Its unfortunate that the vast majority of Yugo owners didnt even get that. It began the use of the FWD, horizontal boxer engine which carries on in Subarus to this day (albeit in a modern form). everything behind them. The interior was fading right from day one. I remember checking them out back in I think 1986 at a local dealer and loved that bright blue they were offering at the time, called Adriatic Blue. I took all of the fun stuff off of the red one (Italian Cromodora wheels and the AM/FM Cassette) and put it on the blue one. (not the 1st time Ive done this,haha). Someone steeped in the maintenace required to keep something like a Trabant running would probably be right at home with a Yugo. Now that its privatized, products have risen in quality to what the buyer expects for his money. Whats bad. Thus American drivers were introduced to the second worst car ever sold- the tiny, dangerously underpowered 360 from Subaru. -You know why Yugo drivers go to heaven? (Eagleburger had been U.S. ambassador to Yugoslvia and had spent almost all of his foreign service career in southeast europe. This doomed script and conventional direction venture for Nick Gomez (" New Jersey Drive "/" Laws of Gravity "), results in a comedy that got by with a few mean-spirited jokes. Drowning Mona | 2000 | PG-13 | - 5.5.5. Although it shares some similarities with the Fiat 127, it is actually based on the much more advanced Autobianchi. I knew a guy in the 90s, who was very smart (the grandson of a Nobel Prize winner in fact!) Amazingly, someone got in it, started it, and it ran and drove (more or less) away. The problem here was, first, poor management, as I noted; second, a workplace culture and a national culture that was absolute authoritarianism. Malcolm Bricklin was one of those guys who is the quintessential P.T. The Yugos bait was a stunningly low MSRP of just $3990. The sexy Marsha Brady girl with the bellbottoms in the Subaru commercials is unforgettable. Good account. Barnum, Theres a sucker born every minute con-artist. It was as if the Yugo was being promoted as crap, but SUPERIOR crap. And was thus more expensive. My favorite memory was the NYC art exhibit where every sculpture was created from the remains of an old Yugo. Screenwriter Peter Steinfeld says the film was originally going to be set in a mythical north. The collapse of Communism removed any perceived legitimacy left in the public who thought their future under capitalism would reflect a standard of living like W Germanys. The interior squeaked everywhere that it didnt rattle. Dan beat me to it. Another example of the high cost of low priced objects. Joe Friday (Dan Aykroyd) had a gold one in the Dragnet movie. But they did. Sure some of the plastic trim was suspect, but dont forget that GM was still doing rubbermaid doors then, and the Japanese were still stapling vinyl over cardboard for door trims. Also spare parts were inexpensive and any mechanic and his nephew would fix it. My BIL and I popped out the axles, but that was more of a preventative move, rather than a necessity. The faded red one in the piece is for sale- $750. Every vehicle in town that is not a truck is a Yugo, except the police cruisers, which are Plymouth Horizons. Since mine had been in a rental fleet, it was actually pretty well taken care of, it had an OK aftermarket radio and A/C. They even found dirt and rust that had been painted on in the inside of some cars nearing completion. Our Mr. Bricklin also had an idea to start up another company fed by Zastava, this time to be called ZMW. I pampered and took extremely good care of it and maintained it very well, it just couldnt hold up to being pampered either. Well, as they say, two out of three aint bad. If Italy had built it, would it be known as the It??? Ladas were, and are, shite. No one in the movie is particularly vicious (well, Jeff's no prize) and the urgency of the case is undermined by the general agreement that Verplanck is calmer and happier now that Mona's gone. Its not like Fiat designs were anything special, quite the contrary in many instances. To say that the 360 was unsuited to American driving norms is to wildly overpraise the car. that stated this town was used as a consumer testing site for the cars. But these Yugos aren't just a frivolous component of the storythey're essential to establishing the wacky tone of the film. They found problems in the assembly processone described was how the wiring harness to the rear liftgate and wiper, didnt fit the stamped holes allowed it. Last Update: . The battery required water to be poured into it. It would be interesting to see how the rear suspension was beefed up. It couldnt be trusted just sitting in the parking lot. (At the same dealership on the window sticker above,actually). Yugoslavia, markets in new states opened for foreign cars and some of my friends bought American cars lured by size and luxury, but this love affairs usually ended quickly and costly. Audis have been headaches to owners at various times. One time the keys were out and the car was still on and would not turn off. After we meet the local residents, we understand why they're driving them now: They can't afford to replace them. FSO 125P: The ignition constantly gave out and so did the clutch. For the rest of the scene, he is dry from the waist up. I was amazed when I rode in one, expecting a bouncy distaster but encountering a surprisingly supple feel of the suspension. So there you have it. Danny DeVito (Chief Wyatt Rash) and Tracey Walter (Clarence) appeared in Matilda (1996). One of the magazines rolled one on test, and they had a top speed of around 65mph. Competing econoboxes included the Chevy Chevette,. Or maybe not. In Spain it was called "Todos la queran muerta" (everyone wanted her dead), Too good of a movie not to be on this site in HD. He claimed the belt was good for 200,000-plus miles, often outlasting the pulleys. Rated PG-13 So, they set about seeing what was what with a road-trip around Romania in three cars they would be testing. The first thing to appear onscreen is a little blurb about the Yugo car company using the town of Verplanck as a test area for their new model years ago. This article, like many here, evoked some fond memories. Parts are no problem, because it is basically a FIAT. At first glance, the car looked up to date- Front wheel drive, rack and pinion steering, decent mileage. What a story! Perhaps they were sabotaged so the poor workers wouldnt have to slave to make them for america? That salty New England slush had its way with everything. They didnt always start, and they DID always rust away. Only with the threat of armed intervention by Nato and the UN is an uneasy peace maintained. Bricklin used franchise fees to run the company (a major accounting no-no) while the car was being modified for safety and emissions certification in the U.S. and dealerships were sold, territories assigned. It is my understanding the latter Yugos were much better than their earlier counterparts, but still not up to snuff with the worst(?) You had to know FIATS and and what Yugo klooged up to meet EPA regs and how to unklooge it. Enterior wall panels were thin cardboard with painted on carpet flecks. })(); Pictures are property of movie companies owner of the respective movies. How did Danny DeVito die in Drowning Mona? (France) Chi ha ucciso la signora Dearly? I had been driving a Datsun 200 SX and the 5 speed was like silk. I would suggest you read Jason Vuics book on the Yugowhat he described the Yugo America advance men as finding, had little to do with shortages of raw materials. They took in much more foreign revenue and as the economy began to fail more and more fundamentally, the leaders of those republics decided theyd be better off independent of Yugo. In 1968, Bricklin thought that what America needed was an air cooled two cylinder car that could make zero to sixty in thirty seven agonizing seconds. Ive always had a soft spot for these little cars from Yugoslavia. There are many causes for poor management. My guess is that many of his critics could not have done as much. Danny DeVito and Neve Campbell appeared together again six years after the release of this film in another comedy "Relative Strangers "(2006). Yes, a Deer. 5.0 out of 5 stars Drowning Mona music CD. Damn that X1/9 still looks beautiful just like mine the 81 behind the new Abarth. In fact, as it became evident that the Yugo was heading toward failure, Bricklin tried to modify and import the Proton from Malaysia to take advantage of low wage rates and favorable exchange valuations that would have made that car an asian version of the Yugo. He was a statistician in the War Department who became interested in using statistical controls to produce higher-quality manufactured goods. Drowning Mona - An explanation informs viewers that the setting (Verplanck, New York) was a test market for Yugos. 500 left in running condition? It was amazing (to me) how they found a solution so quickly. } In fact, it was through the good offices of Lawrence Eagleburger that all of the political red tape was navigated in order to make the project feasible. 5 Yugo i know its a rare thing but should we park them together ? They did not have such a bad reputation,at least not as bad as the rear engined Skodas The car itself staggered on until early 1992, with steadily declining sales and a dealer network that was slowly (and then quickly) going bankrupt. I would venture to guess that there are fewer than 500 running condition Yugos still on the road in the U.S. (most of which need a little TLC) Anybody that ever owned one of these little mobile gulags will tell you that there was nothing loveable, cute or endearing about them. Kathleen Wilhoite (Lucinda) and Melissa McCarthy (Shirley) appeared on Gilmore Girls (2000). NEVER Give Up - NEVER Back Down Its like almost any car; get to know its issues, and if you have the mechanical inclinations to deal with them, theyre pretty simple cars otherwise. Let me disillusion youI busted a piston crown and bent a valve badly enough to freeze up the camshaft. Or wasting half a grand. And this works both ways after war ended in ex. its a beautiful nineteenth century townhouse that was redesigned combining the 19th century iron front with a modern glass setback. } Ive got video somewhere. (* 5-20 for older cars, up to 200 if they have to change water-pump and rollers, new models are more expensive, but 500 maybe for new BMW). Now they are all scared by digital cameras and this are just some memories from the other side of the iron curtain. *shakes tiny fist*. Seem like this article is just a mishmash of old articles written by people who never owned a Yugo, dont know anything about yugos, or who designed its engine. Then again, Ive always had a liking for the odd car or two over the years. https://chrisoncars.com/yugo-victim-or-victimizer/: (Time Magazine said it best: The Yugo has the distinct feeling of something assembled at gunpoint), I found quite a few articles from later years, quoting the same sentence over and over again (https://www.carkeys.co.uk/news/the-story-of-the-yugo-the-worst-car-in-the-world, https://www.ocregister.com/2017/01/03/the-best-worst-cars-ever/ , https://blastmagazine.com/2014/05/13/truth-10-cars-never-hit-road/), And there you have it: everybody knows for fact that Yugo was actually assembled at gunpoint. No argument with the political details of your well made point. Later I also replaced steering rack under warranty because of some slack inside. What he saw was an operation that turned out a car designed (and abandoned) by Fiat years before. I cant imagine that anybody that test drove one like mine actually laid down real money for one. . They were an object lesson in the old adage that you get what you pay for. Also i believe that the whole project couldnt last very long because Crvena Zastava never had economic strength to satisfy such demanding market, which requires first class quality, excellent dealer network and a newer and bigger model every year, just to stay in business. Second occurred during 1994-95, having changed employment by then, while driving the 50+ miles each morning, Id notice Yugos of different colors pass me on the four lane driven by the same fellow. In fact, if anything, Americas foreign policy in the 80s encouraged Yugoslavia to manufacture and export finished goods to pay its debts. A 2000 American crime comedy film directed by Nick Gomez that has a police chief ( Danny DeVito) investigate the death of a woman named Mona ( Bette Midler ), an abusive and spiteful woman who was hated by everyone who knew her. Why are there so many Yugo in this movie? If possible, the FSO 125p was even worse. Im affiliated with NECC Motorsports, a club that runs time trials at various sports car racing tracks in the eastern half of the USA. GM had tried to buy Zastava in 2007, but the deal fell through. Generally what kills them is the cost of major systems repairs, to where its not economically justifiable. (Fiat DID design the chassis, after all.). With a State-owned automobile plant, management is there for political reasons which may have nothing to do with competence. Id actually like to have another one, but beef it up with Fiat parts. Both were sold for more than I paid. I remember that time very well, it was impossible to find coffee or bananas or laundry detergent etc in the stores, and the industry was struggling to get raw materials. Thanks for your detailed experience. The little cars--all Yugos--are almost identical; they only differ in color, and Rona's has a sunroof. Well, when someone drowns Mona (Bette Midler), it's almost a cause for celebration in the quiet, upstate New York town of Verplanck, whose one claim to fame - except Mona Dearly - is that it's a hotbed of Yugos. The 360 was a Kei car, which took advantage of reduced taxes and insurance rates in Japan for cars less than three meters long with engines no more than 360cc in displacement. Bette Midler chops off son's hand. But, I decided that going back into the printing business made more sense to me, so I left the car lot and headed back to what I call work. For Some Thematic Elements, Language and Brief Sexuality, Berlinale 2023 Highlights, Part Two: Reality, Manodrome, The Adults, Inside, Golda, Angela Bassett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Fraser, Cate Blanchett, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson Feted at SBIFF 2023, Revisiting Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Tragically Common: Jamie Dack, Lily McInerny and Jonathan Tucker on Palm Trees and Power Lines. Sorry, Jeff, but I dare to notice that you dont know so much about Zastava (factory and cars, their projects and people, its country and history) and dare to write about. Big deal, huh? \"Drowning Mona\" is bad . Your experience was exactly what my suspicions were about these cars. First of all, thanks to Perry Shoar for a very well written explanation of the events of the 70s and 80s that led to the meltdown of Yugoslavia. The Mopar fuselage cars were not too bad, but the 71 on up B bodies were not so good. State ownership is generally coupled to some sort of coersion, such as a penalty tax on other makes. After the death of Marshal Tito in 1980, long simmering Balkan feuds became a way of life and continue there to this day. Once I figured out what was happening to the carb, I developed an oil trap that kept motor oil from getting past the PC valve and being sucked into the carb. Otoko wa tsurai yo: Torajiro wagamichi wo yuku, Otoko wa tsurai yo: Naniwa no koi no Torajir, http://www.highwayone.com/Classifieds/Yugo/GreenYugoCab.html, I'd like to own a yugo some day. It had nervousness built into it, it made people nervous and it was nervous. Those brave revolutionaries almost single handedly redefine their market segment and leave an indelible mark on the industry itself. I guess this is so the company could find out how the car is before releasing it to the general public. That's not who I am. Its not unlike the relationship I have with my cockroaches of the road (TM). Here, it is well known that you change the timing belt every 40K miles. 3. This car didnt want to go into reverse at a standstill. When the coroner first jumps into the water to check Mona's dead body, he is neck-deep in water. Had Bricklin been a true industrialist instead of a con-man, the winning idea might have been to buy out the Yugo tooling (Zastava was setting up for the Florida at the time, they might have been open to this) and moved the whole plant to a place where workmen were conscientious and quality control accepted. So, with connections, he was brought to Japan for a series of lectures; and if America wasnt interested, Japan was very much so. What kind of sicko lives there? and lso two Horizon ? )that I spotted a Blue in color. Ford Econoline This Is Not A Taxi. @Zackman: No the real experience was driving that thing in Atlanta rush hour traffic at 80+ MPH. But that's a whole other story.") Lucinda (Kathleen Wilhoite), the local garage mechanic, checks out the death vehicle and confirms the sheriff's suspicions: The car was rigged. Theres a fellow in the NorCal chapter of The Fiat Club first names Dan, I think who owns a pristine Yugo in a burnt orange color. Having seen pics of the 127, I can relay that the Yugo body is a complete reskin no lines or panels are the same or interchangeable. It took time, development, persuading of management that there WAS a problem (not an easy task in the Japanese culture) but bit by bit, the problems were resolved. (function waitGEO() { Also, I think that first step after buying any used car in general should be changing of belt. I've owned so many other cars so why not? I actually grabbed a brochure on the convertible as a joke, it was only a single page. View Cars. Those Protons were actually a decent car. Of course, as pointed out, it was more probable that hed have put the company out of business, too. Visit Dealer Website. But they didnt have a CLUE. I have only seen one Yugo in my life. Having had some up-close contact with a 128, Id say that its more 128 than 127. All in all, Monas jaunt into the river could have been described as a pretty fortuitous accident for everyones lives she touched, or in Monas case, bludgeoned. (rolls eyes). Ah yes, I can see it now. Danny DeVito and Bette Midler appeared in Ruthless People (1986). Not sure they sold very many. In regard to that old devil corrosion, an honest question: were there any cars of the seventies that DIDNT rust like mad? Parts were cheap due to the exchange rate, so there was not the pressure on dealers to deny problems and warranty claims, like Ford and Vauxhall put on their dealers. The man is Malcom Bricklin. She picked them up for virtually nothing and was content with bare-bones transportation. It has interesting characters and situations and I found myself really enjoying the film--only to have it all fizzle at the end. https://jalopnik.com/the-yugo-is-not-the-worst-car-ever-and-anyone-who-says-1830229976, The Yugo Is Not the Worst Car Ever and Anyone Who Says That Is a Lazy Hack So Lets Prove It, Your email address will not be published. Why Fiat? Various ancillaries like alternators were replaced with real FIAT parts. But they were cheap! Youd have to go from fourth to first gear to come down. 1) Wise observation that Yugoslavia needed hard currency (without which it could not import needed consumer or industrial goods) during those years. They were incredibly simple mechanically. The early Japanese cars were not that different from the 360: Junk. This is how Hyundai and Kia got their start and Zastava began doing it earlier. http://www.observer.com/2010/culture/wannabe-warhol?page=0, I have two things to share concerning Yugos, Bette Midler drove one in the movie Drowning Mona. They would swap in the drivetrain from the Fiat X1/9 and put on the wider wheels tires from the X1/9 also. Other than the time the clutch cable broke, and getting the electrical issues sorted out, the car spent no time in the shop. I bought a used, year-old Yugo. Subaru was just a little behind the curve in terms of design and safetyas befits a smaller company. Ford was really hit and miss the Granada was horrible, but the Lincoln Town Cars and Mark Vs were pretty good against the tinworm. I must admit that I own a Yugo. You are right.I found it here: During the time the clutch cable was dying, I broke the shifter mechanism, due to the clutch cable dying. I was enrolled in a community class marketing course and the teacher brought up the Yugo, and was joking about it. I know of no explanation for the garbage experience my dad had with his Audi, which broke down regularly. console.log(window['UnicI'].geo); The blue one had seen much more use than the red one, but it was still a good runner. It seems a good use of them. After 330,000km with two Yugos, I must be destined to eternal vacation on BOra-Bora . But, its a tough sell to have someone take a car thats running fine, and pay $500 for a maintenance replacement and maybe screw something up in the process. Not a bit ! Just finished Drowning Mona and came here for background. And as any living myth, this one spreads into other areas as well: Frequently, that new model sets the status quo on its ear and forever changes the way we think about (and react to) our transportation needs. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. But like so much of his other stuff, the deal fell through. I think that for a 1992 car (perhaps it should be a Serb-o? It was like, when you get in, what is next to give out or give you trouble. But before Bricklin made a virtue of safety, he all but made a mockery of same just a half decade before. English tongues tended to read it JUG-oh not a saleable name. The last Yugo I saw was 12 years ago, parked by a gas station in Truckee oh, and a restored Yugo was for sale on Craigslist a bit ago but I figured that would be a bad idea on the Subaru front: I heard a rumor, years ago, that Fuji bought all the American 360s and had them crushed any truth to that? Your email address will not be published. (Cracked distributor cap, IIRC.) There was a movie in 2000 entitled Drowning Mona where most of the people in a . Me and my friend Jerry (from Sam Bonds) drove a Yugo at a wrecker yard in Coburg some years back. Cool Cruise CAR SHOW Cruisin' Brea CAR SHOW Cruisin' La Verne CAR SHOW Brea Holiday CAR SHOW Project Home America Flying Deuces is a production, marketing, booking and advertising company. Ive been toying with seeing if I can find one thats been stored in a garage somewhere and buying it to replace my aging truck that leaks oil and coolant and tide the time before I can buy the new Fiat 500. Another movie moment: Nick drives a Yugo in the film _Nick & Norahs Infinite Playlist_. I remember listening to Car Talk some 5-6 years ago and a caller came on and said that his Yugo (an 87 I think) died at 150,000 miles, not due to mechanical failure, but due to a Deer. Learn how your comment data is processed. It has been a while since I have seen a Yugo on the road, but a local car wash has one with signs mounted on it. Drowning Mona, Movie, 2000 Pictures provided by: garco, antp, ahight Display options: Also known as: Todos la queran muerta (Spain) Mais qui a tu Mona ? The engine in mine was the old fiat 903 engine that dated back to the Fiat 600 of the 50s. He was absolutely correct. This was enough to keep them afloat (even with such strange offerings as the BRAT and XT) until 1989, when they really hit their stride with the introduction of the Outback and the successful Paul Crocodile Dundee Hogan marketing campaign.

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