Yeah, like that never happens here in the US.

More is coming, including the Gol!

Torch, you’re amazing! I think it’s really interesting your fascination about all the weird stuff that came out of VWB (Volkswagen of Brazil). One of my mom’s friends had a Passat Dacon Targa stroked to 1.8L.

Wow. So much want for that Sulam ‘Quattro’, Great article! I made it to Argentina a couple of years ago and was amazed at some of the cars there - Brazil is on my to-do list now!

The original Chaika did resemble a Packard Patrician, though I watched a documentary about soviet cars recently where the engineers who designed it talked about the various versions they went though and the concepts they designed from scratch. Though the leadership would often tell them to make the car look more…

I know it’s been several years since one has been made, but aren’t ZiLs still theoretically in production, for special order? I mean, if someone showed up with a wad of cash and demanded that ZiL build them one, I believe they still can.

Chaikas were one step down from ZiLs. They only built about a dozen ZiLs a year, and they were only for very senior political and military leaders - Presidium members and the like, and could only be bought and owned by the government.

Meanwhile, I’d just like a plain ol’ brand new Lada X-Ray.

I have to say there is something special about that ZIL 41047. It’s as if the limos I used to draw at the age of 6 became reality, only with less doors... and that short distance between rear-wheel arch and belt line is kind of awesome (though no one did it better than the Monteverdi 375/4). On the other hand, the new…

Gah! So tasteless and vulgar. They really degenerated in terms of taste. Remember the Chaika? Now there was an official limo. This is like some sort of New Russian gangster’s fever dream.

As far as the car, it looks part cheap and part awesome.

I always pictured Bernie Sanders as the kind of person that would own an immaculately maintained base model 1994 Mercury Topaz in burgundy, with 74,000 original miles.

Right, because the 20 richest Americans owning as much wealth as the bottom 150,000,000 is good economics.

If they were going to be realistic about a 75yo Jewish guy spending campaign funds on a car, they would have shot him driving that million mile, 20 year-old Lexus LS.

Yeah, man! This guy obviously does not care. That's Bernie being arrested for protesting against segregation in Chicago in 1963. He was 21.

Maybe?

That’s the question I ask myself before I go into a deep trance.

Must be something in the water. Telsa grew up in the same area. Or maybe he’s still kickin’ around.

You and I can talk crap about how weird these cars were/are, but I love what I see. It's a shame we don't see this kind of shameless creativity anymore.