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Lada

This article should be merged with  AutoVAZ

This page is about a car manufacturer. For Slavic goddess, see Lada and Lado.

Lada is the trademark of the AutoVAZ (Volzhsky Automobilny Zavod) company. This Russian automobile manufacturer, originally set up in collaboration with Fiat, produces a number of cars, including the Samara, a small hatchback, and the Niva, a 4x4 vehicle. Their first car, the model BA3-2101, based on the 1966 Fiat 124 and introduced in 1970 is still produced and remains the car most associated with the Lada name.

The plant was set up as a collaboration between Italy and the Soviet Union and built on the banks of the Volga river. A new town named Togliatti, named after an Italian communist, was built around the factory. The Lada was envisaged as a "people's car" like the Citroën 2CV or the VW Beetle.

The original Fiat-based Lada (model numbers 2101 to 2107 to denote various headlight, trim and body styles) were built in several different body styles. Among them, the original, Fiat style car, with two or four round lights. The model with two round headlights was manufactured up to 1988, the model with four headlights is still being manufactured, though not at the Togliatti plant.

In 1981 a newer body style with updated 80s styling was introduced. Square headlights and new body panels distinguish this style from the old.

The lightweight Italian Fiat 124 was adapted into something intended to survive treacherous Russian driving conditions. Among many changes, aluminium brake drums were added to the rear, and the Fiat engine was revised and converted to overhead camshaft operation. The suspension was raised (to clear rough Russian roads) and the bodyshell was made from thicker, heavier steel. The first Lada models were equipped with a starting handle in case the battery went flat in Siberian conditions, though this was later dropped. Another feature specifically intended to help out in cold conditions was a hand pump for the gas pump.

Engines fitted to the original Ladas start with the 1.2 liter carburettor in the original and go up to the 1.7 liter export model set up with a General Motors single point fuel injection system. More modern gas and diesel engines may be available within Russia. The drivetrain is a simple rear wheel drive setup with a stiff rear axle. The engine is an inline four with two valves per cylinder and a single overhead camshaft.

The domestic market Lada is called Zhiguli. Their other cars include the Oka, Tarzan, 110, Kalina and Nadezhda, in addition to the Samara and Niva.

The original Lada is often thought of as a 'rugged' car, lacking in most modern luxuries expected in modern cars.

While sanctions banned their export to the United States, Ladas were available in several Western countries during the 1980s, including Canada and Britain, where, due to a peception of poor quality and their low price, they became the subject of jokes such as these:

Q: How do you double the resale value of a Lada?

A: Fill 'er up!

Q: Why do Ladas come as standard with rear window defrosters?

A: So your hands stay warm while you're pushing it.

They were along the same line as jokes known for other affordable car models:

• Ford - also known as Found On Road Dead or Fix Or Repair Daily
• Fiat - Fix It Again Tomorrow

Changes to emmissions- and safety-legislation meant that AutoVAZ withdrew from most Western markets by the late 1990s; often, there were also problems with spare parts.

Though the original Lada, and as of the early part of the new millennium the Samara, have now been withdrawn from Europe, the 110 and the Niva are still sold on the European market, as are the more modern models. The Lada is widely available in many Central- and South American countries as well as Africa, the Middle East and in all of the former Soviet Union.

The word "Lada" means "swan" in Russian, which explains the logo of the car.

See also: List of automobile manufacturers