Re: Lada Riva

[Justin Shelton <justinshelton@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Fun to see the Lada Riva on this list, John.  It
brings back fond memories of living in Costa
Rica/Nicaragua in the late 80s when I had a beautiful
mint green one.  Bought it used, very cheap, and damn
did that car drink oil something bad!  Rode like a
Sherman tank, didn't care for high-speed cornering,
but it made LOTS of trips and only broke down every
OTHER day, not EVERY day.  My car had those
teeny-weeny windshield wipers on the headlights, but
they never worked, and in fact the glass housing over
the headlights was notoriously weak and seemed like
every other car I saw had cracks or was shattered.

The Riva's just a rebadged Fiat 124.  If I recall, the
Fiat sold the body and engine stuff, maybe even the
whole factory, to the Soviet government.

I've only ever seen one Lada in the US, a Niva
(Jeep-style vehicle) driving in Chicago.  There's a
huge ex-Soviet population there and someone must have
got homesick for one!  I think that the Riva and Niva
were sold in Canada back in the 80s, certainly the
more modern looking Samara was.

The same Fiat 124 was assembled in Poland and sold
under the name "Polski."

Brings back fond and sometimes painful memories!  If
there's an AMC connection here, it's that these Ladas
were plentiful and cheap once upon a time, but they
all seem to be disappearing quickly.

> Subject: Haulin'
> Date: Wed, 7 Dec 2005 19:03:57 -0500
> Message-ID:
>
<E8DF38ACFC17F94998DE284C5CE4582A462AEC@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> From: "Mahoney, John" <JMahoney@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <mail@xxxxxxxxxxxx>

> >>
> Has anyone seen the promo for next weeks Overhaulin.
> It shows a couple of cars that are competing(I
> think)to be overhauled.
> One of those cars was a two seater AMX.
> <<
> 
> ("The Biggest Beater in America" is their
> 12/13-17/05 segment title...)
> 
> AMC products, overlooked in the 2004 edition of
> "Crap Cars" countdown,
> 
> 50. Lancia Monte Carlo=20
> 49. Porche 924=20
> 48. Ford Scorpio=20
> 47. Cadillac STS=20
> 46. Renault Safrane=20
> 45. Jaguar XJ40=20
> 44. Ford Escort MK1V=20
> 43. Yugo Sana=20
> 42. Mitsubishi 3000GT=20
> 41. Rover 800=20
> 40. Volvo 340=20
> 39. Delorean DMC-12=20
> 38. Vauxhall Belmont=20
> 37. Triumph TR7=20
> 36. Rolls-Royce Carmargue=20
> 35. Talbot Tagora=20
> 34. Suzuki Wagon R=20
> 33. Volvo 262C=20
> 32. Subaru XT=20
> 31. Nissan Sunny Coupe=20
> 30. Skoda Estelle=20
> 29. Renault 9=20
> 28. Maserati Biturbo=20
> 27. Daihatsu Move=20
> 26. Alfa Romeo Arna=20
> 25. Hyundai Pony=20
> 24. Fiat Strada=20
> 23. Subaru Justy=20
> 22. Austin Maestro=20
> 21. Toyota Space Cruiser=20
> 20. Fiat 126=20
> 19. Daihatsu Applause=20
> 18. Ferrari 400=20
> 17. Austin Ambassador=20
> 16. Yugo 45=20
> 15. Datsun Sunny 120Y=20
> 14. Aston Martin Lagonda=20
> 13. Susuki SJ=20
> 12. FSO Polonez=20
> 11. Seat Marbella=20
> 10. MGB=20
> 9. Trabant=20
> 8. Reliant Robin=20
> 7. Bond Bug=20
> 6. Nissan Serena=20
> 5. Lada Riva=20
> 4. Morris Marina=20
> 3. Suzuki X90=20
> 2. Austin Allegro=20
> 1. Volkswagen Beetle=20