Remember The Yugo? I barely Do...

I came across this add for a Yugo today. That's something I haven't thought about in a long long time.

I'm not that much of a car nut. I'd like to be, but certain things (like wanting to eat and wanting my family to eat, be clothed, and have a roof over their heads...) keeps me from driving the more expensive cars. And, in reality, a car is a commodity, something to be used up. It's something to get you from one point to another. That's how I view my daily driver. And the fact I don't have a car payment--and haven't had for almost a decade--makes my almost fifteen-year old car that much better.

I remember back in the 1980s Hyundai came out with a really inexpensive car. I remember the ads. For the price of a regular car, you could buy two Hyundais. I didn't know anyone that actually bought one, so I don't know if they were well-built or reliable. My guess is, they most likely weren't. Of course, Hyundais today have a much better reputation. I'd drive one in a heartbeat, if I could afford it.

Then there was the Yugo. I think, if anything, it was ahead of its time. On the roads today there are many small cars. Smart cars, Toyota Yarises, Fiat 500s are all over the place. They're small economical, and easy to park. The big difference between those cars and Yugos is, I'll bet we'll see those cars on the road in twenty years, not many, but I'll bet a few.

I can't remember the last time I ever saw a Yugo on the road.

The ad above makes the car sound fun, sporty, even zippy. I wonder if it was any of those things. I ran the numbers. in 1990, £3414 equaled about $5511. New cars around that time most likely cost between $5K to $10K. I suppose a Yugo was a cheap option.

Yes, ads make everything sound great. A quick google search pulled up zero Yugos for sale on Autotrader's website. And on ebay, the only Yugo thing you can buy is a car brochure. Funny, how a single picture and some ad copy brings back an entire product like that no longer exists.