Discuss: Soviet, Eastern Bloc, ChiCom, Third World cars, trucks, rickshaws, motorcycles, whatever

Rons said:

Does my 1984 Hyundai Pony count. The Pony was rear wheel drive and shared a history with 1970s Mitsubishi Lancers.

Definitely.

I was king of the Ponies in SW Ontario. My Dad and I raced them in the 90's with a good deal of success. The fact that they were cheap, very plentiful (best selling import in Canada), cheap, somewhat forgettable, and, did I say cheap? It wasn't long before you could buy decent examples for well under $500. And we did! The most interesting one we had was a very early 84 with a 1.4 and 4 spd trans. If you didn't know them well you would probably never notice, but there were a lot of differences between it, and the more common 85-87 cars. It was probably a pre-export/KDM version.

In reply to Peabody :

Mine was an 84 Malacca Red with a 1.4 and 5 speed bought used. I was a dealing with a broker in the early 90s and he was a Ford salesman when the Pony was introduced he said “we were selling $8000 Escorts and they came along with $4000 Ponys. Coming out of the early 80s recession the Pony was an affordable new car.

I'd snag a GAZ Volga -21 and drop an AMC motor in it for lulz.

Makes me think of a -54 Kaizer, that front grill is wonderful.

I've been watching some of the interesting things that get built in China, and I don't mean cars or even their unique vehicles built with whatever is available (think making an electric mini pickup using lead acids powered by DC motors from converyor belts. Totally real) but there were things using single-piston diesel engines made to run used cooking oil, powering single wheels. They'd steer by like a tiller lever and their purpose was to either be connected to a trailer or something else homemade. Super interesting cottage industry.

ZIS or ZIL or whoever it was bought old late 30s body dies from Packard and continued building the cars for state officials long after Packard was done with them.

I'd like to get my hands on one someday.

Rons said:

Does my 1984 Hyundai Pony count. The Pony was rear wheel drive and shared a history with 1970s Mitsubishi Lancers. That was the first car I owned with a 5 speed and hatchback. They were cheap and pretty much non existent today.

Knowing nothing about Hyundai prior to their entry to the US market, I found this to be a pretty fascinating piece:

I would love to see a Tatra someday. The early cars (77-603) are very cool, but the later ones are such a charming mix of modern, unusual, and outdated that I find really enjoyable. Plus the rear-mounted, air-cooled V8s sound great.

GIRTHQUAKE said:

I'd snag a GAZ Volga -21 and drop an AMC motor in it for lulz.

Makes me think of a -54 Kaizer, that front grill is wonderful.

I always thought the Volga 24 was a well-proportioned, handsome little car. 

Ever since I played SnowRunner I have wanted a UAZ-469