Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Junkyard Find: Lada Niva

01 - Lada Niva Down on the Reykjavik Junkyard - Picture Courtesy of Murilee MartinWhen I went to Iceland to abuse some Subarus, I managed to visit a couple of Reykjavik junkyards and poke around a bit. In addition to the weird-to-American-eyes French cars and puzzling quantities of 1990s Chrysler products, I found this VAZ-2121 aka Lada Niva 3-door wedged nose-to-tail with a green Megane.
05 - Lada Niva Down on the Reykjavik Junkyard - Picture Courtesy of Murilee MartinThe car's doors were locked and the yard's proprietor didn't speak much English, so I couldn't determine this Russian's year of manufacture. The marker lights and some comments by Lada-admiring Icelanders later suggest that this car is from the early 1980s.
07 - Lada Niva Down on the Reykjavik Junkyard - Picture Courtesy of Murilee MartinThere's no way this car could have competed in the United States market, what with all the cheap Subarus, reliable Toyota Tercel 4WDs, and the perception that Ladas were just Fiats built by enslaved Stakhonovites in dirt-floored tents in the Gulag. Elsewhere, however, the Nida built up a reputation for T-34-grade toughness.
02 - Lada Niva Down on the Reykjavik Junkyard - Picture Courtesy of Murilee MartinThese days, the Nida's appeal in Iceland has waned, and so this car will likely end up getting crushed soon.


Not many products benefit from association with the Soviet Union. The AK-47 and the Nida, that's about it.


That's how you treat a Lada.


In Iceland, they're a little rougher on their Ladas.

01 - Lada Niva Down on the Reykjavik Junkyard - Picture Courtesy of Murilee Martin 02 - Lada Niva Down on the Reykjavik Junkyard - Picture Courtesy of Murilee Martin 03 - Lada Niva Down on the Reykjavik Junkyard - Picture Courtesy of Murilee Martin 04 - Lada Niva Down on the Reykjavik Junkyard - Picture Courtesy of Murilee Martin 05 - Lada Niva Down on the Reykjavik Junkyard - Picture Courtesy of Murilee Martin 06 - Lada Niva Down on the Reykjavik Junkyard - Picture Courtesy of Murilee Martin 07 - Lada Niva Down on the Reykjavik Junkyard - Picture Courtesy of Murilee Martin

from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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