Skoda Yeti Adverts Mix Cars, Mixed Drinks

Out friends at Animal New York summarize these ads for the Skoda Yeti as "Yeah, let's get drunk and go run over some polar bears and penguins!" True, but it's a Czech company. Do you think it's so awful? More »

"Experience The Fantastic Feeling of Driving a Race Car!"

In Eastern Europe? Looking for the baddest homemade car to rule the streets? Look no further than this F1-inspired, Škoda-based monoposto which surely can't be beat. More »

Project Car Hell, Nightmare On A Budget Edition: Iked Lotus Elite or Haunted Skoda 1101?

Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! Want an oddball European project, but you're living in a hobo jungle? Problem solved! More »

Skoda Fabia Scout Concept: Party Like It's 1999!

The Skoda Fabia Scout Concept will debut at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show in March, with a form factor Subaru and Volvo popularized in the late 90's — the rugged wagon. More »

German Man Fires His Skoda Octavia Into Church Roof

A German man was likely filled with the spirit, or at least spirits, when he lost control of his Skoda Octavia at high speeds, launching his car onto the roof of a church. More »

Nice Price Or Crack Pipe: The $5000 Skoda Octavia Wagon?

What's a reasonable price for a cool old car? Our readers are cold-eyed realists, or maybe you're all just plain cheapskates, and the last Nice Price vehicle was the 1979 Dodge Shag Van.

2009 Skoda Octavia Revealed Before Paris

This is what passes for a small, budget sedan in Europe. The 2009 Skoda Octavia can be fitted with an optional 1.4 TSI or 1.8-liter turbo, both of which can be equipped with the same 7-speed DSG transmission as the 2009 Audi S3. There should also be a range of punchy, economical diesels. The Octavia looks like it’s based on a lengthened VW Jetta platform, sharing many of its interior features with the 2008 and prior Jetta and Golf. That’s a good thing, especially in a car that will be bigger, more practical and cheaper. We’ll have full details tomorrow or Friday as our Paris Motor Show coverage continues. More »

Welcome To Africa, Where Peugeots Never Die!

This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot. Remember that '73 Porsche 911 Carrera RS in England that Battles shot for us a while back? No longer content with the cars parked down on the West Oxfordshire street, he's gone to North Africa- Tunisia, to be exact- and found some great survivor Peugeots (and one each bonus Renault and Skoda) for our enjoyment. Make the jump for the rest of the Down On The Tunis Street series of photos and Battles' descriptions. More »

2009 Skoda Superb Supremely Safe, Achieves Five Stars In Euro-NCAP Tests

When we first saw the 2009 Skoda Superb we got weak in the knees. We asked the doctor to Czech us out and his Prague-nosis was that this Passat platform mate, with its twindoor system, was just too sexy. We know, it's a liftback sedan like all the others. But is it? Euro-NCAP, sort of the IIHS of Europe, tested the Superb and gave it five stars or 35 points for the protection of adults and 40 points for the protection of children. The big difference? Knee airbags. Brilliant. Press release below the jump. More »

Skoda Superb Estate In The Works? Is Someone Reading Our Diary?

If you know us, you know we love the 2009 Skoda Superb. For serious. It's the best looking thing they build on the the Passat platform. And now our friends at World Car Fans have some spy photos of what looks to be a Superb Estate and a rendering of what they expect it to look like. We're all in support of taking our favorite Czech VW and giving it an extra pillar but... what about the Twindoor? Whatever, give us a Superb Estate and we'll fill it with good Czech beer, leggy Charles University philo students and Vaclav Havel. Just because. More »

Skoda Superb GreenLine's Only Emission Is The Sex And CO2

For those who haven't noticed, we're a little dragon for the 2009 Skoda Superb (i.e. the Czech Passat) and it's clever TwinDoor system. And a version that gets better mileage and is better for the environment, why not? This version of the Superb gets a 1.9-Liter inline-four turbodiesel good for about 105 horsepower and the US equivalent of 46.1MPG. More »

It's A Hatch, It's A Trunk, It's The Skoda Twindoor System

The 2009 Skoda Superb was already our favorite version of the VW Passat when the company released images of it earlier this year. Since then we've been waiting for pictures of the new Twindoor system, which promised the styling of a sedan with the usability of a hatchback. We were dubious until we saw the pictures. The Twindoor tailgate splits below the window, allowing normal trunk action or full-on hatchback accessibility. More »

The Finest Skoda Limo Czechoslovak Korunas Can Buy

Forget Mutec and their Rolls-Royce Phantom, this Czech build Skoda 110 limousine may be the finest piece of old (oooold) world craftsmanship ever conceived. Completely decked out with all the modern amenities, including spray paint tinted windows, luxury bucket seats, ceiling mounted tube television, indoor/outdoor carpeting, a convenient smoking bar, a sunroof and all the cross bracing you'll ever need. More »

2009 Skoda Superb To Be Outfitted With VW Media System

It only took Skoda, the Czech VW subsidiary, decades to emerge from the automotive Dark Ages and finally throw a tech bone or two into its sedans and the like. The latest news coming out of the land where they invented pilsner is that the Skoda Superb, which is primed and ready for an unveiling at the Geneva Auto Show, will also be outfitted with VW's hard-drive based navigation system, the RNS 510. More »

The Skoda Superb Is More Than Adequate

The folks at Skoda, the Czech VW subsidiary, have always had a stellar time reworking and elongating the Passat platform to make an upper-mid-level platform for that Czech executive on the go. Now we've got photos of the next generation Skoda Superb and, hey, it's better than ordinary. In fact, propelled by VW's 1.8 TSI it's downright pretty good. It'll officially bow at the Geneva Auto Show, an event we hear is good even relative to things otherwise considered good. Press release below the jump. More »

Match Made in Heaven: Skoda Delivery Fun

You didn't think we could actually make it through any trip without bringing you local Camino action did you? Here's a bitchin' Skoda Felicia Fun doing its duty as a pizza delivery truck/car in Schesslitz. Way more dignified than the last Fun we brought you. Could there be a better match? Pizza delivery, Camino-ness, fuel economy, plenty of room for cases of bier in the back... it's perfect! There's something so right about that missing hubcap too. Ristorante bei Peppo Skoda-camino driver, today's real Bavarian hero. More »

Skoda Unveils 2009 Superb

Wow, we continue to be boggled by Skoda's meteoric move up market. The company released these teaser shots today of the 2009 Superb sedan. No details, except that it'll feature a "generously sized interior" and "a number of smart solutions." The rest will be unveiled at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show in March. Is it just us, or is their a hint of Renault Vel Satis as you look along the Superb's flanks?

Engine Swap of the Day: Tatra and Audi V8s In Škoda Felicia

I've been making inquiries of our Czech friend BobAsh about the possibility of obtaining a Tatra V8 and transaxle from his homeland, thinking it might be fun to do a Tatra-engined VW Squareback as my personal Hell Project. He suggested I check out what some Czech madman did with a late-50s Škoda Felicia: first, a DOHC Tatra 613 V8 in the rear (and this was originally a front-engined car)... but that just wasn't insane enough. Now it's packing an Audi 4.2 with what appears to be eight Mikuni carbs. The article is in Czech, but you get the idea. [FeliciaCentrum.cz]

Down On The Czech Street: Skoda Spartak!

Once again, our Czech tipster BobAsh has come through with the Skoda goods for us, this time in the form of a bunch of shots of a Skoda 440 (also known as the Spartak) from the mid-to-late 50s. Since BobAsh was kind enough to write a lot of description, thus sparing my lazy ass from having to, you know, do work, we'll hear the rest in his own words: More »

Project Car Hell, Czech Edition: Tatra or Skoda?

We've received some great tips for Project Car Hell, but tipster Bobash takes it to a whole new level with these finds. After watching the excellent Czech-hoonage Tatra promotional film, Happy Journeys, he found both a Tatra 603 and a cop-style Skoda 1201. Not only that, he did the translation, provided all the historical background, and even saved our lazy asses a bunch of work by providing a bunch of writing in Jalopnik-approved PCH style. Thanks, Bobash- you're first in line for one of the groo-oovy PCH tipster prizes we keep promising to provide! So hop on the first flight to Prague, ye of eternal vehicular torment, and get ready to wake up as a giant cockroach with a wrench in each of your six hands, because we're entering Kafka territory with these cars. More »

When A Maa-aan Loves A Skodaaaaaa!

Normally, when some car geek puts together a website about his beloved project car, the photos don't really do justice to the cars. Hey, it's hard to take good car photos (which is why we should all appreciate Señor Bumbeck's mad camera skilz), so it's nice when we spot a project-car site put together by someone who does a good job photographing his pride and joy. In this case, it's a crazy Dutchman and his 1960 Škoda Felicia.[flnet.nl]

Skoda Releases First Fabia Wagon Teaser

The Czechs manning the chuck wagon over at Skoda have ladled up the first teaser image of the new Skoda Fabia Estate. The hatchback dropped earlier this year at Geneva, but we'll have to wait until we're cooling our heels on the banks of the Main to catch the wagon. Oh heartless burg of Frankfurt, you taunt us so. [World Car Fans]

Skoda Shamed by Dacia

Poor, poor Octavia driver. The sap got his knedlíky handed to him by some savvy schnook in a broke-dick Dacia on the streets of Bucharest. A freaming Dacia! Somewhere in Deutschland, Ferdinand Piëch is gnashing his wooden teeth.

Have Your Skoda And Eat It Too!

So apparently everyone in Europe has seen this ad, like, 20 bjillion times by now, and now it's our turn to jump on the Skoda Cake bandwagon. Those crazy Czechs (actually, their ad-agency minions) went and made a Skoda Fabia out of cake and candy, complete with cake interior and engine, not to mention Jell-O taillights. But that's not the best part... More »

Octavia Goes to China

A few of the most tedious men in the auto industry are dropping the science behind the launch of the Skoda Octavia in the world's second largest auto industry. According to the Shanghai Volkswagen heads, the Chinese Octavia is more advanced than the European model. Plus, it's apparently available with the "Turbochanger Superchanger Injection" motor. Which — as far as we can make out is a breakdancing transformable robot that leaps out of the engine bay and pulls you to safety when the going gets seemingly impassable. Skoda for life! Skoda for victory! – Davey G. Johnson More »

What Wood He Do for a Set of Wheels? Skoda Rims Au Natural

So what if they're not perfectly round, hickory tires are the new must-have accessory for those with a woodsy bent. You can find them in the organic section of Sears Auto Center, next to the free-range oil filters. [Thanks to John for the tip.] More »

It's Just Pure Luxury: The Skoda Superb!

Far be it from us to front on a young man thrilled enough with his folks' purchase of a Skoda Superb — the A6L-based econolux machine of nominal Czech extraction — that he would actually make a video about its 1.9L TDI brilliance and post it to YouTube. After all, it does share one salient feature in common with the Rolls-Royce Phantom dreamed up by VW competitor BMW: it's got self-draining door-mounted umbrella compartments. Take that, SEAT! – Davey G. Johnson More »

A Very Brisk Fabia: New Skoda Rally Car

Though we can read neither Dutch nor Czech, we can still ascertain this new Skoda Fabia rally car's vitals by a combination of online translator, parsing of universal symbols and scratching our heads over the letter ž. It's a new rally monster, a joint project between Czech spark-plug company Brisk and the UK's Prodrive, dubbed RS 01 WRC. The 2,200-pound Fabia employs VW/Audi's corporate 2.0 TFSI engine, only tweaked up to 500 hp at 7,800 rpm and 443 lb-ft of torque at 3,700 rpm. Zero to 62 mph comes up in 2.7 seconds, which should make it quite a hit on the gravel. No word on potential rally-team clients, but we wouldn't mind seeing one of these buggers in traffic. Did someone say 500-hp Rabbit? – Mike Spinelli More »

Hoon of the Day: Skoda Jump

No, we haven't given up on the Hoon of the Day thing, just being a bit more selective about which hoons make the cut (speaking of which, congrats to the Swedish Escort Service for winning our first-ever Hoon of the Month award). Here are some Czecho-hoons who definitely make the cut. They've got a winning recipe: one beater Skoda 1203 van, one strategically located hump in the road, add Becherovka and mix well. 25 bonus points for jumping an Iron Curtain-era Skoda, another 15 points because it's a van, and an axle-snapping 500 bonus points for busting the rear suspension on the landing, yet still scraping the rear body through a nice post-jump Rockford. Hoon-O-Meter reading: 580 points. – Murilee Martin More »

Skoda Arrives in China!

It took a car company birthed by fascism to bring a formerly state-controlled automaker to a nation rife with state-controlled automakers. Yes, we're talking about Volkswagen, Skoda and China. The Shanghai Auto Show served as Skoda's introduction to the PRC market. Comrades, this Superb in Tour de France support vehicle livery stands as an illustration of the pure joy of commerce ber alles; transcending fascism, democracy and communism — a bridge of openness between nations. Skoda, you truly are the living automotive embodiment of glasnost. Thank God for Lou Reed. Bless the Exploding Plastic Inevitable. – Davey G. Johnson More »

Making Things With Light: The VW Gala in Shanghai

In our day, we have witnessed some interminable press events, but this one literally wandered so slowly off with the cake that we're not sure that the cake was there in the first place or if the thieves may actually have left it behind. The shebang started off in a promising manner, oddly enough; the Pudong Expo building a stunning, gleaming cube featuring a lobby stuffed with art. We were then treated to a short fashion show. All well and good. Suddenly, the mind-numbing madness came. A television personality named Cathy hosted a panel featuring a group of execs who, barring Audi/FAW's Werner Eichhorn, literally dullarded us out of the room. As one attendee noted, VW China Kopfk se Winfried Vahland is one of those boring people who has no idea how boring he actually is. They were joined onstage by Mo Huilan, silver medalist in the '96 Olympics on the womens' vault. The banter was bilingual and pedantic. Out of desperation and disinterest we decided to fool around with long exposures on our camera. A galleria of streaky ennui is below for your enjoyment. Share our pain, won't you? – Davey G. Johnson More »

Drink Beer in Moldova! Drive a Fabia!

We're just not quite what to say. For some reason, this is funny because it's Eastern European. If the same spot ran here in English we sould be annoyed. But learning Moldo-Romanian words for things is fun! Gianta Frigider! You can win one of those, too! Put in the back of your Fabia! – Davey G. Johnson More »

Skrew The Sales: Skoda Posts Record Profits For 2006, Too!

V-Dub's highly precise Czech automaker released 2006 financial numbers today that broke the record books for the Republic's largest vehicle exporter. We already told you that sales rose 11.7% to 549,667 vehicles, with production up 12% to 556,347 vehicles. But now, on the P&L side, they also showed sharp improvements with operational profits leaping 34.5% to $677.2 million. Great news, yes, but the best news is the line from the Reuters report on the press release:

"Skoda Auto, once the butt of auto industry jokes for its reputation for producing low-quality cars during the Communist era, now has Volkswagen laughing all the way to the bank."

May we please offer up a new slogan? How about:

"Skoda: From Butt To Bank"

I kind of like that. What do you think — catchy? – Ray Wert More »

Octavia! Octavia! Inexplicable Inversion!

Our Dutch pal Jason Garber caned a Lincoln Navigator within mere millimeters of its life on last summer's Bullrun, prompting the best exchange on the rally between a participant and a civilian: "Where'd you learn to drive?" More »

The Production of Laughter and Forgetting: Record Skoda Numbers!

In 2006, Skoda's Czech plants turned out a record 556,443 cars, a 12.5% jump over last year. Somewhere in Paris, Milan Kundera is dreaming up a story of two forlorn, lovelorn Beethoven-consumed factory workers who respectively install valvestems on Fabias and steering-column stalks on Octavias, obsessing over Stalin and feminine scents while dreaming of a Black Sea road-trip vacation in a Felicia Fun with only a pirated cassingle of the Shins' "Phantom Limb" stuck in the tape deck and a Vaclav Havel anthology to keep them company. We shit you not. – Davey G. Johnson More »

Skoda Felicia Fun Spotted Alongside Porta-Loo in Budapest

The Felicia Fun is certainly on record as one of the most Jalopnik vehicles ever created by a major manufacturer. Caminofied goodness? Check. Eastern European heritage? In spades, friends, in spades. And there's nothing un-fun about it. It doesn't matter if it's as slow as a house. It doesn't matter if we'd have to push it around ourselves. We'd just duct tape a ghetto blaster to the rear wing and get our daily workout by pushing it up hills while listening to Whodini's Escape on cassette. Reader Peter sent us this photo — with love — from Budapest. We obviously have the best patrons on the planet. – Davey G. Johnson More »

Weird Czechness: Strange Skoda Puppet Vid

Over at the road that meanders rather than takes the shortest distance between two points, Paukert muses on his Czech-infused childhood. Everyone's favorite IT-guy-lookalike autoblogger was spurred into some measure of psychodramatic trauma by this either agency-created-or-fanfic video involving weird puppets and Skodas. Jesus, and we thought leprechauns were creepy. Sorry Chris. Feel better soon, man. We're all pulling for you. More »

Happy, Happy: Skoda to Unveil Joyster Concept in Paris

The VW division born behind the Iron Curtain is planning to unveil a new hatch concept at the Paris show. While the Joyster may look like a koda-fied adaptation of the Volkswagen Iroc concept, it's actually a prelude to the 2007 Fabia — a hatch whose new hotness is hotly anticipated in the UK. The prototype shows the new model in three-door form, and is fitted with "a wide range of communication technologies and comfort equipment." Right, that definitely means an iPod slot. More »

El Skodamino! The Felicia Fun!

We love it when "Fun" becomes a brand. For example, the people of Ft. Collins, CO refer to their city as "Ft. Fun." So when one takes "Fun," adds it to a Skoda, and what's more, applies the appelation to a Felicia with the ass-end converted to pickup duty, one's really hit some sort of special Eastern European/dork-pride/Camino trifecta that could possibly, when combined with a few candied yams and a splash of lukewarm San Pellegrino, form the basis for a sustainable cold fusion reaction. Basically, what we're saying is that this truckcar could possibly save the world. Thank you, Skoda. Thank you. [And thank you, Stephan, for the tip.] More »