I said I would do this after admitting to owning one in another thread.
God forgive me but in 1984 I bought my first and only new car, a YUGO.
I am trying to make amends, I now own 3 Fieros and I'm looking for more.

Father Pontiac forgive me............

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'84 SE 2.5l
'85 Coupe 2.5l now getting a 3800
'86 SE 2.5l

OK......was it a good car or not ?
Is that a 3cyl car? I think I ran over one
once (joke).

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Need For Speed........

My older sister had a Yugo. She said it was one of the best cars she ever had. 140,000 miles in Atlanta traffic without a problem. She sold it and bought a Camaro, then the problems started!

I think those are even more rare than fieros... Heck, I even saw one in a scrapyard today.

I've never seen a Yugo before. I saw my first picture of one in Grassroots last month.

Hell, I can't give you crap for owning a Yugo - I owned a Renault LeCar for a couple years (while I was using a Kawasaki Ninja as my primary transportation).

The best thing I did to that silver, four-door Renault LeCar was cut the roof off that thing and make it a hardtop convertable. That thing was cool as Hell after that. Ask Formula88 about that - he remembers.

You can't polish a turd, but you can cut it in half, and then you only have half a turd.

You had a YUGO!? What the hell were you smokin man!?

<singing> YUGO Boy! Yeah! Yeah! YUGO boy! Um! Um! Yeah! thats right!

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Our family had a YUGO for about a year...if that. My dad had it for a comuter to and from work...it was in the shop about every 2 weeks and the engine gave out at 7,000 miles. At least someone had good luck with one.......too bad it wasnt us!

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James Essar
AOL IM Name: FieroMaster88
88 Coupe 30,000 miles

A bit of Michigan Trivia: Did you know the Yugo was the first and I think the only car to fall off the Mackinac Bridge. A big gust of wind blew it right over the side.

Lime green Pacer hatchback.

There was a Yugo on the Power Tour this year, it had something like 3000 miles on it when we started. They say that by going on the Power Tour the car doubled in value( they filled the gas tank).

They dont make them anymore.
I thought I saw one for sale not long back had 20,000 miles. hummmmmm

Were Yugos REALLY that bad? I remember everybody laughing at them, but I never drove or rode in one (I was 13 when they came out). The Slavs bought a Fiat design to make the Yugo if I remember right, so it had to be at least a LITTLE fun to drive (I've never driven an Italian car that wasn't).

I remember they had the cheapest-looking seats I've ever seen...thin terrycloth, like a Kmart bath towel.

That car was soooooo bad they sent the Air force in to smart bomb the factory out of existence.

I have to give those Yugo people a little credit. They've been the center of some good jokes and they may have created a new car game "what's gonna' break this week?". An aquaintance had one that my friends and I tried to guess the problems before they happened. They made great excuses like, Dear where were you last night? Replied, I was broke down in the Yugo and Billy Bob tried all night long to fix it in the dark. We knew Billy Bob was cheep cause he couldn't help a fart out of a whirl wind.

OK, in a lame attempt at my defense, it was an OK car considering it only cost $4,000.00 new.

I put in an aftermarket stereo and two speakers in the front doors. That was what was cool about the car. The wiring was already there for everything, all I had to do was the hookups, no wires to run.

The mileage was fair and mine ran good until the accident.

All I can say is that for the price it was a good investment in cheap reliable transportation at the time.

Much thanks for going easy on me everyone.

It's not that lame. When the Yugo came out the next cheapest car out there sold for $5,300 - over 40% more than the Yugo. For those of you who can remember that far back this was a couple of years before Hyundai entered the US market.

It was a shame the quality didn't match the price, since I can remember there has always been a smallish but steady market here for a decent low-cost no-frills basic automobile. Think of the '60s version of the VW Beetle.

A few years ago I thaught my left rear brake caliper was dragging. Upon closer inspection I found a Yugo jammed between the fenderwell and tire. I removed the Yugo and the thankfull driver threw me a tip for the ride.

The Yugo was actually supposed to be a half decent car for the price. It was actually designed by Innocenti, an italian automaker owned by DeTomaso (same people who brought us the Pantera) and made in Yugoslavia (as the name suggests).
I think the only car that ever came close to this kind of value was the Lada. You could buy a brand new Samara up here in '91/'92 for about $6500 CDN. This car had some neat options like headlights adjustable from the inside of the car with a little lever, and headlight wiper blades (normally reserved for Volvos and Mercedes).

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Is it just me or does the Yugo look like a bastard child of a Fiat Strada and older Volkswagen Rabbit?

I remember people ragging on them on the car lot. The car never had any respect, regardless if it was any good or not.

Voytek, the Innocenti was actually a Mini with Italian coachwork. Looked, well, a bit like the Yugo I guess. The Yugo design was actually the Fiat Panda. My best friend had an 87 Yugo. It actually was a decent car, although the suspension completely bottomed out with anyone in the back seat.

Anyone remember the Yugo Cabrio?

The Yugo was not the only car to go off the Mackinac bridge. There were a few others. But none that you could say the name was made for it though. "Yugo off the Macinac Bridge!"
A friend of mine had one in high school. One day a about 6 people picked it up and set it in the back of a pickup truck.

I think that they get a worse rap than they deserve, but it's not really anyones dream car.

quote Originally posted by fierohoho: mine ran good until the accident.

You survived an accident in a Yugo? What hit you, a Radio Flyer?

Stimpy: I'll check on that and get back to you. On a rare occasion, I HAVE been known to be wrong.

Yep, the Yugo was based on a Fiat design. I like the "sport" model:

Gotta love the tack on body cladding.

Here is something interesting I found on the web... The Yugo is back in production now that they have rebuilt part of the factory after being bombed during the military unrest in Yugoslavia. They made like 8000 of them last year and it was reintroduced at the Belgrade Auto Show:

This slightly redesigned version of the old Yugo is now known as the Yugo Koral.

And they are actually considering importing their new design to the U.S.:

It's called the Yugo Florida, and it's powered by the engine out of a Fiat Bravo (puts out a massive 60hp).

This is probably more about the current status of the Yugo than everyone wanted to know....

Ken S.

quote Originally posted by stimpy: Anyone remember the Yugo Cabrio?

I do! They are actually pretty "rare".....less than 100 were built in 1990 before the factory shut down (due to that nasty war).

If you watch the movie "Birdcage" with Robin Williams & Nathan Lane you will see a Yugo Cabriolet. I can't remember the exact scene, but it's an outside shot of the club......it pans along the street to the entrance of the club.

The cabriolet was actually a prety cool looking car, but it was still a Yugo. I drove one when I was a valet/parking lot attendant.......it was the worst thing I have ever driven (and I owned a Pinto!). For such a small car it had a turning radius wider than most big trucks, plus the spare tire is directly on top of the engine!

BTW......they had 4 cyl motors (1.2 L, I believe). I still see some driving around, which is amazing considering the poor constuction and lack of replacement parts.

[This message has been edited by mrfiero (edited 06-16-2001).]

Hey guys, I'm going to throw a "barbie" this weekend in the back of that YUGO Bar-B-Q and your all invited!

I just need the key to open the deck lid in the rear to throw in some charcoal!

Well! Thats what it looks like with that handle in the back, the grill's lid handle!

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Welcome to the new millenium.

We have a member who has seen "Birdcage".

How thweet.

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'84 SE 2.5l
'85 Coupe 2.5l now getting a 3800
'86 SE 2.5l

Why did they put rear window defrosters on the Yugo?

To keep your hands warm in the winter. Har Har Har.

While you were pushing it!

Ok Stimpy. I checked it out. FYI: This is from the World Encyclopedia of Cars: Innocenti was making cars under license for BMC, such as the Mini and others. They continued to make those cars while they were bought by DeTomaso. Later they were bought by Fiat. Innocenti is the same division of Fiat that made the Yugo while under the Fiat marque. Close enough, right?

quote Originally posted by fierohoho: Welcome to the new millenium. We have a member who has seen "Birdcage". How thweet.

LOL

Oh yes, Good old yugo's...
I got to drive a bunch last summer when i visited my grandparents and other family with my mother in Yugoslavia.. They were kinda cool at the time since I didn't have my licence and actually got to drive..
I still remeber being taught how to drive a stick in Serbian, that was funny..
Anyways i would never buy one..
Too slow for me!

Ah yes, the Yugo. Fifties technology for the 80's--wasn't that there motto?

The Yugo was one of the first new cars that made you WANT to buy a used car instead. THAT is why you deserve WAY more grief than you are getting. But, I'M not going to give you grief because if you had the COURAGE to own and drive a Yugo, you are a better man than I.

well... if you owned a yugo, you'll love this thread!
//www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum6/HTML/001619.html

I just now read this thread. Fierohoho you crack me up! Seriously, what was the accident? Did a guy on a bike t-bone you? LOL I think you were safer in those go-karts then you were in your Yugo!

Jim

bHooper, that thread with the pictures was awsome and no Jimmy it wasn't a bike that t-boned me I t-boned an Impala and yes the go-karts would have come out better, I think the engines had the same out put also.

Missed you at the meeting monday where were you?

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'84 SE 2.5l
'85 Coupe 2.5l now getting a 3800
'86 SE 2.5l

Last night I'm driving home from work and what do I pass? A YUGO!

I was surprised to see how well the body has held up over the years. It had quite a bit of rust, but considering the area I live in it's surprising the car had any solid body panels at all.