Zastava Koral
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Zastava Koral | |
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| Manufacturer | Zastava Automobili - Serbia |
| Production | 1981–present |
| Class | Subcompact and roadster |
| Body style(s) | 3-door hatchback 2-door convertible |
| Platform | Fiat 128 mechanics with Autobianchi A112 body style |
| Engine(s) | 45 - 45 hp (34 kW) 0.9l (903 cc), 55 - 55 hp (41 kW) 1.1l (1116 cc), 60 - 60 hp (45 kW) 1.1l (1116 cc), 65 - 65 hp (48 kW) 1.3l (1301 cc), SDI - 60 hp (45 kW) diesel 1.9l, TDI - 90 hp (67 kW) turbo diesel 1.9l |
| Transmission(s) | 45 4-speed ; 55, 60, 65, SDI and TDI 5-speed manual |
| Wheelbase | 2150 mm (84.6 in) |
| Length | 3485 mm (137.2 in) |
| Width | 1548 mm (60.9 in) |
| Height | 1390 mm (54.7 in) |
| Curb weight | 825 kg (1819 lb) to 920 kg (2028 lb) |
| Related | Fiat 128 Fiat 127 Autobianchi A112 |
| Designer | Giorgetto Giugiaro |
The Zastava Koral (known outside the former Yugoslavia simply as the Yugo and within it as Jugo) is a subcompact vehicle built by Zastava corporation.
The car design is based on the mechanics of the Fiat 127 and Fiat 128, under license from Fiat, and a modified Autobianchi A112 body style. The Yugo entered the United States by means of Malcolm Bricklin, who wanted to introduce a simple, low cost car to that market. It was sold in the US from 1985 to 1991, with the most American units sold in a year peaking at 45,000.[1] The Zastava Koral is still being sold in the former Yugoslavia with an updated design.
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[edit] Zastava Koral Info (Serbia)
- Trim Lines
- Zastava Koral 1.1
- Zastava Koral 1.3
- Zastava Koral In 1.1
- Zastava Koral In 1.3
- Zastava Koral In 1.1 (1124 cc Peugeot engine)
Standard Features:
Koral Models: 1.1L, 1.3L or engines, fan, cloth upholstery, glovebox, seatbelts, and more. (Possibly dual front airbags)
Koral In Models: Everything the Koral Models have plus a modernized interior and exterior.
[edit] Model names covered
In the lifetime of the model range the car has gone under a variety of different names:
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The Zastava Koral is a subcompact automobile produced by the former Yugoslav and now Serbian manufacturer Zastava. The main factory is located in the city of Kragujevac in central Serbia.
[edit] History
Zastava was founded as an arms manufacturer in 1853. By the late 1930s the company had expanded into automobile production supplying Ford designed trucks to the Yugoslav Army. Vehicle production continued until 1941 when World War II reached Yugoslavia. Following the war Zastava was permitted to produce Jeeps under license from Willys-Overland until production was halted in the early 1950s.
The first passenger models were produced on August 26, 1953 using designs licensed by Fiat of Turin. The first model designed by Zastava was a sedan called the Milletrecento ("one thousand three hundred") powered by a 1300 cc engine. Some of the most successful models were those based on the Fiat 128 model, marketed under different names: Zastava 128, Zastava 311, Zastava Skala, et cetera.
Zastava continued to produce vehicles for the Yugoslav and European markets until exports were limited by sanctions imposed by the United Nations in the 1990s. In 1984, automobile entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin tested the U.S. market for Zastava vehicles, now branded as Yugo. As a result, in the summer of 1986, Yugo America began selling cars at a starting price of $3,990 for the entry-level GV ("Great Value") hatchback equipped with the 1100 cubic centimeter overhead-cam five-main-bearing engine and four-speed manual transmission. The similar GVL offered a more plush interior, but the sporty top-line GVX was powered by the beefier 1300 cc engine mated to a five-speed manual transmission, and included as standard equipment were a number of deluxe features such as a ground-effects package, alloy wheels and rally lights.
By the late 1980s, US distributor Yugo America was in financial trouble, and American distribution was taken over by Zastava itself. The Yugo Cabrio convertible was introduced with many GVX features as standard equipment.
In the early 1990s the 1100 engine was dropped as the 1300 cc engine became the standard, and an automatic transmission was offered.
However, when the political instability in Yugoslavia intensified in early 1992, Zastava was forced to stop exports to the United States.
The site was repaired by the same factory workers in the years afterwards, and production continues today on the old site, in Kragujevac.
Today there are various models available in the former Yugoslavia, including an agreement signed with Fiat for the production of the 2003 Fiat Punto model.[2]
[edit] U.S. History
International Automobile Importers was the company founded by Malcolm Bricklin to import the X1/9 and 2000 Spyder after Fiat halted their manufacture. Bertone and Pininfarina carried on production under their own names and Bricklin's IAI took over their American importation. Bricklin wanted to import additional brands, and international dealmaker Armand Hammer had been asked by the Yugoslavs to identify business areas in which they could generate exports to bolster their economy. Hammer thought the idea of exporting the small cars made in Kragujevac, Serbia, by Zavodi Crvena Zastava would be viable. Zastava had, since the mid-19th century, been a quality armaments producer and sponsored its own museum.
As Zastava celebrated its 100th anniversary, it started producing vehicles made under license from Fiat, just across the Adriatic Sea. For three decades it produced the perky rear-engined 600 and the 101, a bustle-backed version of Fiat's evergreen 128. On its own initiative in 1980, Zastava introduced its Jugo or Yugo model which, though still using Fiat-type power train and underpinnings, was an update of the Fiat 127. Styled in Turin, the two-door hatchback's lines were reminiscent of the original VW Golf or Rabbit. Zastava was already exporting its new offering to other East European markets, installing the bigger 128 overhead-cam engine for a top speed of 90 mph (145 km/h).
Setting up Yugo America to import the car, Bricklin assigned Bill Prior to sort out the distribution and Tony "Hurricane" Ciminera to fine-tune the Yugo for US markets. Ciminera carried out a bumper-to-bumper audit that resulted in more than 500 changes to meet the needs of the American market, including the safety and emissions improvements that US laws demanded. The vast Yugo facility was patterned after the Fiat factories of the early 1950s and employed 50,000, divided among 85 basic associated labor organizations and 25 work committees. For American production models, a separate assembly line was built with handpicked elite staff earning extra pay, building Yugos destined for the New World.
The first shift began at 6:00 in the morning and after an eight-hour day many employees left for their second jobs in other workplaces.
The chief engineer and head of Zastava's Research and Development Institute was Zdravko Menjak, who responded to the many changes needed to qualify the car for sale in the West. Bricklin had his own people at the plant to monitor the effort, constantly stressing the need for high quality. A team of British quality experts sent a cadre to Kragujevac to study the factory and recommend improvements. Toward the later 1980s an ingenious Yugo cabriolet was being tooled up for production, an automatic transmission was being sourced from Renault, and the larger car (the Florida) had been styled by Giorgio Giugiaro and was in the early manufacturing stages. With communism's collapse, however, Yugoslavia began to unravel. After embargoes stifled production, the coup de grace was NATO's bombing of the Kragujevac factory as a producer of military equipment. Only in 2000 could production be restarted and not until 2003 was the Florida launched.
Introduced in the summer of 1986 at a price of less than $4000, the Yugo was by far the lowest-priced new car available in the USA at the time,[citation needed] and it sold very well at first.[citation needed] But by the early 1990s, the effects of United Nations sanctions on Yugoslavia forced Zastava to withdraw the car from the US market.
In the United States, the Yugo soon developed a negative reputation; defenders of the brand countered by arguing that major auto producers were collaborating with influential automotive media in efforts to eliminate competition.
At first, four models of Yugo were sold in the United States: the basic entry-level $3,990 GV (for "Great Value"), the nearly-identical GVL and GVS with minor trim and upholstery upgrades, and the race-inspired GVX with the 1300 cc engine, five-speed manual transmission and standard equipment including a plush interior, ground-effects package, alloy wheels and rally lights. The Cabrio convertible was introduced in 1988.
By 1990, the GV, GVL and the 1100 cc engine and four-speed manual transmission were replaced by a 1300 cc OHC engine and five-speed manual transmission, and an optional Renault-designed automatic transmission was offered. The standard model became the GV Plus.
Wide familiarity with the Fiat 127's prowess as an autocross racer meant that many a Yugo GV was modified with Abarth racing parts and sent to participate in SCCA-sanctioned events, notably in the organization's "Solo II" category.[citation needed]
Malcolm Bricklin signed a deal with Zastava in 2002 to bring back Yugo to American shores with a model tentatively called the ZMW. Under Bricklin's direction, 'Zastava Motor Works USA' expected to sell 60,000 cars in 2003.[3] However, Bricklin instead turned to marketing the Chery line of Chinese cars.[4]. Bricklin's foray into importing and marketing Chery cars from China folded in mid-to-late 2006 when Bricklin could not come up with the investment required to fund US-specification vehicles from Chery. In early 2008, Bricklin is working with several universities to develop a car powered by advanced lithium-ion batteries.
[edit] Marketing
The Yugo was rigorously marketed in the late 1980s as a car that would fit into everybody's life, providing basic economical and reliable transportation along the lines of the Volkswagen Beetle and the earlier Ford Model T. The car was promoted as a uniquely affordable new vehicle - providing an option for buyers who would otherwise have chosen a used vehicle - and as a reliable second car for wealthier buyers. The Yugo carried the tagline "Everybody needs a Yugo sometime"[citation needed]. This marketing appealed successfully to its target market of low-budget new car buyers, as well as wealthier people looking for an affordable second or third car. [5] A popular ad included the 39-90 campaign, a play on the $3,990 price of the car.
[edit] Past Models in the Koral Range
Yugo 45 derivative models have included the Yugo 55, 60, 65, Koral, Ciao, Tempo, Cabrio, GV, GV Plus, GVX, and GVL. Yugo engines had been fitted with a carburetor until late into the 1980s before fuel-injected models (starting with Koral 65) were introduced beginning with the GVX-EFI (Electronic fuel injection), which featured a 1300 cc engine designed by Porsche for Fiat. The fuel injection system was provided by BOSCH and had Multiport fuel injection with a three-way catalytic converter and "Lambda" sensor.
[edit] Current models
Zastava currently sells an updated version of the Yugo koral model, which is presently known as the Zastava Koral IN in Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Republic of Macedonia, Greece, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, Tunisia, Poland and Egypt. As well as all the Koral versions available, other models include the Florida and Skala. In October 2005, an agreement with Fiat was reached for production of the Fiat Punto by Zastava for Eastern European markets, which will be known as the Zastava 10. The Koral IN L, with a fuel injected 1.1 L Peugeot engine, met the European Union safety standards in a test supervised by the German Technischer Überwachungsverein (Technical Monitoring Association). This may pave the way for export to E.U. countries.
[edit] Criticism and response
Along with other Central and Eastern Europe vehicles marketed in the West during the 20th century - such as Lada and Škoda - the Yugo was subjected to derision by critics who pointed to its use of old-generation Fiat technology and to alleged issues with build quality and reliability. A 1987 Consumer Reports review of the car concluded that buyers would be "better off buying a good used car than a new Yugo," and also stated that it "barely qualified as a car." Car & Driver magazine once reviewed the car, calling it "The Disposable Car by Bic" and noted that its transmission performance was "like trying to shift a baseball bat stuck inside a barrel full of coconuts." Since the transmission was a Porsche design, it is most likely that this was due to poor worksmanship during production. The Yugo was voted Car Talk's worst car of the millennium.[6]
Defenders of the vehicle have counter-argued that the Yugo's reputation suffered due to an issue that also appeared with initially-inexpensive cars as the Chevrolet Chevette, Rambler, Crosley and others - dealers were finding that too many owners were considering inexpensive cars as "disposable", and were failing to perform basic maintenance such as oil changes.
As with all motor vehicles, Yugo's basic design requires a certain amount of regular maintenance. One critical issue specific to the Yugo was the need for regular replacement of the interference engine engine's timing belt - every 40,000 miles (64,000 km). In a regular (non-interference) engine, timing belt failure does not cause further damage to the engine. In an interference engine, however, timing belt failure disrupts syncronization between pistons and valves, causing them to smash into each other (hence the name interference engine), thus destroying the engine. Though this requirement was stressed in owners' manuals, it was too frequently overlooked by owners. The factory also stresses the need for 89-octane fuels for the high-compression engines. Some Yugo owners have reported that regular oil changes and appropriate maintenance allow the cars to remain dependable and basically trouble-free.[7]
In 1989, 31-year-old Leslie Ann Pluhar,[8] driving a 1987 Yugo over the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan, was literally blown off of the bridge's 36-inch railing by 50 MPH gales.[9] This event was widely publicized at the time and is still referenced today in terms of the car. But in actuality every driver that day had been warned against traversing the bridge. Pluhar had insisted on making the crossing, and officials said later that excess speed was a factor in her death. Owners of the Yugo and related models in the former Yugoslavia benefit from a ready supply of inexpensive spare parts due to general continuity in the car's design; local mechanics' ready familiarity with the Yugo also lowers the cost of ownership. Yugo owners in America can still generally find parts, and access to parts and service is assisted by design commonalities with the Fiat 127 and 128.
[edit] References
- ^ It's Yugo (1985-1992) at YouTube
- ^ (Chinese) english.eastday.com
- ^ http://www.forbes.com/2002/04/23/0423yugo.html "Yugo Redux", Forbes Magazine
- ^ http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0501/02/A01-47455.htm "First Chinese cars to hit U.S. shores"
- ^ PETERS, E (2004): Automotive Atrocities: The Cars We Love to Hate. Motorbooks International.
- ^ Car Talk
- ^ YUGO CARS.Web - English
- ^ Leslie Ann Pluhar
- ^ David Propson (2004-10-14). How to Build a Better Bridge. New York Sun. Retrieved on 2007-10-26.
- GEORGANO, Nick (1985): The complete encyclopaedia of motorcars: 1885 to Present. George Rainbird Publishing. ISBN 0-11-702319-1.
- Automobil Revue - Revue Automobile Yearbooks
- In the Movie Die Hard with a vengance Samuel L Jackson says to Bruce Willis "It's a Yugo it's built for economy not speed"
[edit] External links
[edit] Official websites
[edit] Owners and Fan clubs
- Yugo Fan Club - Official
- The Yugo Club
- Comprehensive Zastava Yugo page
- Czech classic Zastava Owner's Club (in Czech only, comprehensive photo gallery)
- German classic Zastava Owner's Club (in German)
[edit] Miscellaneous
- Photographs of the Zastava Factory after NATO bombing
- Recreation: Autos: Makes and Models: Yugo from the Open Directory Project website
- Yugo Next - Auto Sculpture Project
- Polovni automobili - Yugo cars from owners
[edit] See also
- Zastava
- Zastava Florida (also known as Yugo Sana)
- Zastava Skala (also known as Zastava 101)
- Zastava 10
- Zastava 750
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