Billy Wilder pretty much had Communist nation car building quality pinned down back in 1961 in "One, Two, Three", when he had Leon Askin chasing down James Cagney through East Berlin in the Trabant that failed to make it to the Brandenburg Gate. Maybe Hollywood should try a remake using an East Asia setting.

What did they do, buy the tooling and plans for the Yugo from Serbia and put them on pickup truck frames?

Europeans already think the SUV is dangerous; the Chinese are just using that as a selling point: "Dangerous? Not only will it destroy the ozone layer, it'll crush you like an eggshell! Sign here?"

I have never seen a Trabant, but I recall helping someone who was stuck in a Yugo once and being most pleased to see the atrociously poor fit and finish. Anyone who would run and buy a Commie car needed that kind of lesson.

During my normal stop at one of my gun shops this past Tuesday, I handled a Chinese copy of a Browning semi-auto .22 rifle. The trigger guard had file marks--not toolmarks, hand file marks--which were plainly visible to my poor old eyes without the illuminated magnifier I carry for checking out such things. They are going to need a couple a great leaps forward before they are competitive on things like cars and guns.

Sounds like the MicroSoft Windows of cars. You know the old joke: if cars were like computers, cars would cost $2000 but would explode every few days killing everyone inside.

But is it available as a hybrid?

Finally, a car that makes you want to ride a train to work.

In the late '80, there was a Yugo dealer in Cupertino (Silicon Valley) on Stevens Creek Blvd., near where I lived, just down the road from Apple's HQ. It was part of a whole chain of Euro imports being run under a common dealer name, but I can't remember the guy's name. What I do remember is that it seemed that for months there was always a picket line on Saturdays of Yuogslav ex-patriots who were there protesting the politics of the import. Never did find out if they were Croat or Serbian or some other group, or if they put aside their differences for the common enemy, or took turns.

I recall that when Honda made it first tentative steps into car building, one of its first efforts killed somebody. So they went back to the drawing board. Eventually, they got it right. Sometimes growing pains really hurt.

oj, you often comment about how manufacturing is such an "industrial" thing to do and oh-so-beneath such advanced states as ourselves. Could this be part of your reason why?

Ed Bush:

Not to undercut your point, since I agree completely, but if the JiangLing Landwind had been designed and tested in America, and simply assembled to spec by the Chinese, it'd get at least an average safety rating.

Posted by: Michael Herdegen at October 14, 2005 6:25 PM

Microsoft Releases Windows Automotive 5.0

A guy driving a Yugo rear ended by Chevy Beretta that was stopped at a stoplight; he was going about 20 mph. My rear bumper was pressed inwards about 3cm. The Yugo was destroyed: the engine block was cracked, gushing oil, etc.

Wow! Chevy Berettas were tougher than I remember :)