[TR] Triumphs Digest, Vol 1, Issue 360

[pethier at comcast.net]

> forgotten the Lada car and yes, a clone of the Fiat 124.

I'm pretty sure there was a FWD one also, a FIAT 128 made under license.  I think I saw them in the movie GORKY PARK.  I am told that the Ladas were build with cheap steel that was thicker than the high-strength steel used in the FIAT originals.  Also, the Ladas had drum brakes because it was thought that Soviet mechanics would be unfamiliar with disk brakes.

I do not know which ones were fitted with Wankel engines for police cars because the Militiamen could not catch civilians when their Ladas were no faster than the civilians' Ladas.  The Wankel-equipped Ladas were quite a bit faster than the standard ones.  I imagine they were pretty scary.  The engines apparently were not Mazda engines, but were built under license from Wankel.

A different FIAT was produced as the Yugo and unfortunately sold in the USA.  

--
Phil Ethier  West Side  Saint Paul Minnesota  USA
1962 Triumph TR4 CT2846L, 1992 Saturn SL2, 1993 Suburban,
1994 Miata C package
pethier [at] comcast [dot] net    http://forum.mnautox.com/forums/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pethier
I decry the textmessagization of the American-English language.