Automotive Culture: Russia

[JohnBM01]

I've kind of turned a normal topic into a "series." If you want to call it a "series," I'm basing this topic on Speed Channel's coverage of "The World's Greatest Auto Shows: Moscow." Here are some of the mentioned cars both Russian and non-Russian (by the way, I stink at Russian so if I misspell, my bad, player!):

Lada: Priora, Kilana, 110
???: Sapia
Volkswagen: Pointer,
Kia: Picanto
GAZ: Volga 31107, Kombat, 3106
Hyundai: Terracan,
Skoda: Superb
Jaguar: XJ

Like China, there are some Russian cars that kind of "borrow." The Gaz Tiger looks too much like a Hummer. In Russia, you pretty much have to repair cars on your own. Most Russian cars seriously lack in performance. Not used to the high speeds and raw power of America and most other European countries. I've even heard of machinery there that aren't as responsive. The Hyundai Terracan does not have a rear window that opens. Instead, you have to open the tailgate. Did you know that "Terracan" means "cockroach?" Some cars in Russia don't even have stereos (unless you add some, of course). Some of the amentities us American, European, Australian, and Japanese are used to (accessibility, responsiveness, ... Russian automobile industry is very important to Russia's economy. Russian cars lack safety features, however, Russia is working on it. Of course, that's always a good thing. Traffic safety is a problem as well. Keep in mind that it can get very cold in Russia, so imagine contending with icy roads and such. The "Best in Show" award went to this wild bus.

 

[eliseracer]

What wild bus?

Most people in Russia cannot afford these cars. Most of them drive Lada 1500s (and other models), old Saabs and old BMWs. Their roads are absolute crap, and the weather conditions don't help. Want to see something more phenomenal? Check out the tuning culture in Eastern Europe and Russia. Try to figure that out. The trends are completely different than here, and the cars don't really look to be going faster after any extensive modifications. We're talking the regular population here, don't show me some super-showcar and say that it was from Russia. There are the very few rich, and the rest aren't very rich at all...

 

[JohnBM01]

The Russian economy does have to make these adjustments since the economy is kind of shaky down there. That's rather interesting. When it comes to American prices, the cars could be sold for about the price of cars from maybe the 1970s or 1980s. I think this situation is different from China in a sense that the cars and trucks here are pretty nice and pretty modern. Some look kind of old-age except for the non-Russian imports. I think that Russia will be able to have more people afford such cars. Then when money starts being generated more and more, perhaps we may see some bigger and better machinery. I have faith in the Russian auto market regardless.

 

[eliseracer]

Don't.
Have you ever been to an Eastern European country? Not just the hotels and the historical villas, but the houses of the common people. They can't afford cars in general. I spent a month in Latvia, and I got a sense of their standard of living. Not only are they not Russia, they have had time to build up their economy for 13 years since the fall of the Soviet Union. That isn't much time, but I can say that I'd rather live there than in a remote Russian village.

The Russian economy would take dozens of years to have every household have a car in their garage. The American automakers (nevermind that they're almost inexistant there) will never slash prices by that much just because they feel sorry for the Russians. If that was the case, a 2000$ Pontiac Grand AM would be bought there, shoved in a container and shipped here for still less than half of the price of a new one bought domestically.

The Russian ecenomy is terrible, their infrasturcture is also sub-par. It isn't simply a matter of "have to make these adjusments." It would take years... They may have an auto market that is inching forward (the concepts you showed), but they still have a little chance in making it something known outside of Easter Europe, in this half-decade.

Opel doesn't count. They have a fairly good presence there...