Anyone have experience with one of these? The Trabant

[2001GLS]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant

A car made in East Germany for over 30 years between 1957 & 1991. It was the peoples car for people in Communist Germany. It has a weak 2 cycle 2 cylinder engine but is very simple to work on and the price to get one of these cars to the US is only about $5k. (Must be over 25 years old to get it imported which currently rules out anything newer than 1983) Gets 40mpg too. Anyone driven one or know somebody who owns one? Thinking down the road this could make a fun 2nd car for the weekends. A real head turner too just because it is something different.

[smileymattj]

Ive never heard of them. What year model are you wanting? I think they look pretty cool.

the peoples car was the VW type I aka bettle

The name Trabant means "fellow traveler" or "companion"

Adolf Hitler had a keen interest in cars even though he did not drive. In 1933, shortly after taking over as leader of Germany, he asked Ferdinand Porsche to make changes to his original 1931 design to make it more suited for the working man. Hans Ledwinka discussed his ideas with Ferdinand Porsche who used many Tatra design features in the 1938 Kdf-Wagen, later known as the VW Käfer - or Beetle. On 22 June 1934, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche agreed to design the "People's Car" for Hitler.

[kylemorg]

I'm aware of them. They're still very popular in Russia. They're nicknamed Traubis, and most of them were no good when they were built, much less after 25 years. Would you spend $5K to import a Yugo? The Traubi is not even up to a Yugo's class.

They're not very safe or comfortable or fun to drive and they're horribly smoky -- think dirt-bike from what I've heard from a few co-workers who have ridden in them in Russia. and I wouldn't want the headache of trying to keep a 25 year old communist-country built antique car running, especially when you need to try to find 25 year old parts from eastern Europe.

It would be an unusual car, but I can think of much better choices for a $5K weekend car than that.

Just my $0.02

[PanciLaan]

If you're going to spend 5 K then definately don't spend it on a Trabi (as it's nicked):)
They are old cars, with hardly any comfort or driving fun.
Unless you're a Trabi enthusiast, don't bother

[Frick]

Car and Driver did an article about them in the 90s. They were illegal to import at the time because they were such awful polluters (see the 2 cycle engine).

They were extremely under powered (big surprise I know). They were also tiny, I'm guessing a Smart car would be a similar size, and while the Smart cars are designed for todays roads and have some impressive engineering to keep you alive in case of an accident I don't think the same can be said for a 25 Eastern European car.

The funniest thing that I remember from the article was a comment that stated, if the rear suspension doesn't feel right, hand a wrench to the rear passenger and they can work on it. Apparently the it was accessible from the interior of the car, and without removing any molding pieces. I'm willing to guess they weren't the quietest riding cars either.

[Pete03GLS]

there wasnt a day u cudnt c one of these in the streets of poland, brings back some memories.

[CornbreadXD]

only ones i've seen are hanging up in the rock hall

[Silentwolf]

Ya if you want to spend 5k to import a car, there are much better choices that would still be different.
How about finding a Nissan Pulsar GTR (dont know if its under 5k tho)

[Deviant]

How about finding a Nissan Pulsar GTR

Sunny!! Buy a Suzuki Swift GT/GTi if you are looking for a small weekend car that is very fuel efficient.

[smileymattj]

The funniest thing that I remember from the article was a comment that stated, if the rear suspension doesn't feel right, hand a wrench to the rear passenger and they can work on it. Apparently the it was accessible from the interior of the car, and without removing any molding pieces. I'm willing to guess they weren't the quietest riding cars either.

If thats true then i would be more concerned about the harmful fumes that I would be breathing than the noise. My dad's VW beetle has a bad heat exchanger that is letting exhaust fumes in the car when you turn on the heat, he says theres nothing wrong with it, but im like, its not hard to replace, its not expensive, its old, its worth replacing for safety, but he won't listen to me, lol.

[CornbreadXD]

Hell naw, A pulsar GTiR! I've been looking for one of those FOREVER that was my real dream car awww man the closest i've ever been to actually getting one was here. If you got that you'd be a legend in my eyes.
http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread/274063

[SuperGLS]

Interesting. It would be cool to have because you'd be the only person with one, but I think all the negatives highly outweigh the positives.

[2001GLS]

Yeah you're right....the exclusivity and simplicity of it are really the only things going for it. Availability of parts and the lack of safety equipment & inadequate performance for highway travel would probably make it an impractical choice. I still think it is a cool looking car.

I wish a modern small car with interesting looks like this would hit the market. Perhaps a no-frills vehicle with emphasis on handling (like a Mini Cooper or BMW 2002) but without all the content to drive the price up. I think there would be a definite market for it, especially with the higher gas prices.

[kylemorg]

If you wanted a truely unusual US-available car that is cheap, fairly exclusive and gives you good gas mileage, why not look for a Geo Metro convertible? Most of the chassis parts are the same as the 2-door Geo Metro / Suzuki Sprint, and it gets good gas mileage with reasonable safety (and at least better performance than a Trabi).

You might be able to find one of those cheap. (http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=Geo+Metro+convertible&category0=)

[2001GLS]

If you wanted a truely unusual US-available car that is cheap, fairly exclusive and gives you good gas mileage, why not look for a Geo Metro convertible? Most of the chassis parts are the same as the 2-door Geo Metro / Suzuki Sprint, and it gets good gas mileage with reasonable safety (and at least better performance than a Trabi).

You might be able to find one of those cheap. (http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=Geo+Metro+convertible&category0=)

The Metro convertible does get good mileage but unfortunately falls into the econobox catagory when it comes to styling. I think that is one of the main reasons small cars have never been successful in the US. Course old Metro convertibles still fetch a good bit more than the sedan and hatch counterparts. Can't think of a much more efficient convertible. Reliability would also be a lot better too.

[jalmir]

Hell naw, A pulsar GTiR! I've been looking for one of those FOREVER that was my real dream car awww man the closest i've ever been to actually getting one was here. If you got that you'd be a legend in my eyes.
http://forums.nicoclub.com/zerothread/274063

hahaha I'm gonna brag about being Canadian now!!! :D


http://www.jdmmontreal.ca/car_details/179/1991_Nissan_Pulsar_GTiR


Last time I was there they had 2 in stock! :cool:

[cbogg]

If thats true then i would be more concerned about the harmful fumes that I would be breathing than the noise. My dad's VW beetle has a bad heat exchanger that is letting exhaust fumes in the car when you turn on the heat, he says theres nothing wrong with it, but im like, its not hard to replace, its not expensive, its old, its worth replacing for safety, but he won't listen to me, lol.

Maybe he likes getting high in his car? Can't fault a brother for that! lol

[jalmir]

^ loll agree! when getting high, safety isn't important! :D