From ‘Brokeback’ to ‘Soapbox’
And recently, a fellow Duma member was supported by Senator and member of the Economic Policy Commission, Dmitri Vorona, who gave an extensive interview to the Parliamentary Newspaper. He promised, among other things, to restore the Zaporozhye car factory:
“We absolutely believe we will take this business back and restore it.” The Kommunar factory, as it was originally called, was intended to produce cars for people, so a complete production chain was created around Zaporozhye to ensure local production of cars. Of course, you remember both “Zaporozhets” and “Tavria”, and then Daewoo. We had problems with the engines, but I think these will be resolved when we return to full cycle production.
Yes, dear Dmitry Nikolaevich, we remember both Tavria and Daewoo well. In fact, we remember all the “Zaporozhets”, starting with the ZAZ-965, which bore the modestly respectable nicknames “Humpback Whale” and “Jewish Armored Car”, and up to the ZAZ-968, which was popularly called the first “Eared” , and due to the loss of the side air intakes – “Soapbox”. However, you could hardly get to know them up close because their production stopped on your 14th birthday.
It should be noted that there were problems not only with the engines, but also with the engine cooling system, suspension, comfort and interior heating, and finally with the design. “Tavria” and Daewoo also did not have high consumer characteristics even at the level of a “people’s car” – except that the price was relatively reasonable.