Did you hear the one about the student who wants to write about Lada cars in New Zealand! Yeah.
Okay, now that you've finished laughing, I need help!
I'm looking for examples of Lada advertising from the 1980's, all models. I'm interested in magazines, brochures, newspaper clippings, whatever. I'm happy to borrow, take copies, or even part with a few dollars (depending - I'm a poor student).
PS As my project develops, I may be interested in finding people to interview, but that would be a wee bit down the track. (I'd be interested in interviewing people who bought Lada cars new in the late 1980's.)
mantagsi,
May 1, 5:16am
Best bet would be to contact folks / ex dealers (if you can find them) in Hawkes Bay, they received swags of the damned things during the Big Milk Exchange. I can't help with any advertising literature or the likes, but FWIW I do remember the old ladas as being quite solid when not rusting, and actually not too bad for reliability when not broken down. I'd still genuinely consider buying a niva if I wanted a small 4wd though.
If you do get to the point of interviews, and if you just want generic comments on the cars themselves, they imported them into the UK for a long time, so thats not too bad a source of info.
sandndude,
May 1, 5:17am
The NZ Dairy Board I think was the NZ Lada agent back then, as the Russians had no $ to pay for our butter so the Dairy Board had to accept Lada's as payment instead.
miranda_b,
May 1, 5:46am
Interesting you say that.
What I'm trying to do with this project is sort of a brief social history of how Ladas came to be in New Zealand and the perceptions surrounding them at the time. My course is in Visual and Material Culture - so I'm interested really in relationships between people and their Ladas, identity, all that stuff.
If I'm feeling particularly crazy at the end of this year, it will form the foundation of a Masters proposal, in which I'd look to second hand Lada owners today, the reasons for the choice of vehicle, etc. But that's getting ahead a bit!
magoo2,
May 1, 6:35am
Kobe cars in Levin used to sell new ladas.They may still have publicity material
Most of the original Lada owners are probably dead - a lot of people retired and bought a Lada for their retirement as they were the cheapest car around.and then spent their pension keeping them going.
scoobeey,
May 1, 7:48am
worst car ive ever been unfortunate to own! standard probs ,seat pulls through from body, very poor earths,drivers door pulls off at mount as does back stays,door handles break off,wheel cyl faulty from NEW, etc saying that a blardy good engine:)
poppajn,
May 1, 8:52am
Theywere ahead of their time, had heated back windows to keep your hands warm when you pushed them.
nightboss,
May 1, 9:41am
16 valve. 8 in engine, 8 in radio.
Seriously though, good luck with this project. An interesting slice of NZ trade and motoring history.
cuda.340,
May 1, 9:56am
my first day in Moscow, i couldn't believe how many different model Ladas they made. i even saw a Lada Limo! my taxi was a Lada & the driver scared the hell out of me.
next-to-normal,
May 1, 10:20am
lada samara ,porshe did the head and steering for it,great heater, and good on rough roads, they are a fun drive when you want to feel like a commie,the block was out of a fiat 124
bubbles244,
May 1, 10:28am
we had a lada.the old man used for erosion protection down the farm.one thing i'll say it's still there, unlike the landcruiser body rusting away
mantagsi,
May 1, 10:39am
The reason I would take another Niva is many moons ago a chappie I knew used one to bush bash up and down the west coast, had been 'upgraded' with wooden engine mounts, plywood floor, brakes were entirely optional depending on the mood of the car but by christ it started first pop every time, and took a hiding, was so light due to lack of actual metal that it skipped across any surface and was as surefooted as a mountain goat. Believe it or not, it wasn't too bad to drive either, and the heater still worked to my amazement. Neat little wagon.
ladatrouble,
May 1, 10:44am
I should've kept my Lada's, the Samara was a great car, and the 2104 very useful, just a pity about the rust. The thing that should be missed about them in this day and age was that they were completely fixable, just about everything could be repaired or bodged somehow. Except the stupid wire rope window regulator, and that it was glued onto the window - I suppose you could've wound some heavy fishing line onto it.but it was one of the few throw away parts on the car.
miranda_b,
May 1, 11:37am
Haha. I have a red 3 door Samara. My partner calls me the menace in a red Lada. The heater IS fantastic. It's blowing heat in under half the time it takes my partner's late model Mazda to warm up. And it has personality to burn and it's way more fun to drive.
Thanks everyone for your input so far! And lol at the Lada jokes. :-)
the-lada-dude,
May 1, 7:49pm
yep, i still drive my 2104 1600 5 spi found mine to be bloody reliable, few niggles, but the wheels just keep on going round and round.
clanky,
May 1, 7:51pm
What do you call a soft-top Lada.- .a skip.
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