The Trabant Was an Awful Car Made By Communists
I recently had the chance to drive a Trabant, which is a truly awful car born in East Germany during the darkest days of Communism — and manufactured until the late 1980s. For more, watch the video above, and check out my column.
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It wasnt too bad, it was cheap because it had to be cheap. And i cant see the problem with the locks. Unlock the driver side, get in and unlock the passenger side to let the other guys in. When they get out lock the passenger side, get out yourself and lock the driver side. The fuel valve is a common thing for motorbikes and the Trabant has a motorcycle engine, Z is for Zu (closed) A is for Auf (open) and R is for Reserve (reserve). Because the gastank is on top of the engine it doesnt need a fuel pump, but if you dont close the valve while parking, the carburator gets flooded.
You know you’re in a great car when the owner says “let me feel it, I don’t know what gear it’s in by looking at it”
That guy is a spoiled brat! Yes the car is old, yes the car has its downsides but back in the day that’s what people had. Instead of mocking it he should review it as a piece of automobile history.
In Romania they used to be everywhere
Sometimes, you can see a lonely one on the road. We also like to call very junk car a “Trabant”.
My Parents always tell the story of the east germans driving there trabants over the border when the berlin wall fell ^^
curb weight is 600 kg. now put a better engine and you have a rocket :D
The Trabant is one of the cheapest classic cars to buy and one of the easiest to maintain on the market.
And despite awfulness of it, these guys travelled all over the Africa, South America and Australia with it
Forget about all doomsday trucks and stuff. That is the car that will get you to the end of the world and back. There aren’t many things in it that could go wrong and even if they do go wrong everything in that car is fixable with the most basic set of tools, duct tape and wire. And it has a ridiculous off-road capability considering the power of the engine.
Zsombor, what about lada ? How much is one in hungary ?
I am proud owner of the same car and for its age (almost 30years old car) without any big maintenance spent on in still running. Simply engineering because lack of recources but enough reliable. If engine condition is good you can make good jumpy start wich is one advantage in city traffic. In the plant where they were produced (Automobile Werke Zwickau), every Trabant has to pass few tests for end control quality. Every car has to be able reach its own top speed of 100km/h , and every system has to work. The gaps between panels are aligned manualy and if they are not replaced later because of accident, everything seems to be fine.
Oh almost forgot: My Trabant can reach 100km/h for 20 seconds
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