road cars. All hammers, land rovers and mercedeces are nothing compared to this one. I wonder what else Russians could invent in order not to build the normal roads??


sorry for so many pictures. If they disturb you or slow down your browser speed -- let me know, i'll delete them.

[Dr_Woland]

ILay!!

Excellent set of pics!! Yes, the first ones were what I saw in the newspapers and in "Klakson". I didn't see the second set before, great to see the NIVA in this set-up!

BTW, in addition to owning a Niva personally, we're (my Company, I mean) about to buy an UAZik in Tuva, for operating off-road adventure trips into the Tuvan Steppe. Any recommendations or notes or warnings? We need an UAZ or Russian-made car, because in Kyzyl you cannot get parts for any imported cars easily, you have to order them and wait, and wait....

Dr W.

[glock_girl]

Docky!
The doc is in glad to have you back too ha ha
Funny you say that about unleaded fuel...the northwest Ural motorcycle dealer in the USA told us they change the fuel system when they come into north america because the bikes are made to run on LEADED fuel. Hmmmm....you know, they try to charge approximately $10 - $13K US for them They said it's because they strip it down and customize it with a new paint job, change the fuel system, etc. Sound like a load of crap then. Well, I don't know.

Ilay!
Hmmmm, that's cool. My cousin races cars and I was talking to him about getting into racing some off-road rally style.
It would be **sweet** to customize one of those Kossacks
Huh, I wonder if Stoli would sponsor me after all these years it's about time they gave me something back! ha ha