[Mgs] MG sighting - the octagon

Matt Trebelhorn matt.lists at trebelhorn.com
Thu Apr 3 16:28:07 MST 2008


The Yugo is a pretty cool car -- but you're right to blame Malcom  
Bricklin, at least a little.  The Yugo was introduced in the late  
1980s, and used the same drivetrain as a Fiat X1/9.

By that time, the X had a 1500 CC motor, fuel injection, and a 5- 
speed.  Instead of taking that fairly modern drivetrain, though, the  
Yugo used essentially an early-70s spec version: 1100cc, 4-speed, and  
a carb/emissions setup from the absolutely awful Ford Escort (not the  
British Escort)

Why?  Blame Bricklin.

A Yugo with a 1500 and injection could be a pretty nice car; with  
1100ccs, a lousy carb, an air pump, and a cat, it can be slow.

By the way, I have a theory that my Yugo and my MGB are cousins.  The  
MG1100 and the Autobianchi Primula were both FWD 4-seaters, slightly  
larger than a Mini.  Both were designed by Pininfarina, and are  
pretty similar looking.  The Primula was the Fiat Group's first FWD  
car; the next was the 127, which was european car of the year in the  
early 70s, and which was licensed to Zastava to make the Yugo.

Matt

On 3 Apr, 2008, at 2:31 PM, Dan DiBiase wrote:

> Yugoslavia was certainly within the USSR sphere of influence - and  
> behind the 'Iron Curtain' - but it wasn't part of the USSR.
>
> I always thought the Yugo was just another Malcolm Bricklin scam. ;-)
>
> Dan D
> Central NJ USA
> '76 MGB Tourer - Driver - Engine Surgery In Progress...
> '65 MGB Tourer Project - Yep, Still Is....
> NAMGBR #5-2328
> http://dans65b.blogspot.com/
> http://dansautoblog.blogspot.com/
> http://mywebpages.comcast.net/dibiase/Working_MG_Gallery.html
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Charles & Peggy Robinson <ccrobins at ktc.com>
> To: Richard Gosling <rbgosling at googlemail.com>; MG Mailing List  
> <mgs at autox.team.net>
> Sent: Thursday, April 3, 2008 2:18:12 PM
> Subject: Re: [Mgs] MG sighting - the octagon
>
>   I don't know about when the Yugo - called Zastava in Yugoslavia -
> started production.  Could have been before the fall of the iron
> curtain.  Marshal Tito did things his way, even though his country was
> part of the USSR.  Either way, the Yugo was a pretty good little car.
> It was a Fiat, built under license in what's now Serbia.  We had an  
> '88
> Yugo that took us 130K miles before Peg ran it out of oil and blew it
> up.  We towed it with all four down behind our motorhome too.   
> There are
> still Yugos on the road in this country today.
>
>    I sure would like to know more about that octogon sign.
>
>    CR
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