Y is for Yieldless: 1987 Yugo GV
Y is for Yugoslavian, a household term synonymous with high manufacturing standards and reliability. Indeed, following Yugo’s lauded introduction to the U.S. Market in 1986, the sales success of Yugoslavian imports put pressure on the Big Three domestic automakers to increase their build quality and fuel efficiency. And now, an all-original example can be yours for under $3,000. Find this 1987 Yugo GV in San Antonio, TX for $2,400 via craigslist.
Everyone has a positive Yugo story or anecdote. “My kid’s turning 16 next month, so I’m buying her my uncle’s 200,000-mile Yugo so she has a safe, dependable car for high school while learning the responsibility of car ownership.” Although they weren’t built for outright performance, Yugos enjoyed the spotlight in 2001 when a movie franchise showcased the craze of mounting garish wings and loud mufflers for street-racing purposes.
Remember when the spare tire in the engine bay was a novelty? Now it’s commonplace – even Chevy implemented the intelligent, space-saving practice across their model lineup to attract Yugoslavian import shoppers. The meager 1.1L engine would develop through multiple generations of its compact cars, introducing fuel-saving technology that would revolutionize the automotive landscape.
As Daily Turismo prepares to close its birthday celebration, it seemed fitting to include one of our favorite slow cars to drive fast: the Yugo GV. Looking unassuming and neglected in its dusty shade of spleen red, you would hardly believe that this car is ready to provide future owners with thousands of maintenance-free miles on twisty back roads, or on the autocross course where its legendary track potential can be exploited. Thanks, Yugo, for bringing this affordable yet capable classic to our shores. And to all the Yugo drivers out there, happy motoring.
See another Yugoslavian icon? Email us at tips@dailyturismo.com.
PhiLOL actually likes the tuna here, but abhors structural rust. Save the manuals.
This post is part of Daily Turismo’s 2nd Birthday Celebration — DT’s ABCs.
I am totally amazed at the numbers of these things that are still alive. There are two people I know of in Erie, PA of all places perhaps the worst in the USA for a car, that have clean good running Yugo GV's that they drive regularly in the summer. It was a cheaply made car but more of its fate, like early Hyundai models, came from people buying it as a disposable car and doing just that- beating as much of the crap out of it as they could before disposing of it. In general, the buyers of these types of boxes weren't the type of people who bothered with maintaining anything.
The Yugo became the standard phrase in America for, “the worst car ever made.†It wasn’t by any means a great or even a very good car, but it was not the worst. The Chevrolet Vega for instance was a whole lot worse. There was virtually nothing about the Vega that was representative of quality in its design right from its inception, and very little that went together right in its manufacture with pressure to pump as many out the door of the plant as quickly as possible. The Vega was built on the selling premise that you can fool some people some of the time but they will eventually realize that you can’t build an inexpensive shoddily made car and try to pass it off as something that is the best in its market category. The Yugo was based on the Fiat 127 and made under a license from Fiat, a small car that was in many respects very successful in most parts of the world for a number of years prior to the Yugo. It was CLEARLY marketed, first and foremost as a CHEAP CAR, in fact the cheapest car available in the USA at the time. The Yugo was a car that simply wasn’t up to the expectations of the average USA car buyer who didn’t understand the concept of, “you get what you pay for,†and most expected way too much out of the little Yugo for its selling price.
That's the same amount of money I paid for my 98 Audi A8… and it's the same color!
Which I'm going to sell soon to get a small car (NY parking SUCKS bigtime!!!) Rest assured it is NOT going to be a Yugo!
So many technology development we have today. however, these old small road rockers are still running very well and suits more people. amazing to see these pics.
Robin.