Jalopnik: Russian Cars

Take A Look Inside The Russian Factory Where Ultra Exclusive ZIL Limos Are Built

Tom Joslin — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 12:30:00 EST

While Russian manufacturer Zavod imeni Likhachova—more commonly referred to as ZIL—might be best known for the buses and trucks they produce, the company also built the high dollar executive sedans and limos that transported rich and important Russians for decades. More »

Russia's New Presidential Limo Is A Retro-Futuristic Despot's Dream

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:00:00 EST

When Boris Yeltsin became president of Russia he mothballed the stale Russian-built ZIL limousines and upgraded to an armored Mercedes S-Class and the country's leaders have never looked back. Until now. A Russian-designer's been tapped to design a new version of the ZIL limo and it looks like it's from an alternative dimension where the Soviet Union survived the cold war. More »

In Russia, slutty pop stars drive you!

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:00:00 EDT

As music video premises go, they don't get more embarrassingly simple or effective than this. Take three attractive-ish Russian pop stars, put them in a car, and film what happens. There's flashing, girls kissing, spanking, and a lollipop-with-condom bit that probably pushes this into NSFW territory. More »

A frying pan steering wheel: The best of homemade Soviet cars

Justin Hyde — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EDT

In Soviet-era Russia, families needing transportation lined up at the car office, filled out their paperwork and waited up to six years for their wheels to arrive. Many chose to instead spend those years building their own cars, from iron-clad sports cars to pods with a frying pan for a steering wheel. Here's some of the best... and worst of what Soviet-era Russia garage-builders wrought. More »

Lada makes moves to defend Russian market share

Tom Joslin — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 15:00:00 EDT

Everyone's favorite stuck-in-the-Soviet-era Russian car company is making moves to fend off foreign car competition in Russia. In response to foreign car companies rapidly expanding their Russian market Lada plans to try to bring their cars and their company into the modern era. More »

When Ladas become weirdly Japanese

Peter Orosz — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:30:00 EDT

The inoculation of Work Equip wheels, the military flag of Japan, riveted fender flares and Japanese license plates into a humble VAZ 2106 sedan is a stunning display of modern tuning culture, where ideas, memes, details and styles flow like bits and JPEGs. More »

Russians don't read road signs

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 04 May 2011 10:00:00 EDT

This video from Russia (skip ahead ten seconds) shows just how ambivalent drivers to road signs. So much so that a guy has to stand out in front of a do-not-enter sign to prevent people from driving into oncoming traffic. More »

Moscow Tuning Show out-awesomes Shanghai, New York with golden toilet

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:40:00 EDT

The debate over whether New York or Shanghai was the more important auto show is a typical corporate media conspiracy designed to make you choose between two equally irrelevant sides and ignore the real answer. In this case the real answer is the colorful Moscow Tuning Show. More »

This ghostly half-car is spooky

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 11:15:00 EST

The driver of this creepy, dented Russian car is hidden by a thick layer of damage so it appears to be driven by the ghost of the person sitting in the passenger seat when the accident occurred. In reality, the driver probably just got the car for half the price. More »

You've Got A Lada Nerve

Matt Hardigree — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 17:15:00 EST

At the end of a crappy day you turn to friends, colleagues, fellow commenters, and the unrivaled panacea that is a Russian car. Al least, that's what I do. [Asklater via carpr0n] More »

Ten Awesome Soviet Cars, Comrade!

Martin Grossinger — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:00:00 EDT

In the U.S.S.R. the winters are cold and the cars are strange. Here's your best choices for the ten most awesome and strange cars the collective ever produced. More »

If Tim Burton Remade Cars

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 18 May 2010 10:00:00 EDT

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Pixar's hit animated film Cars featured anthropomorphous automobiles. Our bet is Tim Burton's version would feature sharp-handled farm machines with dark, tortured anthropomorphous souls like this Russian backhoe. [Funny Or Die, EnglishRussia] More »

Russians Build Luxury SUV For Commandos, Oligarchs

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 12 May 2010 16:00:00 EDT

Marussia's F2 SUV is the Russian supercar maker's answer to the Hummer; serving military types with its beefy exterior and battle-ready storage, but also featuring flatscreens for supermarket magnates. The ungainly looks show the Russians clearly get the market. [WorldCarFans] More »

Say привет To The GAZ Volga GL 5000 Design Study

Sam Smith — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:30:00 EST

Sure, it looks like a Chevrolet Volt that wandered into a pizza oven, but when you're talking about a brand that once inspired a quasi-satanic kidnapping legend, you could do a heck of a lot worse. More »

Moscow Unlimited Proves Russians Are Crazy In The Best Way

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:30:00 EST

Moscow Unlimited brings the wildest street legal vehicles on the planet together for a mile-long race. Clearly, when the Soviet Union fell it didn't take them long to make up for lost time. If only the music would catch up. More »

Maybach 62 And Bentley Continental Swap Very Expensive Paint In Moscow

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:45:00 EST

What happens when a Maybach 62 and Bentley Continental get into a car accident along a Russian road? Same thing that happens when a Taurus scrapes a Maxima. The drivers get out and exchange $1,000-dollar bills. [Carscoop] More »

Dartz Car Commemorates Pamela Anderson Russian SUV Whale Penis Scandal

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:45:00 EST

The whole Dartz Prombron Monaco Red Diamond Edition with whale penis leather saga continues the weirdness. After announcing they'd nip the penis leather interior following outrage from PETA and Pam Anderson, they've built a "Penisgaurd" Volga to demonstrate their whale-penis-love. More »

Pam Anderson Forces Russian SUV-maker To Circumcise Whale Penis Leather Interior

Ben Wojdyla — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST

It's Pamela Anderson's fault Russian custom car shop Prombron's backing away from including a whale penis leather interior on its ultimate offering, the $1.5 million Dartz Prombron Monaco Red Diamond Edition. Help us Stephen Colbert, you're our only hope! More »

Black Lightning Is The Greatest Car Movie Ever Made

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:30:00 EDT

Black Lightning is a movie about a crime-fighting armed flying Volga sedan squaring off against a flying Mercedes in Moscow. If not the greatest, it's at least the most Jalopnik car movie ever. More »

$1.5M Russian SUV Features Diamonds, Whale Penis Leather

Ben Wojdyla — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT

Whale penis leather interior. That's all you really need to know about the $1.5 million Dartz Prombron Monaco Red Diamond Edition. Yes, the diamond-encrusted white gold gauges and gold-plated bulletproof windows are impressive, but seriously, whale penis leather interior. More »

Mercedes Benz Continues Gaudy Russian Customization Trend

Ben Wojdyla — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EDT

The Mercedes Benz E-Class W124 is the placeholder in our minds eye for what Mercedes Benz's should be. Boxy, classy, high-quality, and above all, restrained. This customized Russian W124 is anything but. More »

GAZ Announces End Of The Road For Volga

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:30:00 EDT

After nearly 53 years of production, Russian auto manufacturer GAZ has announced the end of production for the famed Volga saloon. The rolling symbol of the former Soviet Union will be put to rest in two months as a result of falling demand, high commodity prices, and cheap foreign cars flooding the market. GAZ plans to refocus their activities on their more profitable and competitive heavy truck product lines. Despite their declining quality and atrocious handling, we firmly believe that tattooed across every Russian gearhead's heart is the image of a Volga GAZ-23. We expect there will be many shots of vodka tossed back today in honor of the doomed brand. [The Guardian] More »

Ukrainian Limo Rolls In Style

Mark Arnold — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:15:00 EDT

Ukrainians seem to have a fantastically wacky taste in automobiles. First, they created an asymmetrical roadster/coupe made of wood. Then, they made a custom sportscar with an exposed rear axle. Now, they've given us something a bit more practical. More »

Underground Street Racing Taken Too Literally In Russia

Mark Arnold — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Lada Oka Transformed Into Mini Monster

Mark Arnold — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:15:00 EDT

The standard Lada Oka is your typical eastern European econobox; humble transportation that makes a Tata Nano feel macho. But apparently there are some Russians who look at the poor little thing and see the perfect starting point for an all-terrain monster. We have no idea what the thought process was that led up to the creation of such an awesome machine. Given the choice between this and a Jeep or a Hummer, we'd take this every time. Check out the gallery below and see what it originally looked like here. [English Russia] More »

In Russia, VAZ Make Cheap Car For YOU!

Mark Arnold — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:45:00 EST

With all that land mass and all those people, Russia is expected to be the largest car market in Europe within a few years. And what do the proud people of Russia want? Cheap, honest transportation; a "people's car." Well that's exactly what Russia automaker AvtoVAZ wants to give them. Since most of these consumers are not going to be shopping for the likes of an Audi R8 or a custom SUV, AvtoVAZ (known to us as the maker of Ladas) wants to bring a car to market with a price tag of about $6000. According to AvtoVAZ head Boris Aleshin, More »