Worst car ever in the snow.
Worst car ever in the snow.
I’ve been in Yugos and they’re much better than the Moskvitch from the same period - those are death traps.
My wife had a 1979 Monza, but with the 5.0 liter V-8. One of the fastest (and most dangerous) cars I have ever driven. It could burn rubber in all gears (3-speed automatic), and would go faster than you would want to drive it. Never felt quite right at high speeds...
It was also THE worst car in snow and ice... It would start sliding when you put it in gear at an idle, just getting out of the drive way, no matter how many bags of kitty litter you put in the back. Needless to say, it never got out of the driveway in bad weather.
You could also only take it once to a shop for a tuneup. You had to loosen two engine mounts, and jack the engine up to change all the spark plugs. When you paid the bill, they would kindly tell you to never darken their door again...
I drove my 72 Vega in the snow in Indiana, Kentucky, and Germany. I drove my 78 Monza in snow in making many trips from Washington DC to Indianapolis, Indiana, during 4 years in Germany, and through the mountain pass just east of El Plaso on New Year’s Day 1983, when there was 6 inches of packed snow and ice between the tires and the asphalt of I-10, the Texas Highway Patrol were only allowing cars with chains or snowtires to go through the pass. I always used snow tires in the winter and had no problems.