Wednesday, November 06, 2024

World's Worst Car

My early travels were to the Soviet Union and Easter Bloc. During my travels, I became fascinated with the cars made there; most notably the East German Trabant, the "worst car ever made!"


Trabant in Poland

The Trabant was a series of small cars produced from 1957 to 1991 by a state monopoly in East Germany. There were four models. Because materials couldn't be outsourced, the car was made from cheap materials. The car had only a two cylinder engine and created a lot of pollution. It didn't have any gauges on the dashboard or seatbelts in the backseats. Nonetheless, it was an East German status symbol during the Cold War. 


Trabant in Hungary

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, many East Germans drove to the West in their Trabants. After that, the car all but disappeared; the factory shut down. Nowadays, Trabants have a cult following, even in the US. According to the internet, there are still 25,000 of them still out on the road. There's a museum dedicated to the Trabant in Berlin. I would love to visit it.


What's worse than a Trabant?  Two Trabants

I saw Trabants in several different Eastern European countries, including Poland and Hungary. I rode in them a few times.

No comments: