Back when the Yugo first came over here, the local newspaper still had
a local automotive testing group that worked through the city desk.
The main person in charge was named Buddy Houts, and he attended the
same church my family did at the time. Every week, he'd come with
whichever car he had been testing that week.
When he brought the Yugo, of course he got a little ribbing about it
and its humble appearance. He took it all in stride. But I remember my
father looking at it and commenting that it was everything the
Chevette he'd had should have been but wasn't. May seem strange to the
Yugo bashers, but that car seemed more refined than the American-made
Chevette and came in a more compact package. Dad loved his Chevette,
but was more than willing to enumerate its shortcomings when it
finally gave up the ghost at 120k miles.
The review in the paper pretty well bolstered that opinion. Buddy
wrote that he was expecting the worst and was pleasantly surprised.
The model he tested was equipped with a 5-speed and a/c. He said the
car was quite peppy and fun, and the a/c was enough to freeze him on
even a blisteringly hot day. He drove it for a week in the summertime
down here in the southern US, so I'd imagine he knew what he was
talking about. He did have a couple of complaints, but they seemed
minor at the time. This was back about the time I was 11 or 12 years
old, so I only remember so much.
I'm sure there were some lemons in the crate, but wonder if some
people bought them cause they were cheap and then didn't give them the
maintenance that any car should have.
William Killeffer
wkilleffer@comcast.net
Made with a Mac
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