>>>Not great cars, but basic and easy to work on. I think they were based on the Fiat 124.
A buddy of mine bought a used 4-door Lada for $600.00 in the early ‘80s. It came with a large set of tools, such that you could do all the repairs you would ever need to do on it. He drove it 40 miles each way, 4 times a week for several years. Aside from 60 pounds of Bondo applied over during that time, he had little maintenance to do on the car. After 4 years, he kept the tool kit and sold it for $600.00. For him, it was a ‘Lada’ car for very little money!<<<
A single worthy product by Lada is a 1977 Niva - a first ever unibody crossover SUV.
A dirt-cheap three-door sub-compact wagon, featuring all the locks and off-road transmission in base model.
I think they are still building it.
Yes, the Niva is still being built as a co-product of AutoVaz and GM.