Lada comeback

mondeo

Heard on the radio the other day that Lada is making a possible comeback to the sales room in ireland & UK. They were talking 7-8k per car, terrible news if it happens

Berty

Why is it terrible?

The Dacia is due to come to Ireland as well and if it does I will whole hearthly welcome it.

Owen

Finally, a use for all those Lada paint samples I have!

Poly

I'd love to see the auld Lada / Fiat 128 type back.
It was a great auld jammer

coolbeans

The Niva was a very tough, reliable and dare I say it...even cool machine. I wouldn't get too nostalgic about the rest though. There's no point in trying to polish a turd.

vectra

I loved the sports ones with the sunroofs
They made handy skips

GTE

I thought this would be a good while off but I was watching the Formula one today and the works Renault team have a Lada logo on the car!

Interesting times are approaching.
Lada F1 haha

Henry Ford III

Kia Rio heads upmarket.

mickdw

They have had some new designs on show over the last while.Nothing like the old ladas athough I think the interiors were woeful.

mondeo

Berty wrote: »

Why is it terrible?

The Dacia is due to come to Ireland as well and if it does I will whole hearthly welcome it.

I remember the 80's very well and the neighbour push starting his red lada every third morning...honest to god it was funny.

It would be terrible in a funny sort of way to see Lada branded cars appearing here. Would not bet on them being very up to date with latest safety mods and cons. They would be crude cheap motoring and thats it. Four wheels and a seat kind of thing & I wish them luck lol.

keithclancy

mondeo wrote: »

I remember the 80's very well and the neighbour push starting his red lada every third morning...honest to god it was funny.

It would be terrible in a funny sort of way to see Lada branded cars appearing here. Would not bet on them being very up to date with latest safety mods and cons. They would be crude cheap motoring and thats it. Four wheels and a seat kind of thing & I wish them luck lol.

Like a Skoda you mean ?

Fishtits

I once opted for a Lada Niva from the company car pool (overseas)

It lasted all of a day and a half around town (Skopje) before it got stuck in third gear...

Someone mentioned Dacia... nowt to do with Lada, low cost Renault, primarily Turkish...

I Doubt the established importers here are quaking in their boots...

vectra

keithclancy wrote: »

Like a Skoda you mean ?

I remember the old Volvo's were like that
Push them....Kick them .. Curse them..eventually they would go.:D

Mycroft H

I seem to remember that skoda had the same reputation....... Just look at them now!

If they can make reliable cheap cars, well then the best of luck to them

bladebrew

landyman wrote: »

I seem to remember that skoda had the same reputation....... Just look at them now!

If they can make reliable cheap cars, well then the best of luck to them

that is a huge problem though, to turn a company reputation around,
my dad drives a 07 avensis and was thinking about changing it,i suggested an octavia, he said he wouldnt drive a skoda,i also suggested an isignia, but he had a dodgy vectra years ago so he wont buy an opel, he also wont drive another ford due to an engine seizure in a 3 year old escort in 97, so he wants a new avensis:(

mondeo

landyman wrote: »

I seem to remember that skoda had the same reputation....... Just look at them now!

If they can make reliable cheap cars, well then the best of luck to them

Skoda had a dodgy reputation in the 80's but not near as vicious as the Lada...

If some major car manufacturer were to buy Lada and turn them around well that would be interesting. Would take years for the Stigma attached to the name to go away.

Heard a great Lada joke the other day.....What do you call a Lada with a double exhaust?......................... A wheel barrow:D hehe I'm still laughing at that.

Guy:Incognito

AFAIK the story about the new Lada's said it was Renault that was doing hem. If so I dont get what they are at. Dacia are cheaper Renaults and are due to be launched here so where do these new Lada'ss fit in? Below Dacia? That makes Dacia the midrange cheap car and the actual badged Renaults the standard stuff?

Stoolbend

I've seen worse!

If they're cheap and people buy them they might help keep me in a job!:D

BlackWizard

They have one of the most inconic brand names in the car industry. People who don't know much about cars have heard of the name Lada.

Money can't buy that sort of thing. But money can build a car with a decent warranty. If it turns out to be reliable, which it probably will be, I don't see why they can't do really were here. Renault used to be very dodgy with reliability too. But 5 or so years later and they are back on track with most people putting their past behind them.

http://www.autoblog.com/photos/lada-c-concept/#179046

BrianD3

BlackWizard wrote: »

They have one of the most inconic brand names in the car industry. People who don't know much about cars have heard of the name Lada.

Money can't buy that sort of thing. But money can build a car with a decent warranty. If it turns out to be reliable, which it probably will be, I don't see why they can't do really were here. Renault used to be very dodgy with reliability too. But 5 or so years later and they are back on track with most people putting their past behind them.

http://www.autoblog.com/photos/lada-c-concept/#179046

Yep, and look what Renault has done for Dacia, they are are selling like hotcakes in Europe. And in the latest ADAC reliability report, the Logan/Sandero has been deemed more reliable than the much more expensive Honda Civic and Jazz and also more reliable than some other cars with big reputations.

standardtoaster

BrianD3 wrote: »

Yep, and look what Renault has done for Dacia, they are are selling like hotcakes in Europe. And in the latest ADAC reliability report, the Logan/Sandero has been deemed more reliable than the much more expensive Honda Civic and Jazz and also more reliable than some other cars with big reputations.

Had a Dacia Logan rental for a week last year while on the continent, possibly the reason they are so relaible is because the only thing that can go wrong is the engine breaking.
You can see by the models that Renault have put their mark on these in my opinion they are about 4/5 years behind the actual Renault models(style look wise), and yes under the hood was an aul Renault engine.

There are literally no other "extras" in the car e.g the car just about had a radio(model not disimiliar to what you would have found in the 94/95 puntos), even some of the buttons didn't have symbols on them haha, no electric windows and this was a (2008 model), oh no power steering, and the grip on the steering wheel was about as thick as a basketball hoop. Put it this way way when I came home I appreciated my 8 year old Corsa (and thats saying something!!).

Personally I think they should have left them in Romania, but then again, they are perfect in a recession.

pcardin

bladebrew wrote: »

that is a huge problem though, to turn a company reputation around,
my dad drives a 07 avensis and was thinking about changing it,i suggested an octavia, he said he wouldnt drive a skoda,i also suggested an isignia, but he had a dodgy vectra years ago so he wont buy an opel, he also wont drive another ford due to an engine seizure in a 3 year old escort in 97, so he wants a new avensis:(

Hilarious...going by his "genius" car choosing plan he will not consider even Toyota if something will happen with this one. Soon there will be only Dublin Bus for him
On the other hand Lada is sh1t anyway and not worth even considering.

Mycroft H

pcardin wrote: »

Hilarious...going by his "genius" car choosing plan he will not consider even Toyota if something will happen with this one. Soon thre will be only Dublin Bus for him
On the other hand Lada is sh1t anyway and not worth even considering.

Who knows if the new lada will be rubbish? Its a bit presumptuous to say so at this stage?

Guy:Incognito

standardtoaster wrote: »

Had a Dacia Logan rental for a week last year while on the continent, possibly the reason they are so relaible is because the only thing that can go wrong is the engine breaking.
You can see by the models that Renault have put their mark on these in my opinion they are about 4/5 years behind the actual Renault models(style look wise), and yes under the hood was an aul Renault engine.

There are literally no other "extras" in the car e.g the car just about had a radio(model not disimiliar to what you would have found in the 94/95 puntos), even some of the buttons didn't have symbols on them haha, no electric windows and this was a (2008 model), oh no power steering, and the grip on the steering wheel was about as thick as a basketball hoop. Put it this way way when I came home I appreciated my 8 year old Corsa (and thats saying something!!).

Personally I think they should have left them in Romania, but then again, they are perfect in a recession.

Didnt seem to do the Japs any harm in the 90's.

Not hard to build a reliable car with nothing in it.:)

Aidan_M_M

Some Ladas are cool... they made great little rally cars... here's one I re-painted earlier .

CianRyan

A lot of cars that are running great and being sold in great numbers now were terrible back in the 80's/90's, it's very unfair to say Lada will be the same ****e bags they use to be.

My Dad had a Lada back when I was much younger. Couldn't tell you much about it, other than it was red, I could never open the back door and it never broke down.
We upgraded to an Almera, think it was a '00 model and it was like luxury.

Pretty sure the Lada was '90 and it was baught from new. We kept it 'till about 2002 I think. I can barely remember last week...The Lada though, apart from being minimal and the back door being hard to open(I was probably about 8-10 when I couldn't open it), it never broke down. Definitely did not deserve the awful rep it got, how ever ugly it was.

colm_mcm

Fishtits wrote: »

Someone mentioned Dacia... nowt to do with Lada, low cost Renault, primarily Turkish...
.

national car of Romania actually!

2 Espressi

Aidan_M_M wrote: »

Some Ladas are cool... they made great little rally cars... here's one I re-painted earlier .

131 Abarth Kit? Looks pretty good!

galwaytt

Aidan_M_M wrote: »

Some Ladas are cool... they made great little rally cars... here's one I re-painted earlier .

I see 131 Abarth-esque arches and front spoiler there !!

They're not the only East European people who know how to make a car go well.......oh, and the 3rd pic: they used to put all 3 cars IN the bus (they installed a ramp where the back window was......) . And they all slept in it, as well.........!! No Bernie Ecclestone 'notions' there ! (That bus and cars came to the Galway Rally one year...)

Aidan_M_M

Not 131 , but closely styled on it , by Lada themselves . It's a genuine VFTS car , they were actually rallied as Group B cars .

Blisterman

Was in the suburbs of Sofia in Bulgaria, and every second car was a 1980's Lada.

I remember mid 90's, there were tons of Lada jokes around, and yet I very rarely saw anyone driving one.

colm_mcm

Were Ladas actually sold here in the late 80's 90's. In the UK they sold Protons and Ladas, but I can't remember any dealers in this country.

BrianD3

There's an 89 Lada Samara in that scrapyard in Kildare that has been discussed here a few times. Original looking plate with a lowish number, no EU symbol on the plates etc. I''d say it was sold here rather than imported.

colm_mcm

I'm sure they could be sourced new then though, the same way as you could get a dealer/trader to source you a perodua or proton new from the UK/north now.

I remember a few locals having Proton saloons (think they were the same as 80s Mitsi Galant or Lancers) back in the 90s

BrianD3

I did a search in the Irish Times archive for "Lada". Without a subscription (10 quid) you won't be able to see the full articles just some headlines and snapshots. I don't think they'd be talking about Lada unless they were officially available through dealers here?

Ad for a Lada


Here's one from 1987 entitled Climbing the Lada


Low Cost motoring


£5795 hatchback

Jimmy Garlic

The Lada Priora and the Kelina don't look too bad, very basic, low spec, plasticy interiors but other than that not too bad. It will boil down to reliability safety and price. If they can manage to sell a safe reliable car cheaply then they will do well. Car snobbery is fading away, people want a good deal now.

colm_mcm

I think they'd have to be a good bit cheaper than the established and now proven budget cars like Kia and Hyundai. the fact that they're an unknown quantity and the Lada stigma would be a lot to get over.

Skoda is an exception, the finish of their cars and the halo effect from VW, combined with the fact that the Felicia didn't really have any proper competition when it came out gave them a headstart.

TomMc

I cannot think of any Lada dealers in Ireland in the past 30 years but I'm sure there were a few. The only cars of that ilk that I do remember a dealer for was FSO with the Polonez, that was back in the late 80's.

TomMc

IN THE BEGINNING

In 1966, an agreement between Fiat and the Soviet Government was signed, so that a new car factory could be built some 600 miles south-east of Moscow beside the river Volga. This site is now the world's third-largest motor-manufacturing complex with 90 miles of automated assembly lines and a shop-floor area of 22.5 million square feet. The factory was built in less than 4 years, by over 45 thousand workers at an estimated cost of some £820,000,000. The site has it's own hotels, test-track and R&D department. (The hotels have now been sold off).

This mammoth scheme was part of a much larger program for the area, which included the building of a hydro-electric power plant, the Lenin Dam on the lower Volga, and the building of Togliatti, a new town on the banks of the river replacing an earlier settlement called Stavropol which was inundated by the reservoir. Togliatti was the name of the then chairman of the Italian Communist Party. He'd led the Italian resistance during World War 2, and had played a key role in the negotiations which had led to the sale of the Fiat plant to the Soviet Union. Part of the negotiations was the agreement that the Soviet Union would give steel to Fiat for use in it's manufacturing.

THE LADA

The Lada 1200 Saloon first appeared in the UK at the 1973 Motor Show, causing quite a few raised eyebrows because of it's extremely low price. As Satra Motors LTD, the concessionaires said, "For a new car, the Lada looks and sounds strangely familiar. From it's no-nonsense, clean lines to it's pedigree 1198cc engine, capable of speeds up to 90mph And since this is a speed one is rarely allowed to reach, the Lada is never strained. It's also surprisingly gentle at the fuel pumps. Inside and out, there's very little about the Lada that you don't already know. The only thing that will surprise you is the price. It's much less than you'd expect. You don't meet many cars like that nowadays". It was equipped with fully adjustable reclining seats, four speed synchromesh gearbox, two speed wipers, luxurious vinyl upholstery, comprehensive toolkit, and more. "And none of these extras cost more money. Because we think the ex-works price should be where your spending stops, not where it begins."

About four years later, carpets were fitted. (Over the top of the factory-fitted rubber matting) and reversing lights added. Further modifications followed and the Riva has been updated regularly ever since. The body line must surely now be considered a "classic".

April 1994 saw the introduction of the Lada 1200 Saloon and Estate joined later by the 1500 Estate, sharing the 1200 body shell. The 1500 Saloon followed in 1976 and in 1978 appeared with the 1600 engine, and was the up-spec-4-headlamp leader of the Lada range.

In May 1983 the Riva appeared with a 1300cc belt-drive engine, followed in 1984 by the 1200 Saloon and in 1985 by the 1300 and 1500 Estates. Various specification permutations followed, some of which had 1600 engines - these having a higher body line and squarer grille.

The front-wheel drive Samara hatchback powered by a transverse 1300cc engine was unleashed upon an unsuspecting British public in 1987 with a price tag of £5053 inclusive on the road!! Other versions followed, five door hatchbacks and four door saloons being revamped with different body styling kits and the addition of 1500cc and 1100cc engines. In August 1996 the Samara was released with a General Motors fuel injection on the 1.5 engines. During this time the Riva range was whittled down to the 1500 Saloon and Estate with two trim variations.

The third member of the Lada family, the 4-wheel drive Niva, appeared in 1978 in left-hand drive form and two years later in right-hand drive. The Cossack variant with smart interiors, alloy wheels and ironmongery began to appear in 1986, though the Cossack trim had been available as a range of optional extras prior to this. The latter part of 1995 saw the introduction of the Niva Hussar and Cossack fitted with a 1700cc engine with GM fuel injection.

THE END?

On Thursday, July 3rd 1997 MVI, the present Lada importers announced that "No more new cars would be imported, but Lada owners, thought to number about 100,000 will still get parts and service through UK dealers. The difficulty in obtaining an American-made part to enable Lada's to comply with EEC Emission Standards has meant that Russian manufacturer AvtoVaz could no longer supply cars to the motor-vehicle imports based at Carnaby near Bridlington". Auto distributors have now taken over the franchise.

THE FUTURE!

Lada production continues in Russia at a rate of 1 car per 21 seconds supplying the home market and Europe. New models in the pipeline with AvtoVaz looking for support from Western giants like General Motors and Fiat, the future doesn't look too bleak. The cars and their drivers will be around for many years to come.


HISTORY OF LADA NIVA

Firstly, where does the name "Lada" comes from ? In case of the car it means a small, fast sail boat, typical for the river Volga, where the factory is situated. It was also the favorite boat with river pirates, who used to rob commercial ships on the river. The Lada-boat goes back to the vikings, who used to colonize the slavic territory by coming from Scandinavia through the place where St. Petersburg is today and founding a first settlement on the lake Ladoga today called "Starie Ladoaga", Old Ladoga. The where using the vast inland waterways of Russia for trade and soon took over the language, religion and some habits of the slavs but they where actually the founders of the first statehoods that eventually became Russia. As a funny detail of this history and the traveling vikings, the cars made by Rover in England and the ones made by VAZ/Lada in Russia have about the same little ship as a logo.

MORE ABOUT THE NAME

Lada in Russian means "(lovely, little) darling". Before the Togliatti-plant for cars was known as Shiguli factory and the cars were called Shiguli. The Shigulis converted to 'Lada' in late 70's. The name Niva means 'cornfield' in Russian. So our car is 'our darling for cornfields'. First prototypes of the Niva were known in 1974 and the series started 1976 with a 1.3l and a 1.6l Version...


All from here - http://www.lada.co.uk/

Gael23

Wasnt the reason they were all exported because of the emissions out of them?

colm_mcm

I may be wrong here, but I think the Ladas were made from scratch in the factories, as in everything was made in house.

alias no.9

colm_mcm wrote: »

Were Ladas actually sold here in the late 80's 90's. In the UK they sold Protons and Ladas, but I can't remember any dealers in this country.

Reens in Rathmore, Co. Kerry were a Lada and Daihatsu dealer back in the day, they've been Peugeot for a long time now.

http://www.reenscarsales.ie/contentv3/

101sean

The Lada Niva had a bit of a cult following among some off roaders back in the 80/90s, especially if you ditched the original engine and chucked in a Fiat twin cam . It was claimed that the best thing to sort out transmission noise and vibration on them when new was to loosen all the gear and transfer box bolts, drive for a couple of miles at 60 and then tighten everything up again :rolleyes:

The appaling Dacia Duster 4x4 was imported in to the UK in the late 80s, they rotted faster than a Lancia (the FSO Polonez wasn't far behind)

James May is a fan of the Dacia Sandero, reckoned it is what a car should be for the masses.

Wasn't it only pensioners that bought cars with a poached egg for a bonnet badge?

Redderneck

Had a Niva as a company motor for a few years when working abroad. Nothing but good things to say about it. Did what it said on the tin. Never broke down, covered a lot of miles on very dodgy roads, on long journeys, in all sorts of weather and never missed a beat. Anything fancy would've been a target for theft and/or made me a target for theft, so quite happy to blend in and bumble about.

drakshug

I had a samara. Drove it across Europe and it survived a good few baltic winters. Only problem was airlocking in the carb at a few hundred feet (Scottish Highlands) but this was sorted by fitting an original solex.
Living over in Lithuania made me appreciate the bloody things. There are ones from the early seventies still going strong there and absolutely anything can be fixed on them. Only real prob was the keys would snap in the ignition.
Basic but rugged.

pcardin

landyman wrote: »

Who knows if the new lada will be rubbish? Its a bit presumptuous to say so at this stage?

They are rubish. Trust me! I'm going to Russia quite often and have seen all of them - from the oldest model till very recent. Driving around in every major city/town there you can see a Lada parts shop almost on every street. They do brake down as soon as they off the conveuir line.

pcardin

Aidan_M_M wrote: »

Some Ladas are cool... they made great little rally cars... here's one I re-painted earlier .

I remember some of these had a 1.3l vankel engines. Experiment in the late 80ties.

Tabnabs

I thought it worthwhile to bump this old thread instead of making a whole new one.

Lada have signed up Volvo's head designer.

http://translate.google.ie/translate?sl=sv&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.automotorsport.se%2Fartiklar%2Fnyheter%2F20110926%2Fsteve-mattin-ska-leda-designarbetet-hos-lada

(via google translate)

With Renault and Nissan taking an interest, it may yet come to something.

kermitpwee

Yes there were Lada dealers, one in mayo actually.

MetzgerMeister

BX 19 wrote: »

I seem to remember that skoda had the same reputation....... Just look at them now!

Tell that to EPM

Blue Punto

Tom Walsh Motors in Baldoyle and George Cosgrave Motors were Lada/Proton Dealers from 1987 to aprx 1990 in the Dublin Area