A four-engine A340 with only one engine... now THAT would be scary.

C-160 Transall from the Luftwaffe hits the public road before the runway. (Note how close the propeller blades came to the idiots standing around - that's why you should never stay in the runway's axis when you go aircraft spotting.)

The Avantime. After more than a decade, it still looks stunningly outta this world. Plus it has more style, playfulness and extravagance than the complete range offered by some Japanese or German carmakers.

Some other ex Eastern Bloc countries also use the An-2. I saw this beautiful example (from the Estonian Air Force) at an airshow in the Czech Republic last year. Poland retired its An-2 fleet last december after 50+ years of service.

1.4 75 hp. 'nuff said.

The Ba-349 Natter. I always think of this one as the German version of the Yokosuka Okha. Okay, the Natter was not a kamikaze aircraft, but looking at the theory of operation, it's not far. Compared to the Ba-349, the Me-163 seems a friendly, forgiving aircraft.

...because East Germany, that's why.

Actually, that's how I adopted one of my cats. It was a hot day in June 2006, with temperatures around 95 degrees. I'd been hearing desperate meowing the entire day, but I could not figure out where it came from. Finally, I noticed it was coming from a crappy red Lada on the street. In a nutshell: I called the cops,…

That's so mouth-like it kinda reminds me of Penelope Pitstop's car...

As simple as ingenious. You have the point (= punto), which completes the driving man formed by the P.

Crankshaft. Or pushrod.

..and then a scarred-face gay guy came along with a shotty and took all the ice cream from both trucks.

Trabant photo with East German pedophile at the wheel. (From the cover of Trabi catalogue)

My parents did not buy their own car until 1987 (a '72 Lada 1200), so my first ride was in a taxi. A yellow Wartburg 353. The product of a country that seized to exist 23 years ago. That makes me feel old.

I've been in love with this one since I saw Dazed and Confused...

And its distant relatives...

The vast majority of those incidents occured due to pilot error and/or very poor maintenance standards. As for the Smolensk crash: the Russians are still blaming the crew, the Polish are still blaming ATC, and both are blaiming the thick fog. Only one thing is for sure: the plane itself was in perfect condition.

Still, it is safe, reliable and its handling is superb.