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1977 Trabant Kombi for a Socialistic $4,250!
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Charles_Barrett - Now with Variable-Valve Timing
09/11/09

In reply to 1977 Trabant Kombi for a Socialistic $4,250!
Several years ago, I led off my review of a gay porno ("Lucky Lukas") made in the Czech Republic with:

"What is it about young guys, cars, and sex? The combination just goes together so well! OK, so in this DVD they are driving Skodas, Trabants, and Minis, instead of Integras and Civics, but Lukas and his buds are definitely into cars... and [REDACTED]!"

I wrote this in July 0f 2003, long before I ever ventured onto Jalopnik...
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Graverobber
09/11/09

@Charles_Barrett - Now with Variable-Valve Timing: So what you're saying is that this is a shaggin' wagon?
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Charles_Barrett - Now with Variable-Valve Timing
09/11/09

@Graverobber: Lukas only got a bit of a handjob while driving his Trabant to an old empty garage, where the cars were parked outside while our Euro-twinks had their orgy inside. Had there been a wagon available, who knows?
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13thfloorelevator
09/11/09

@Graverobber: Anyone who'll screw you in a Trabi is definitely a keeper...
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Charles_Barrett - Now with Variable-Valve Timing promoted this comment 13thfloorelevator was starred

CptSevere
09/11/09

In reply to 1977 Trabant Kombi for a Socialistic $4,250!
Crack pipe. C'mon, please.

These sure are smoky little buggers. It's no wonder the air in Berlin while the wall was up was so nasty. Much worse than the rest of West Germany. I guess metered oil injection, a la Suzuki GT series triples, which don't smoke much at all, was considered decadent and antirevolutionary. Can't have that.

Yeah, my outfit visited the Berlin Brigade in 1983 for urban training and we got a bus tour of East Berlin on Saturday. Saw lots of these little toads scuttling around, along with I guess Wartburgs and crappy, diesel spewing trucks. Like I said, the air was foul, just as ugly as the vehicles.
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Tomsk welcomes the Jezebanned home promoted this comment CptSevere was starred CptSevere was unstarred

Six Flags Over Tomsk
09/11/09

@CptSevere: So...you don't like these either?
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CptSevere
09/11/09

@Tomsk welcomes the Jezebanned home: No, those I like. Grammy had one, but it was a coupe. I was just a larva, but I don't remember her Saab smoking like those Commie 2 strokes. It lived in my grandparent's garage next to Grandpa's Porsche 356. The Jag Mark Whatever sedan lived outside, that's what he drove to the train station. My grandparents had great taste in machinery. No funky blue smoke was tolerated.
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Edited by CptSevere at 09/11/09 11:36 PM CptSevere was starred CptSevere was unstarred

MushyHeirloom
09/11/09

In reply to 1977 Trabant Kombi for a Socialistic $4,250!
On Facebook, in response to Robber's teaser status, I wrote:

"Oh, Christ, not a $5,000 Trabi..."

Nope! Not quite! Indeed, if I had to drive an underpowered pinko shitbox around town, few underpowered pinko shitboxen would be finer than this one. They're rare in this country, this one's in good shape, and thus I don't think that a bit over four is outrageous.

Acceptable Price.

(Though I'd rather have an East German government Volvo 244 limousine, as above.)
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Graverobber
09/11/09

@FP: Your Volvo is awesome! Anyway: In the future I will strive to be more oblique in my teasers. Now go back to FB and answer my Car Quiz.
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vdiddy210
09/11/09

In reply to 1977 Trabant Kombi for a Socialistic $4,250!
irony knows no bounds

i was watching everything is illuminated last night thinking "what the heck car are they driving?" lo and behold it's a 1970's trabant!

this is almost as good as them crazy scandinavians and their love me tender covers!
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discontinuuity is happy that everything has been set right in the Jalopverse. Now all we need is more of engineerd's Brefas Scotch! promoted this comment vdiddy210 was starred vdiddy210 was unstarred

mgrinshpon
09/11/09

In reply to 1977 Trabant Kombi for a Socialistic $4,250!
But can you put an LS in it?
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TV's Paul Y. promoted this comment mgrinshpon was starred mgrinshpon was unstarred

Paul Y. can't get in the club; gotta parking lot pimp
09/11/09

@mgrinshpon: The rear of this seems ripe for an early Toronado drivetrain.
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Flagrant German Fanboy
09/11/09

In reply to 1977 Trabant Kombi for a Socialistic $4,250!
Whoa! How ironic, I was thinking about these sooty little tubs the other day, and set out to find some for sale. Most of the ones I did find were either in far worse shape, or didn't even run, and were around the same price as this one. Not to mention, this is the best interior on one I've seen in a long time. Nice Price!
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discontinuuity is happy that everything has been set right in the Jalopverse. Now all we need is more of engineerd's Brefas Scotch! promoted this comment

SundaySunday
09/11/09

In reply to 1977 Trabant Kombi for a Socialistic $4,250!
I have never gotten closer to a LeMons race than my reading Murilee's posts. However I'm willing to bet the judges could be influenced to look the other way if you entered this thing in bone stock condition.

Just dicker that price down as far as you can first. 4 large is way too much for what you've got planned.
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Paul Y. can't get in the club; gotta parking lot pimp
09/11/09

In reply to 1977 Trabant Kombi for a Socialistic $4,250!
Rare, weird, polluting-as-hell, non-recyclable body: nice price!

However, U2 has done nothing but steer me wrong. After all: these guys are from England, and who gives a shit?
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Six Flags Over Tomsk
09/11/09

@TV's Paul Y.: Ireland ≠ England.

And yes, it is a nice price.
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Paul Y. can't get in the club; gotta parking lot pimp
09/11/09

@Tomsk welcomes the Jezebanned home: Someone isn't a Negativland fan, or aware of the infamous Casey Kasem outtakes: [www.youtube.com]
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Edited by Paul Y. can't get in the club; gotta parking lot pimp at 09/11/09 5:42 PM

P161911 probably shoudn't have
09/11/09

In reply to 1977 Trabant Kombi for a Socialistic $4,250!
This is one of those cars that just sounds like it would be fun to have. Perfect to haul around a collection of Mosin-Nagants, AKs, SKSs, and Tokarevs to the firing range. The sad part is usually the East German stuff was the best the Comm Block had to offer.

Whenever I see a Trabant I am reminded of my 1991 AP European History exam. The essay question was compare/contrast communism and capitalism in Europe. I wrote about the Trabant vs. the Mercedes 300SL gullwing. I got a 4 out of 5 and the college credit.
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Six Flags Over Tomsk
09/11/09

@P161911: Nice.
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HurtsSoGood
09/11/09

In reply to 1977 Trabant Kombi for a Socialistic $4,250!
How did you drive one of these? I only see two pedals, and surely none of these cars had automatic transmission (at least, not the way we're used to), so I'm wondering where the clutch is. Is that stick at the right of the steering column a gearshift or a throttle? Tell me these weren't set up kind of like the Model T.
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mobilene
09/11/09

@HurtsSoGood: Dunno about the controls, but this is how you drive a Trabant:
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GeeHalen
09/11/09

@mobilene: I know the guy driving. After he switched from Trabant to a Ford Puma factory racing car, he didn't have time to prepare for the next rally. So he asked about how to drive the Puma. With a a few sentences the instruction was complete, the next day he won the hill climb challenge with a track record in his category.

That's how difficult it was to drive the Trabant under racing circumstances. The best training you can ever get in a car.
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Six Flags Over Tomsk
09/11/09

@mobilene: Wow.
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Elhigh
09/11/09

In reply to 1977 Trabant Kombi for a Socialistic $4,250!
A Trabant selling for over $4000 has to be proof positive that capitalism works. Rarity drives prices upward, desire drives prices upward, even in the face of the socialist ideal that says a thing cannot be worth more than the labor and materials that go into making it. It's a wagon, which makes me want it more, it's a Trabant, which is rarer than hen's teeth in the US, and a two-stroke which just makes it peculiar and antiquated.

Is it worth $4250? No freaking way. But would I pay $4250 to have it? You betcha. Because unlike socialism which doesn't take the human equation into account, but is only a flinty-eyed spreadsheet government , capitalism gives nodding recognition to the human mind and heart. Want can trump need.

It's dumb, but I want this peculiar little car.
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Edited by Elhigh at 09/11/09 8:45 AM Elhigh was starred Elhigh was unstarred

Flathead Smith
09/11/09

@Elhigh: The other advantage to capitalism is this: If you don't like the price or product there are other choices, for instance you could negotiate a lower price or buy that Wartburg you always wanted.
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JawzX2: Hoon The Earth @ www.cafepress.com/jawzx2
09/11/09

In reply to 1977 Trabant Kombi for a Socialistic $4,250!
it might be worth it just for the roller-coaster ride at the autocross...

No, I came to my senses, crack. Delicious crack that smokes itself!
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P161911 promoted this comment Edited by JawzX2: Hoon The Earth @ www.cafepress.com/jawzx2 at 09/11/09 8:49 AM

brandegee
09/11/09

In reply to 1977 Trabant Kombi for a Socialistic $4,250!
Less power than a '77 Ski-Doo. I'm a little shocked by the tow hitch. What's the rating, 75 lbs?
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jaymcminn
09/11/09

@brandegee: According to the ad, 400lbs. I think that's probably a bit optimistic.
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FP: Your Volvo is awesome! Anyway promoted this comment jaymcminn was starred jaymcminn was unstarred

MushyHeirloom
09/11/09

@jaymcminn: No, that's the weight of the car.
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Flathead Smith
09/11/09

In reply to 1977 Trabant Kombi for a Socialistic $4,250!
I figure since we are now officially a socialist country, and GMs majority stakeholder is the federal government, General Motors will soon buy the rights to the Trabant and will be offering them for sell for the low price of around $30,000. GM will then complain that they cannot possibly compete in an open market, because of their continuous capitulation to the unions over the last sixty years. Congress will react by placing an importation ban on all foreign autos and at the same time force Ford to become a subsidiary of General Motors. Sells of the new Trabant will begin to increase slightly, but another problem will occur, there will suddenly be an increased interest in the used car market, and the prices of used cars will skyrocket. GM will then complain that they can’t possibly compete with all these used cars in the marketplace and something must be done. Congress will pass the "Frank-Franken-Kucinich-Schumer-Waters-Feinstein-Snowe We Will Annihilate All for the Future Act" and will then confiscate and crush all used cars.

So I’m just jumping on the bandwagon and saying nice price.
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KillerBee
09/11/09

@Flathead Smith: But it will be eligible for a $25,750 government subsidy!
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MushyHeirloom
09/11/09

@Flathead Smith: Ah! Quite a bit like the United Kingdom, I say.
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Hoser Dave
09/11/09

In reply to 1977 Trabant Kombi for a Socialistic $4,250!
The world's slowest shooting brake.
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Elhigh
09/11/09

@Hoser Dave: More like "sloughing broke."
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