Well, since I live in Romania, and of course, in Eastern-Europe, I know a lot of things about the products made in this side of the world. I wonde, if the folks from the U.S.A. ever seen a soviet car, listen music to a G.D.R./U.S.S.R. made (tube) radio, or on a trip to Canada watch a movie on an Romanian black and white tv set?
I'll make for you a list with the good/bad products made in the east of Europe:
GOOOOD :thmbsp: :banana:
- Soviet cars, not necesarly the luxury ones. One day I made a "trip" with an cab-the cab was an "Lada" 1500 Soviet made car. The car was unless 18 yeras old and had G.P.L. (Gaz Petrolifer Lichefiat-Liqeufied Oil Gas), but it was 3 more confortable than a "Dacia" 1310 from the same period.
- Czech cars like "Skoda" (those made before 1961, when the soviet imposed those horroble back-engine cars) and "Tatra"
- Czech, East-German (G.D.R.), U.S.S.R., Hungarian radios (i got me an G.D.R. tube radio and it's tube Hi-Fi)
- Romanian tv sets. I sow and 25 years old black and white Romanian tv that stil, works. Of course, those early black and white tube tvs with "National-Panasonic (Matsushita Co. Ltd.)" electronic tubes and "Telefunken" picture tubes are the best. Sets like those are: "National" V.S. 43-614, "Grigorescu", "Luchian".
- Hungarian tv sets
- "Tatra" streetcars. When bought to Romania, the "Tatra" T4R streectcars could reach a top speed of 120 kmph (75 mph)!!!! Of course, the first model of "Tatra" T streetcars, "Tatra" T1 was copyed after the "P.C.C." streetcar.
- Soviet refrigerators. I heard of an 40 yeras 'Z.I.L." rrefrogerator whic suffered no reparation during it's life. One of grandmothers owns an 31 yeras old "Z.I.L." refreigerator in the same situation. For eg. , in the '80's an the power comsumption at an Romanian "Artic" refrigerator was 200 W@240 liters, while at an "Z.I.L."-61 (my refrigerator) was 150 W@ 260 litters.
- Romanian locomtives. Before the Soviets cinfiscated our equypamnet for manufacturing steam locomtives al "Malaxa" (later "23 August"-"August the 23rd", today "Faur") plants from Bucharest, a steam locomotive made there traveled betwen Bucharest and Constantza (wee got a Constantce too) in 2 and a half hours, the same as a today modern train!!! But after that, the qualty didn't drop 30-33 years old diesel and eletric locomotives, made under Switz and Swedish licence still are runing with no problems. The Romanian self propeld railway cars made in '30's -'50's still are runing today (in the '30's a self propeld railway car with Hungarian engine could reach a top speed of 100 kph!!! (62.2 mph) -at the time the fastest trains reached in Romania recahed 70 kph-43.1 mph)
- Soveit (U.S.S.R.) weapons, like the "M.I.G." planes, the "T-34" tanks, and of course, the nightmare of every private in Vietnam, the A.K.-47 "Kalashikov" machine guns.
- Soviet cameras. I take good picture with my "Zorky" 4.


BAD PRODUCTS: :worried: :no: :thumbsdn:
- The Soviet tv sets, especially the color ones. A guy that i jnow went to Moscow in the '80', and sow in a shop some soviet color tvs. None of it had same color as the other, and the dominant color on the scream was, of course, the red.
- Soviet nuclear power plants-rember Cernobil? Lucky for me, the nuclear power plant from Cernavoda, Romania, uses Canadian techonolgy
- Romanian streetcars made at Bucharest. Copyed afer the Wet-German steertcars found at the top in '68 where a disastrous copy.
- Romanian motorcycles. Poor motorcycles. No match for the Soviet ones.
In fact, in 1953 we made 10 good motorcycles an the today "A.R.O." plant, baut the Party leadership decided we sould made industrial spare parts instead.

Well here in Canada, we were "lucky" enough to have both Lada's and Skoda's available for sale at one time. I don't think either of those makes has a dealer network in Canada anymore. They were ridiculously cheap but that was their only strong point. The technology of both makes was at least 20 yrs behind the competition and build quality was a joke. You could buy a Lada 4X4 for about $10,000 CAN dollars which is roughly 1/3 the price of any similar vehicle from a N.American manufacturer. However the resale value was zero. You were forced to drive it til it died because no one, no matter how desperate, would buy a used Lada or Skoda.


Mike

Here are some pics of Eastern-Europeanen products (the radio with remote control is Soviet made, but is made at "V.E.F." plants at Riga, with German equypment). The other radio is an G.D.R. "Grosssuper Capri Typ 6401" made by VEB Goldpfeil

Some more pics

And some more

Hmmmm... I thought the Lada Niva was supposed to be fairly good...reasonably economical, dependable, , not too bad looking...the Russian answer to the early model Ford Bronco. If it had been sold in the states, & had decent quality, the Soviets coulda had a hit on their hands.-Sandy G.

we were'lucky" enough to have the yugo here.
i remember several of the first ones at the local dealer catching fire on the first start.

Well here in Canada, we were "lucky" enough to have both Lada's and Skoda's available for sale at one time. I don't think either of those makes has a dealer network in Canada anymore. They were ridiculously cheap but that was their only strong point. The technology of both makes was at least 20 yrs behind the competition and build quality was a joke. You could buy a Lada 4X4 for about $10,000 CAN dollars which is roughly 1/3 the price of any similar vehicle from a N.American manufacturer. However the resale value was zero. You were forced to drive it til it died because no one, no matter how desperate, would buy a used Lada or Skoda.


Mike

Thanks for that insight to a way of life and technonogies that we've never seen before!

That was Great!

If you ever feel like sharing more from your world, I'll certainly appreciate it.

Thanks again.

GOOOOD - Soviet cars, not necesarly the luxury ones.

Why not? Those are the ones I really dig! What kind of car is the one shown in the background here? The hood looks 12-feet long! :thmbsp:

A friend drove a Lada for several years back in the 80's , not comfy but built like a tractor.
Emission control was not invented, I remember the smoke cloud when he put the "peddle to the metal" :lmao:
It came with a tool-kit with almost everything that could break down.
Sturdy shocks and springs for travel on the Russian roads and off road.

Carmine, they made several larger cars in Russia for the "leaders" similar to Cadillac and older Lincolns.
Weird names that I can't remember now. :worried:

Zlin, Zis, Chaika...IIRC, the nickname for Chaikas loosely translated to "Chrome-plated bulldozer", plus prolly a comment or 2 about the designer's mother's morality...<grin>-Sandy G.

I used to go to farm machinery shows a lot, remember about 20 yrs ago when the Russians first started trying to sell their tractors here, the "Belarus" brand. They were, well, very "Soviet"- you'd know what I mean if you saw one, but a couple years ago, they were actually starting to get somewhat close to western machinery. They have one big attribute-they are VERY affordable compared to say a John Deere. Most farmers are traditionalists, & would prefer to spring for a JD, however.-Sandy G.

The famous Soviet cars G.A.Z. M21 and M22 "Volga" (M22 is the break vesrion).

More intresting pics with Volga, and a Soviet F.M. radio used at Volga. 1967, with tubes, of course. Y in Russian equals U. The Russian name for F.M. is the same as in German Ultra Kurtz Welle, meaning Ultra Short Waves. The romanian name for U.K.W. (Y.K.B.) is "Unde Ultrascurte" (U.U.S.) or at some radios U.S.

The "Tesla" 4002A and the "Leningrad" T2, the first tvs used for experimental broadcasting in Romania (started August the 23rd, 1955). After that the Soviet tv "Temp" 2, the first tv set sold in Romania. "Tesla" 4401A Tesla Color, firts Czech color tv (1972) with Soviet picture tube.

I had a distortion pedal made in Russia. Worked fine and was housed in a monstrous diecast enclosure, and had a monstrous DPDT stomp switch that looks like it was designed for a streetcar to roll over, but the thing was pure hell to repair or modify. The screws were made of some anonymous metal a little harder than lead, but ONLY a little. Threaded holes in hex nuts off-center AGGGH! Multi-conductor internal cable with no colorcode - every strand in white insulation DOUBLE AGGGGGH! Epoxy-potted potentiometers that had round pin terminals sticking out like stumps with no hole or nothing to give the wire purchase during soldering. And foil apparently attached to the PCB substrate by kindergarten paste and good intentions.

Those Lada's and Skoda's rusted quicker than a Datsun over here in Canada! :lmao: Well........Maybe not that quick.

But what do ya think about this "balistic missels"?
http://www.ratb.ro/img/auto_20_full.jpg
http://www.ratb.ro/img/auto_21_full.jpg
http://www.ratb.ro/img/auto_23_full.jpg

As a visitor to Bucharest, and a few former Soviet bloc counties, I can say that there are some amazingly good and depressingly bad products from there. Mind you, Western countries are not adverse to producing crap. Remember the "clapper"?

The big problem with USSR products was forced adherance to the "plan" where merit was based on production numbers, or weight, vice quality. It is a sad, but true fact that USSR cars were put out with no motors, or only 3 wheels just to make the monthly production quotas. Astute buyers from there would look at the production dates. End month would mean shortcuts due to quota requirements (i.e missing parts). Early month would mean bad quality due to drunken workers celebrating making the last month's quota. Those in the know would only buy mid month production items.... :worried:

Despite the fact that the USSR tended to be followers rather than innovaters, there were some very respectable products made. The Russians made the best cold weather clothes (and Vodka :thmbsp: ), the Poles made the best commercial ships, etc.

Paka,
Joe

We just never saw very many eastern european products around here. Skodas were sold in the usa in the late50's early60's, I've seen two. I've also seen a few Ladas from Canada and an 80's Canadian market Skoda.

One place I used to work had some "Long" tractors. I think they were made in Romania (Telecolor, could that be true?) They were little things, four wheel drive, and a diesel engine. Two cylinders I think. The trouble was you couldnt get parts. They had two running and another two or three in the back they were taking parts off of.

They had unbelievable traction and they drove like cars. I think they had syncromesh. They made the gaggle of old Massey-Fergusons, Fords etc this company owned look pretty crude by comparison.

John

I had a Jawa Californian motorcycle for awhile. It was made in Czechoslovakia. A two cylinder two stroke. Had to run premix in it. I can’t remember if it was a 250cc or 350cc. The bike was ugly as hell originally. A previous owner had pained it with brown house paint to make it even uglier. But the damn thing always ran and was built like a tank. The spokes were almost as big around as pencils.

It had some weird features. It used the same lever as both the kick starter and the gear shift. To kick it you would pull the lever out and rotate it up and snap it back in. Once it was started, you would pull it out, rotate back down to the shift position and snap it back in. As a shifter, it had a mile of travel. You really had to think about gear changes.

I had heard the Russian Ladas of the 1980s were built using tooling they bought from Fiat. It was a clone of the Fiat 124 or 128. Anyone remember?

- Pete

I had heard the Russian Ladas of the 1980s were built using tooling they bought from Fiat. It was a clone of the Fiat 124 or 128. Anyone remember?

I think the Ladas I saw were more like 131's. Nevertheless a closer relative of the 124 than the 128. Yugos were pretty closely related to 128's (127 style body, 128 style drivetrain).

John

What about Romanian women ?

I had a very rare sighting of a Lada Samara on the way home tonight in fact. And it didn't make massive clunking noises as it went past me (it was going downhill) There are very few left here. They sold for a bit in the late eighties/early nineties but the woeful quality and then Hyundai knocked them out of the market. Hyundais sold for not much more at the time but offered at least four times the car :)
Around here we get the occasional sighting of the Polish built Niki. This is a remake of the Fiat 650.
I think I have seen some Russian power tools and nail guns, they seemed to be quite well made. I don' remember much about them except that they appeared to be Hitachi clones.
I have heard that during the 70s the Russians did a deal with Fiat. Fiat would supply car designs in return for Russian steel. This is said to explain the blistering pace of rust in most Fiats and Alfas from that era :D
Cheers
Tony

What about Romanian women ?

I can attest from visiting there, it is the same as anywhere else, some women are amazing, some average and they have their fair share of two-baggers...

I've just remembered Skoda's appearance in this country. In the early eighties as a kid my parents went into a dealership near Newcastle that sold Skodas as a side line. Dad was just curious, he knew better and shortly bought a Holden :)
The main thing I remember is the dealer pointing out that the bonnet hinge was located at the side of the car and thus the bonnet opened sideways, this, he said would be useful if the bonnet blew open while you were driving so you could still see where you were going :yikes: (No joke)
Needless to say not many were sold and even fewer are on the roads today.
A couple of really good books to look up is "Lemon" and "Extra Lemon" by Tony Davis, they are mainly biased towards cars that were available in Australia but there is something for everyone in them.
Cheers
Tony

Lets not forget an Eastern European product that changed the beer we drink:

Pilsner Urquell from the Czech Republic. The original Pilsner beer.

(This one occured to me tonight while I was drinking one).

- Pete

The Romanian women are as beuatifoul as the Califronian women!

The Romanian women are as beuatifoul as the Califronian women!

Hopefully more intelligent though.

:D

(I've always found the best looking women in the US from Texas. Tall, blonde, blue & green-eyed, & hyperample bosoms. Just like Russian girls!)

I have a CZ75, the world-class 9MM pistol from the old Czechoslovakia. If half the stuff the Comecon bunch had was as well made as that thing is, we'd been speaking Russian now. It gives up NOTHING to western pistols, I know, I have about all of 'em. Rumor has it that it even bested the Beretta in the pistol trials about 20 years ago when the Army was looking for something to replace the 75-year-old Colt M1911A1.-Sandy G.

I have a CZ75,

Wasn't it Jeff Cooper that said it was the finest combat handgun ever designed?

Yep, think so. I also have a Russian 9mm short pistol, & it's well..it's VERY "Soviet"..I've shot it, w/a reasonable amount of trepidation, for I wasn't so sure it might have flown all to pieces.It is a copy of a Walther PPK, sort of, made by Makarov. To be a small handgun, it certainly kicks hard, the trigger & the action are VERY stiff, the whole thing is typical "Strong-like-bull" quality Soviet products have/had. I got it 'cos it was cheap, & I didn't have any guns from Russia at the time. The Russians flooded the country w/semi-military hardware back in the early '90s. Every gun show you'd go to would have a couple tables of guys selling crude Russian night-vision equipment, boxes upon boxes of 7.62 X 39 ammo, etc. I'm glad WE won the cold war, but the Russians selling their stuff over here at fire-sale type prices was kinda sad, in a way.-Sandy G.

"Lada" first apeared in 1966.
Do you had any "Ikarus" buses in U.S.A. and Canada (or even Mexico)?
http://geo.ab.edu.pl/knsg/foto/mzk/Ikarus280_1.jpg
http://www.strassenbahn-chemnitz.de/picika335-1.jpg
http://kamim.host.sk/fotky/nr751.jpg
http://ikarus280.w.interia.pl/ok26082.JPG
http://transport.kuban.info/photos/011328.jpg
http://www.marcinbul.xis.katowice.pl/zdjecia/ikarus_260_30a/3-4.jpg
http://gortransport.kharkov.ua/bus/ps/ikr260/ikr260.jpg
http://home.arcor.de/einsatzliste/bus/26002-1.jpg

In the pictures below are some "Ikarus" IK4, made by "Ikarus" from the city of Zemun, near... Belgrad, former Yougoslavia, not by "Ikarus" from Budapest, Hungary! IK4 where one of the best buses made in Eastern-Europe!
With all they where imported between 1974 and 1979 are still in use-you will not find a Romanian so old that is still in use (in Romania, cars over 30 yrs old are considered antique cars, so some of those buses are antique buses).

What do ya think about the "pick-up" bus? :D

Hi
I loved the Lada 1500 Station Wagon.

http://i4.ebayimg.com/04/i/05/b0/2e/b7_1_b.JPG

Bought for 100 DM (i seemed to have a capital Engine damage) 1981 icluding a full Tank, a Folding spade

http://www.pearl.de/images/large/pe-7305_8.jpg

AND a

http://i5.ebayimg.com/01/i/05/f5/ac/24_1_b.JPG

with it. It was jast the bearing of the waterpump and i had it running nice for 6 month and sold it for 500!
Helge

Did you keep the hat & the entrenching tool ?-Sandy G.

i guess, but don't know what happened to them later on... :banana:

the lada was fun, but it didn't beat the Daf 55 Coupé's i had sometime later!

Hmmmm....Did the Daf have that funky Variomatic transmission in it? If so, how did you like it?-Sandy G.