How the Russians advertised their cars:

[shep-shepherd.livejournal.com]

Izh 412 rally car, circa 1975, with stern-looking Olga Korbutt type:



(pic courtesy of autowp.ru)

Shepfact: Izh cars were/are made by Izhevsk Mechanical Works, the same concern which makes the AK-47 'Kalashnikov' assault rifle. Who needs guns when you have such formidable automotive weapons as the Izh 412, driven by slinky female athletes? :)

Comments

[death-worm.livejournal.com]

The bitter conflict between the USA and USSR could have been alleviated if only the capitalists and communists knew they shared at least one thing in common: a love of beautiful women posing on the hoods of cars. Perhaps it was not Reagan and Gorbachev who thawed the Cold War, but David Coverdale and Tawny Kitaen.

[shep-shepherd.livejournal.com]

"Perhaps it was not Reagan and Gorbachev who thawed the Cold War, but David Coverdale and Tawny Kitaen."

Never thought of it like that before! :)

[ho9.livejournal.com]

Красота!

[shep-shepherd.livejournal.com]

The lady or the car? :)

[ho9.livejournal.com]

USSR!

[shep-shepherd.livejournal.com]

Aha!

[misstia]

what a hood ornament! :) guess it gives some shape to the boxy type car there...

[shep-shepherd.livejournal.com]

I love the boxy functionality of the Russian cars :)

[misstia]

true....very functional...won't have those 'whale tales' or excessive fins....

[shep-shepherd.livejournal.com]

Indeed- even the GAZ Chaika wasn't that OTT, despite being based on a Packard:



Believe it or not, the car in the picture was made in 1981, the same year that Chrysler were offering the Imperial!

[misstia]

wow....1981??? bet it was better made than the imperial!

[shep-shepherd.livejournal.com]

Most likely it was! No EFI or digital dash to worry about :)

[dinosaurbob.livejournal.com]

Is there a market for cars like these that are still around? Were they well-built?

I would totally get into owning something like this!!

Gas mileage be damned!

[shep-shepherd.livejournal.com]

I believe that they were built for high-ranking people in the Communist Party and were extremely well-built by any standards- In 1959 in its first year of production, the Chaika was awarded a Grand Prix at the Brussels motor show, meaning that it was acknowledged as one of the best European cars of that year.

They are sought-after today by film makers and collectors of unusual cars :)

[girlchild0aglow.livejournal.com]

What is she wearing?

[amelia-eve.livejournal.com]

I love the toe shoes.

[kip-w.livejournal.com]

Hella cute!

[uncle-stan.livejournal.com]

I suspect the picture is quite modern, 90s at least.
Not sure if such fog lights were available in USSR in 70s.

[iime.livejournal.com]

That car was specially prepared for rally. Moskvitch has good rally results at 70's so that was used in ads. (Izh is Moskvitch made at another plant with minor variations)

http://www.russianscalemodels.com/viewmodel.php?id=4197

[shep-shepherd.livejournal.com]

You'd be surprised at what Western stuff clever Russians were able to get their hands on, especially if they knew the right people :)