The Worst Car Ever: A Brief History of the Trabant

The Stream ^ | 7 November | Jon Miltimore

[oh8eleven]

In fact, a Saturn was a luxury car compared to the Worst Car Ever award-winner. That distinction goes to the Trabant, a dreadful vehicle produced from 1957 to 1990 by the former East German [i.e. Communist] car manufacturer VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau.

Perhaps it’s no surprise that the 1957 Trabant had no tachometer, no turn signal, no seat belts or fuel gauge, no trunk liner, and used an oil/gas mix. The fact that these basic amenities were still missing when Taylor Swift was born [1989] is a bit more surprising.

East Germans considered themselves lucky just to get a Trabant. The average waiting period was 10 years.

[jimmygrace]

I went to Dresden shortly after reunification and there were a lot of those awful 3-wheel Citroens being driven. Meanwhile, you go west and everyone was driving BMW’s and Mercedes, which are the common cars in West Germany. These days, there is very little difference between east and west, except that Skoda cars made in the Czech Republic are respectable.

[billorites]

"Mid 70’s American Cars were challenging."

If I served you egg salad and you became violently ill you wouldn't trust my cooking for a very long time if ever.

I have not bought a car from an American major manufacturer in 45 years.

I've had numerous Hondas and Toyotas that were made in the U.S., but a Ford, GM or Chrysler designed car, no thanks.

After owning a Pinto and Vega in the mid-seventies we moved on to Europe and Japan and have never looked back.

[hanamizu]

But wasn’t there a Cadillac version of the Citation?

[ebshumidors]

I went to a rally race in Hungary in 1988. They actually had a class for Trabants. The things I saw...

[newfreep]

My first car was a '67 Mustang fastback in candy apple red with fold-down rear seats. The high school chicks dug it!

That said, I always preferred the styling of the Javelin AMX over the Camaro/Firebird.

[W.]

I was a mechanic at a Ford dealership in the early ‘80’s, found those little Ford Fiestas had quite a bit of pep for no more of than what it was...like Ford’s version of a Chevette.

[Disambiguator]

A friend of mine’s parents traded off a really nice ‘69 Caprice Coupe with the 300 HP 5.7 V-8 - for a Citation.
WHOOPS!

[Moleman]

mine was a pinto too, but didn’t complain in high school.

[NachOsten]

Tatra was a world class before the commies screwed it up. Boxer engine was their original. Here is 1951/Tatra, Tatraplan

[NachOsten]

But it is VW now.
My friend has all wheel drive Octavia.
Drives beautifully and the tranny is awesome.
One finger operation.

[NorseViking]

I had a chance to drive T87. The most unique peace of automotive history easily. Made in 1930s it handles just like a modern car. Ride comfort, easy controls, acceleration, engine noise (v8 by the way). An average 1975 American automobile doesn’t feel that modern in comparison. The only thing betraying the ancient nature of it is you still see a 1930 dash.
Porsche has stolen both Bug and 911 idea from them.
In fact Tatra was doing quite well under commies. It stopped car production after the wall fell. Still builds trucks.

[Raymann]

Wasn’t Skoda a Czech company that made the Panzer 35?

[SaveFerris]

Had a friend, in 1980, ask me to help his friend, a girl, buy her new car.

He was looking over her deal. So I helped her.

She was buying a Chevy Citation. I got her a great deal. It was red and silver with a bright red interior.

Never saw her after that. Always wondered how long it lasted.

About this color but silver across the bottom. 4-door with hatchback. All Citations disappeared pretty quickly. In 1994 Avis was sold out so I had to head to Budget or something to rent one week. Got a Corsica. Wow what a piece of junk. The Beretta looked OK from the outside. Whoever designed the Corsica interior must have been from the old Soviet Union. Very awkward.

[21twelve]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8qVBaSTpmQ

Here’s an interesting video on the T87. He also said it doesn’t drive like an old car. More like a 1980’s Toyota.

[NorseViking]

Thank you for a nice video. It seems like my impression wasn’t too much subjective. Great car indeed.

[21twelve]

I was wondering if it might be you in the video - seriously!

Then when he said “The only thing that seems old in this car is the....” I was waiting for him to say “the dash”! He instead pointed to the front axle design and the stiffer ride that it gave.

I’m guessing this slightly later version came with the cool vents in the back instead of the small rear windows. The tail lights reminded me of the back end of my dad’s Impala from 1965?

[NorseViking]

Hehe, yep, Impala looks like influenced by it a little bit. As for suspension I guess you need to ride over bad road to feel the difference. Of course technically it is far from modern car anyway. Still very impressive.

[PLMerite]

"The Worst Car Ever: A Brief History of the Trabant"

Even a Trabant can dream: