AvtoVAZ is a Russian automobile manufacturing company owned by the state. It was formerly named as VAZ, an acronym for Volga Automotive Plant in Russian. AvtoVAZ is best known for its flagship series of Lada vehicles. In the Soviet Union, its products used various names, including Zhiguli, Oka, and Sputnik, which were phased out in the 1990s and replaced by Lada for the Russian market. From December 2019 to August 2020, AvtoVAZ sold Niva cars with Chevrolet branding.
The Lada Niva Legend, formerly called the Lada Niva, VAZ-2121, VAZ-2131, and Lada 4×4, is a series of four-wheel drive, small (hatchback), and compact off-road cars designed and produced by AvtoVAZ since 1977. Initially aimed at the rural market, later models also targeted urban users. The three- and later five-door 4×4 hatchbacks were sold under the Lada marque in many markets, and have been in continuous production since 1977.
The VAZ-2108, known as the Lada Samara in much of Western Europe, is a series of small family cars produced by Soviet/Russian vehicle manufacturer AvtoVAZ under the Lada brand between 1984 and 2013. The model name Samara originally was used only for exported models, in the Soviet Union the same model was called Sputnik until 1991, when the sedan version of the Samara entered in production, using the export name. It was the first front-wheel drive serial car built in the Soviet Union after the LuAZ-969V. The Samara had been modified and restyled during the years of production before it was finally discontinued in December 2013.
The Fiat 127 is a supermini car produced by Italian car manufacturer Fiat from 1971 to 1983. It was introduced in 1971 as the replacement for the Fiat 850. Production of the 127 in Italy ended in 1983 following the introduction of its replacement, the Fiat Uno, although the nameplate continued to be used on cars imported from Brazil.
The Fiat 124 is a small family car manufactured and marketed by Italian company Fiat between 1966 and 1974. The saloon superseded the Fiat 1300 and was the basis for several variants including a station wagon, a four-seater coupé, and a two-seater convertible
The Lada / VAZ-2105, 2104 and 2107, collectively marketed as Lada Riva for right-hand drive models, the Lada Nova in Germany, and by multiple other names and markets, are a series of compact sedans of the Zhiguli line-up, built by Russian car manufacturer AvtoVAZ. Introduced in 1979 in the Soviet Union, and progressively introduced to Western European and global markets from the early 1980s, under the Lada brand, they were sold as saloons, and station wagon (2104) versions.
ZAZ Zaporozhets was a series of rear-wheel-drive superminis designed and built from 1958 at the ZAZ factory in Soviet Ukraine. Different models of the Zaporozhets, all of which had an air-cooled engine in the rear, were produced until 1994. Since the late 1980s, the final series, ZAZ-968M, was replaced by the cardinally different ZAZ-1102 Tavria hatchback, which featured a front-wheel drive and a more powerful water-cooled engine.
The Fiat 125 is a large family car manufactured and marketed by Italian company Fiat from 1967 to 1972. Derivatives were built under license outside Italy until the 1990s. As launched the car was unusual in blending saloon car passenger accommodation with sports car performance, a combination which would be more widely adopted by the European volume auto-makers in the decade ahead.
The Volga is an executive car that originated in the Soviet Union to replace the GAZ Pobeda in 1956. Their role in serving the Soviet nomenklatura made them a contemporary cultural icon. Several generations of the car have been produced.
Lada, marketed as LADA) is a brand of cars manufactured by AvtoVAZ, a Russian state-owned company. From January 2021 until May 2022, Lada was integrated with then sister brand Dacia into Renault's Lada-Dacia business unit.
The Moskvitch 412 is a small family car produced by Soviet/Russian manufacturer MZMA/AZLK in Moscow from 1967 to 1975, and by IZh in Izhevsk from 1967 to 1982. It was a more powerful and prestigious version of the M-408 model, offering more features for a higher price.
A standardized automobile model numbering system has been used in the Soviet Union and Russia. Using the modern version of the system it is possible to determine a vehicle's type and engine capacity. The modern version of the numbering system was introduced in the mid-1970s. A similar system is used in the People's Republic of China.
Polski Fiat 125p is a motor vehicle manufactured between 1967 and 1991 in Poland under a Fiat license by the state-owned manufacturer Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych (FSO). It was a simplified and altered variation of the original, Italian-made Fiat 125, with engines and mechanicals from the Fiat 1300/1500. To distinguish between the models, Fiat and FSO revived the marque Polski Fiat. After termination of the license, the car was branded as FSO 1300, FSO 1500 and FSO 125p.
The VAZ-2103 Zhiguli is a deluxe compact sedan car, produced by VAZ, introduced in 1972 and produced until 1984. Better known by its export name Lada 1500 outside of its native Soviet Union and popularly nicknamed Тройка in its domestic market. The car was developed jointly by VAZ and FIAT at the same time as Fiat 124 Special, and the two models had the same basis and influenced each other. 2103 was built under license and tailored for the Soviet and Eastern European market. The 2103 externally differs from its predecessor, the VAZ-2101 firstly by its four, that is, double sets of headlights, different grille and direction pointers, moldings on the sides of the body and larger taillights. Its main difference - the more powerful 75 hp (55 kW) 1,452 cc (88.6 cu in) straight-four petrol engine. In addition, this model is distinguished by the presence of vacuum brake booster as well as self-adjusting rear brakes and internally on new, Fiat 125 based, front panel along with its steering wheel and improved dashboard featuring wood imitation, tachometer, oil pressure gauge and front panel clock.
Lada Izhevsk is a subsidiary of the carmaking company AvtoVAZ based in Izhevsk, Russia. It was formerly a subsidiary of Izmash under the IzhAvto brand. The company was given its current name in 2017.
The VAZ-2106 Zhiguli is a sedan produced by the Soviet automaker VAZ, and later, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, also by Russian Izhevsk Avto and Ukrainian Anto-Rus. In export markets, it was known simply as Lada 1600 or alternatively as Lada 2106. In the domestic market it was popularly nicknamed Шестёрка. A hugely popular car and one of the most successful Lada models, it was in serial production for 30 years, although production in the VAZ plant ended after 25 years, in 2001, with manufacture continuing at Izhevsk for the final five years.
Formula Easter was a single-seater, open wheel, open cockpit circuit car racing series during the 1970–1980s, specifically created for drivers from the communist bloc, driving cars created solely from parts manufactured by the COMECON industry or created from scratch as a citizens' initiative by Eastern Bloc residents. Nominally, the series belonged to FIA Formula Category 9 and Technical Group 8, although FIA only acknowledged but did not officially sanction its existence.
Zhiguli was a designation of cars based on the Fiat 124 manufactured in Russia and the Soviet Union by AvtoVAZ during 1970-2012 and somewhat longer in some places abroad. For the majority of export markets however the cars were sold under the Lada brand.
Exports of AvtoVAZ vehicles to the West began in 1974; Ladas were sold as in several Western nations during the 1970s and 1980s, including Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, though trade sanctions banned their export to the United States. Under the original agreement with Fiat, the car could not be sold in competition with the 124 until its replacement had been released and all Fiat production of the 124 had ceased.
