Saved by the church bell (Commie era car maker Zil now makes Russian church bells)

washingtontimes.com ^ | April 25, 2004 | Rebecca Santana

[Destro]

MOSCOW

[N. Theknow]

ZIL is now Zilch.

[Destro]

Not really - nice play on words though.

[BrooklynGOP]

I think we had a Zil frige...

[elmer fudd]

If I were a ZIL employee I'd just be thanking God I still had my job. 3500 church bells over a decade doesn't really make up for 200,000 less cars per year. It's the way things have to be, but there's still a lot of suffering when inferior companies go broke.

[henderson field]

The question is, who wants a Zil? The answer is, nobody. They must not have done a good enough job of copying the 1953 Packard.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

This is the ultimate irony - a former commie car maker which furnished high-end vehicles to the leaders of the anti-religion Soviet Union now making church bells. Amazing!

[esopman]

Thanks for the post. Lenin's gotta be looking up through the smoke and spitting tacks, he's so mad. After all, ZIL stands for Zavod imeni Lenina (Plant named in honor of Lenin). The irony is delicious.

[Between the Lines]

Bless and consecrate this bell,
sending down upon it the power of Thy grace,
That having heard the voice of its peal,
Thy faithful servants may be strengthened
in piety, in faith, and in courage....


and Let Freedom Ring

[Inyokern]

The question is, who wants a Zil? The answer is, nobody. They must not have done a good enough job of copying the 1953 Packard.

If I am not mistaken, The Roosevelt Administration pressured Packard to sell their pre-war body dies to Zil. Zil copied Packard designs up to the time Packard went out of business and, even after that, they designed cars based on the last Packard concept cars.

[Tijeras_Slim]

look at the bright side. If you were a Trabant employee you'd be making the cardboard boxes the bells are shipped in! :)

[RusIvan]

The question is, who wants a Zil? The answer is, nobody. ==

You are mistaking. ZIL contunues to produce trucks. They ar equite popular in Russia. Because of they are ruggy and simple.
Look here: http://www.zil-online.ru/.

Disregard russian letters and just click on laft menu. You will see pictures of thier trucks.

[klpt]

This is a classic workhorse ZIL-130. There were produced more than 5,000,000 units from the 60's till the 90's. Old ex-military Zil-157 from the 50's still at work.St-Petersburg 2001.

[klpt]

Some shots with different American trucks on Russian roads

[RUS63]

"After all, ZIL stands for Zavod imeni Lenina (Plant named in honor of Lenin)" - no. ZAVOD IMENI LIHACHEVA.