It is generally accepted that the auto industry in the USSR was not very good.. “So-so”. Maybe it was so, but at that time (in the early 80s) we drove a Zaporozhets (and it was the most economical option at that time) and considered ourselves very lucky, because many of our friends did not have a car at all. “Many” is actually “very many”. We were the only ones in the yard who had a car. And there were about 20 families living in the house. So everything is relative.
In total, there were 4 mass-produced passenger cars: Zaporozhets, Moskvich, Zhiguli (Lada) and Volga.
Well, let’s start with Zaporozhets. A road worker. The most inexpensive car in the mass segment.
You can still see them on the roads sometimes. But very rarely. So I’ll use a photo from my archive:
As far as I remember, they were from 27 hp to 50 hp. I don’t know the “humpbacked” model – I saw it on the Internet: from 23 to 30 hp.
The next model is Moskvich. Here are some of the first Soviet models.
In 2005, the Moskvich plant began full-cycle assembly of Renault cars. And everyone had already said goodbye to such a car as Moskvich. Just recently (in 2022) the plant began producing Moskvichs again. Of course, not like in the USSR, but new and modern. How reliable and comfortable they are is not yet clear – there are almost no reviews on them. But the new Moskvichs look quite respectable. We hope that the legendary brand will only prosper from now on.
In 1970, the USSR began producing Zhiguli (LADA in the export version). These cars would later become the most popular family in the history of the USSR and Russia. Zhiguli can still often be seen on the roads to this day.
Zhiguli (Unsplash license)
The most powerful and prestigious car for the mass user is the Volga. It was produced at the Gorky Automobile Plant starting in the 1930s.
As children, one of our favorite pastimes was autocross. As spectators, of course. One of the stages of the national championship was held in our city. Buggies, trucks, and cars drove along the hills. The most spectacular performance was at the end of the competition – Volga races. There, the cars are more powerful and the speeds are higher.
Sources:
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A0%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BE_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B8%D1%8F
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%96%D0%B8%D0%B3%D1%83%D0%BB%D0%B8_(%D0%B0%D0%B2%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8C)
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%93%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%B0%D0%B2%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B1% D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B4#%D0 %9C%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D1%80%D1%8F%D0%B4