Motoring Discussion > Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market
Thread Author: VxFan	Replies: 35

New Thu 6 May 10 13:57   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - VxFan

tinyurl.com/39p6cst (links to The Telegraph) Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 14:01   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - Alanovich

Good. *whistles Russian national anthem*. Pleased to see there may be revived plans to bring Dacia here too, I reckon the Logan MCV 7 seater could be a winner. I take issue with the first line of the article though: "The Soviet era car derided in the 1980s as a skip on wheels" - no, sorry, that was convertible Skoda Rapids. There were no convertible Ladas. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 14:03   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - Zero

And here is the current model lineup www.lada-auto.ru/ Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 14:47   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - L'escargot

I had a test drive in a Lada some 30 or 40 years ago, and I really didn't like it. It still had old-fashioned recirculating balls steering at a time when British cars had changed over to rack and pinion. It put me off Ladas for life. However, I've no doubt that younger drivers who have never driven a Lada before won't have the same prejudice against them that I have. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 14:50   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - Zero

they will Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 15:02   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - RattleandSmoke

The brand is tarnished. I told my dad before "thats your next car sorted, Lada is coming back to the UK" his reply wes "I am not buying a Lada over my dead body". Also don't be fooled by these new Ladas, they may look ok but underneath its the same old story. I remember seeing a clip when a Russian journalist was test driving one of the new ones and he was saying how bad it was. It looks pretty enough but it needs to be very very cheap to compete int he UK. www.lada-auto.ru/cgi-bin/models.pl?model_id=3617&branch=tth Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Thu 6 May 10 at 15:03 Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 15:03   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - Old Navy

>> they will >> >> You really have huge blinkers, Zero. (And not on your car). :-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 15:06   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - diddy1234

Is it me or does the Lada Kalina look like a Rover / Tata City car ? Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 15:08   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - R.P.

There was an article in a (borrowed) Express I read today - Exactly the same old jokes that I used to hear about Skodas (they'd just substituted) Skoda for Lada - maybe the irony was lost on the hack that "wrote" it. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 15:20   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - mattbod

If Renault can do with Lada what it has done with Dacia it may stand a chance. See lots of Dacias on the continent with modern Renault DCI engines and do the utilitarian job very well. VW did the job with Skoda so stranger things have happened. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 15:23   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - RattleandSmoke

The problem is Skoda always did have a good reputation for build and reliability it was just that their cars were crap (sorry Lud). Lada's were always crap full stop. On my dads Ladas the clutch was a service item and they used to eat starter motors. Dacias reputation is not existant in the UK, I know they were sold breifly in the early 80's but it was so long ago people have forgot. Lada is not forgotton and I think if they did bring them back to the UK they will have to work hard. Their cars will have to be very good, think Fiat Panda but £2k cheaper, I don't think it is possible. I just cannot see how Lada could make any money in the UK market because the budget market is crowded. Look how many cars Proton sell in the UK now. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 15:22   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - Runfer D'Hills

>> There was an article in a (borrowed) Express I read today Raining is it ? Shouldn't you be flicking round with your feather duster or doing something involving Marigolds at this time of day? Or was it a coffee morning ? :-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 15:49   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - R.P.

NO it was foggy in my corner of Wales - headed off to try and blag 15% discount from Cotswold in ByCoed - then via Bethesda (where I had a bite to eat and read said rag) to Tesco to get something for tea. All by bike ! Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 15:28   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - Zero

>> >> they will >> >> >> >> >> You really have huge blinkers Zero. (And not on your car). :-) Nope - I know younger drivers. I have one in the family. He would far sooner walk than drive a lada, modern or not. And it applies to his friends. Same for DACIA. Perhaps your blinkers are rose tinted? or maybe even dulled by old age. Last edited by: Zero on Thu 6 May 10 at 15:29 Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 15:45   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - Old Navy

>> He would far >> sooner walk than drive a lada modern or not. And it applies to his friends. >> Same for DACIA. >> I have 2 daughters who suffered from teenage badge snobbery, they have grown out of it, I thought you would have by now. :-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 15:49   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - Zero

I may have, my my son hasnt. the question was about the young, and if they would buy a Lada. Remember? Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 15:52   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - Old Navy

>> the question was about the young and if they would buy a Lada. Remember? >> No chance! Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 15:54   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - Runfer D'Hills

Yeah but to be fair, there are brands which can in some cases, not all of course, be favoured for reasons of badge appeal. There are others which appeal to those who choose not to be led by badges but by wisdom. There are some which simply represent good value for money and practicality. However, there are still some which could only be bought by those who have no self-esteem left at all. :-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 15:55   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - Zero

Ah yes, Ford. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 15:59   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - Runfer D'Hills

Did you have to retire through failing mental health by any chance ? :-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 16:00   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - Zero

Nooo It was a vision of clarity. Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 16:09   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - Runfer D'Hills

>> It was a vision of clarity. Ah so it's only intermittent then? You might be able to get some pills for that..... Bless. Last edited by: Humph D'bout on Thu 6 May 10 at 16:11 Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 6 May 10 16:07   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - RattleandSmoke

That is the problem. When my dad had the Lada he didn't get why people kept making fun of it. After seven years of the Ladas he bought a two year old Punto MK1 and then he suddenly realised why the Lada was so bad. I think he is now a confirmed Ford man and it will be hard to shift him from that. His Fords don't eat startor motors or burn clutches. I reckon the Skoda Fabia as at least two decades ahead of the same size Lada. Just look at the dashboard of the Lada, its all the same old poorly fitted trim. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 7 May 10 01:15   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - Auntie Lockbrakes

If they are CHEAP, i.e. under 6000 pounds OTR, then there will be a market for Ladas. The Brits like a bargain, especially on a new reg plate. I thought that Lada were surviving quite well in the UK at the time, (remember the Samara?) but they were forced to pull out of the market because they could not meet the new EU emissions requirements that were introduced? Russia is a huge market that needs/wants cars. There are stiff import tariffs for all imported cars, new or used. The factory will churn out millions at a low price and they will sell in the EU too. Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 7 May 10 01:22   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - RattleandSmoke

The problem is the Kia Picanto and Panda are both £6k and will probably be far better built than any Lada. A Lada needs to be £5k or less to sell. I suppose they could sell their bigger cars for £6k it may well work. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 8 May 10 16:40   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - Bagpuss

I've just come back from a week and a half in Russia due to family business. Commuted between Moscow and Kemorovo and Novokuznezk in Southern Siberia. It was an entertaining trip to say the least. Ladas are very thin on the ground in Russia despite the tarif on imported cars imposed by the Russian government last year. The Lada Kalina has a dreadful reputation and relaunching the prehistoric Samara as the Lada Sputnik also hasn't fooled anyone. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 8 May 10 17:10   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - CGNorwich

amazing what a following the Lada still has in the UK. Take a look at this lot: www.ladaniva.co.uk/baxter/Gallery/index.htm Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 8 May 10 18:00   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - RattleandSmoke

The Niva is a useful car though which has off road abililities which only Land Rover can beat. None of the other Ladas really have a point. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 8 May 10 18:50   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - CGNorwich

Agree that the Lada would have little chance of succeeding in the modern world but I do have a soft spot for them. Had 3 altogether when I couldn't afford much else and they did provide cheap basic family transport. In terms of reliability they weren't so bad as is often painted. Still have the tyre pump and the Indian made pressure gauge that came with the last Riva. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 8 May 10 19:10   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - RattleandSmoke

All I have left of my dads is a window winder which fell off! Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 8 May 10 19:25   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - CGNorwich

They did tend to shed the unnecessary bits. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 8 May 10 19:26   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - Avant

Zero's scepticism is understandable given the picture in the link he kindly posted. The Samara hatch seems to have changed little from the one that was over here in the 1980s, and the saloon is similar with overtones of the VW Santana - also a gem of the 1980s. If they're thin on the ground even in Russia, who's going to buy them over here, in preference to, say, a new small Kia or a used Focus? Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 8 May 10 19:35   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - CGNorwich

might be all we can afford soon Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 8 May 10 19:47   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - RattleandSmoke

I am so glad I got the Panda when I did then :). "Buy a Panda now, because the Tories will promise you a Lada if you don't!". Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 8 May 10 19:52   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - R.P.

Remember to post some photos on here when you get it. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 8 May 10 19:54   Lada - Plans to relaunch it into the British market - RattleandSmoke

Yeah I will do, will probably go to my local park and I do it as I don't want to draw too much attention to it on my street. I will give a full review on what it is like to drive too, as I will be comparing to of the more modern late 90's superminis. Reply to this message | Report message