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| Three models of Yugo were sold in the United States: the basic GV model, a hatchback version, and the Cabrio, a convertible. All shared a high-compression 67 horsepower (50 kW) engine designed by Fiat, which required the use of a high-grade motor oil designed for motorcycles to run properly. The failure of many Yugo owners to use the proper oil was part, but far from all, of the Yugo's problems. | Three models of Yugo were sold in the United States: the basic GV model, a hatchback version, and the Cabrio, a convertible. All shared a high-compression 67 horsepower (50 kW) engine designed by Fiat, which required the use of a high-grade motor oil designed for motorcycles to run properly. The failure of many Yugo owners to use the proper oil was part, but far from all, of the Yugo's problems. | ||
| A curious quality is that the Yugo, despite its reputation, is often described by owners as a very reliable car. Some individual Yugos appear to work fine while others are dogged by problems. | A curious quality is that the Yugo, despite its reputation, is often described by owners as a very reliable car. Some individual Yugos appear to work fine while others are dogged by problems, suggesting that the Yugo's problems were caused not by design flaws but by poor ]. | ||
| Zastava still sells cars in many countries of ] under both the Zastava and Yugo brand names. | Zastava still sells cars in many countries of ] under both the Zastava and Yugo brand names. | ||
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The Yugo was a subcompact car for the American market made by the Zastava automobile works in Kragujevac, Yugoslavia, 40 miles south of Belgrade, between 1986 and 1991. The car's design was very similar to the Fiat 128 sold in the USA during the 1970s, and was the product of a long-standing working agreement between Zastava and Fiat, a major Italian car maker.
History
Introduced in the summer of 1986 at a price of $3,990, it was by far the lowest-priced new car available in the USA at the time, and it sold very well at first. However, it soon developed a notorious reputation for being unreliable, and sales declined rapidly. In 1991, Zastava withdrew the car from the U.S. market when severe restrictions were placed on trade with Yugoslavia because of the human-rights violations of its then-current government.
Three models of Yugo were sold in the United States: the basic GV model, a hatchback version, and the Cabrio, a convertible. All shared a high-compression 67 horsepower (50 kW) engine designed by Fiat, which required the use of a high-grade motor oil designed for motorcycles to run properly. The failure of many Yugo owners to use the proper oil was part, but far from all, of the Yugo's problems.
A curious quality is that the Yugo, despite its reputation, is often described by owners as a very reliable car. Some individual Yugos appear to work fine while others are dogged by problems, suggesting that the Yugo's problems were caused not by design flaws but by poor quality control.
Zastava still sells cars in many countries of Europe under both the Zastava and Yugo brand names.
Although the butt of many jokes even today, the Yugo, like other cars of the Communist era such as the Lada and East German Trabant, is a popular collectors' item.
The Yugo in Fiction
The Yugo's reputation as a lemon has survived in fiction long after the cars were still sold in the United States. The characters who own them are sometimes (but not always) complete idiots, with the unspoken suggestion that anyone who would buy a Yugo is not particularly bright.
- Dar Dar (of the fictional band Crucifixion Junkies) - Hammerhead Ranch Motel
- Sgt Joe Friday - Dragnet (the comedy movie)
- Kate Malone - Catalyst