What passenger cars were in the USSR?

Once Zadornov noted that the time had come when the Zaporozhets also became a foreign car. Today we will still talk about other foreign cars that once penetrated the Iron Curtain. Such an event has always caused quite a natural stir among all Soviet people. Especially, motorists of a huge country. Everyone admired and envied.


It is natural that the Soviet outskirts could see outlandish equipment only on the pages of the magazine "Behind the wheel". I myself, as a teenager, learned from there that in addition to Zhiguli and Moskvich, there is a huge variety of brands inaccessible to the Soviet gaze.

The first foreign cars in a communist state

That time was rather ambiguous. The country and its leaders were trying to figure out which way to go. And what is considered a bourgeois relic, and what is simply necessary for a Soviet person. Those who belonged to the "powerful of this world" sometimes tried to show their own vision of different moments. Therefore, in the pre-war years, only well-known figures of the state and popular artists could afford personal cars of foreign production.



For example, Ford-A, which appeared at the famous opera singer Antonina Nezhdanova, set a new fashion. Now it has become customary to pay tribute to the talent of screen and pop stars in the form of four-wheeled gifts. So the ballerina Lepeshinskaya got a Ford V8, and the super popular Lyubov Orlova got a Packard-120. Sometimes celebrities simply brought foreign brands after foreign tours. So passenger vehicles became the personification of belonging to the Soviet hierarchy.

Post-war boom in captured equipment

The famous American lend-lease of the times of the war meant the supply of heavy military vehicles to the USSR. Massive "Studebakers" successfully worked on the post-war restoration of the national economy. Among the American aid were cars for the leadership of the Red Army.

Some of them survived the war and became excellent trophies for senior officers and generals. Even more of this technique appeared after the foot of a Soviet soldier set foot on German soil.

The Nazis themselves did not hesitate to plunder the Soviet country during the occupation. They even managed to export fertile Ukrainian black soil in railway wagons. It is not surprising that the Soviet soldiers responded to the enemy in the same way. As they say, we don’t need someone else’s - we take our own. The most popular trophy was excellent German technology.



It seems that little has changed in the last eight decades. Both now and then, German car brands were leading in Europe. Therefore, German passenger cars, albeit pre-war production, favorably differed from domestic brands.

Separate OPEL models, having been in the hands of experienced Soviet specialists, were able to render an important service to the domestic auto industry. Pre-war German developments and the ingenuity of engineers brought the quality of our Moskvich to a higher level. Not only the quality of the engine has increased, but also the comfort of the very movement of the updated car.

What were the foreign cars of the 60s?

Having slightly expanded their horizons, Soviet officials from the automotive industry saw their own miscalculations. The pre-war decade - the time of large construction projects, dictated its own rules of the game. To transport building materials, powerful multi-ton trucks were needed. But cars were contemptuously called the dream of individualists. As you know, there was no place for this in the Soviet country.



The period of rethinking after the condemnation of Stalin's personality cult and the "Khrushchev thaw" has borne fruit. The production of passenger vehicles began to develop, and "Victory" appeared in almost all post-war films. Maybe now they will be able to legally import foreign cars into the country? Let's not rush time.

In the early 60s in Moscow it was often possible to meet luxurious foreign cars that stood out favorably in the general stream. Basically, these were cars that wore diplomatic numbers. Yes, this considerable park was assigned to the diplomatic embassies of different countries, located in the capital of our country. But, only Muscovites could see them, there was a ban on foreigners leaving for the 101st kilometer. Representatives of the top of the Central Committee of the CPSU also had cars of this class.

I think everyone understands that no foreigner who comes to work in our country will immediately drive a Moskvich or Volga. Many Soviet motorists liked to say that those who had ever driven a foreign car would no longer want to use ours. Here is the difference in design, comfort and quality, driving dynamics. Only a true patriot could choose his own. But most of the time, there was no choice.

Brezhnev's love for foreign cars

Despite the fact that the time of Brezhnev's rule is considered to be a time of stagnation, he himself was a dynamic and enthusiastic person. Of course, before he became weak and sick. Leonid Ilyich loved hunting, hockey and various awards. Another passion of the Secretary General was foreign cars and fast driving.



Knowing this, the delegations of various countries and other high-ranking guests tried to win his favor. This was done through the gift of another expensive foreign car. The head of state gladly accepted the gift and tried to use it as soon as possible.

Such a trend coming from above and the general degree of reduction of pressure in Soviet society, gave courage to others. Many popular artists, among whom were popular favorites Mironov and Vysotsky, had chic foreign cars at their disposal. The latter generally changed at least five models in his short life. Among them were two BMWs, the same number of Mercedes and another Renault 16. Andrei Mironov was forced to be content with the BMW 3 Series instead of the coveted Mercedes.

The leader in terms of the size of the foreign vehicle fleet is still considered to be the international journalist V. Louis. He had ten of them at once, with amazing geography:

✅ American "Ford Mustang"
✅ Swedish "Volvo"
✅ German "Mers" and "Porsche"
✅ English Land Rover and others

Arno Babadzhanyan drove the 8-year-old "Imperial de Baron", and Nikita Bogoslovsky, on the third attempt, still mastered the dream - "Mercedes-Benz".



Usually the "foreign" miracle of technology was available only to selected members of society, who were favored by the party elite of the country. The service personnel of the elite could only count on decommissioned official cars, which no one spared during operation. But not everything is so rosy here either - it was impossible to order spare parts for Amazon at that time. And if you couldn’t find a suitable part from the domestic auto industry, the car will stand in the garage for as many years as you like. And picked up, be ready to contrive and find a master at the service, which will put a foreign car on wheels.

Service difficulties

By the mid-70s in Moscow there was only one service station in Medvedkovo, serving foreign cars of private owners. And their number has grown steadily. Under such conditions, even a casual acquaintance with one of the station's mechanics was the height of an automobile "blat". For a narrow circle, there was a garage of the Office of the Affairs of the Diplomatic Corps, serving models of this category.

The “guests of our roads” also had other problems. Motors designed for high-octane gasoline refused to "eat" a Soviet surrogate. There were frequent cases of overheating, detonation and failure to work. Only one office could save, in which, upon presentation of a certificate, it was possible to get high-quality fuel. It was a limited amount of high-octane gasoline with a characteristic cologne smell. The gas station at Kropotkinskaya has become a favorite place for owners of foreign vehicles.

How foreign cars ceased to be in short supply

In the mid-80s, perestroika, initiated by the new Soviet leader M. Gorbachev, significantly softened relations with the capitalist world. This made it possible to start official purchases of passenger cars manufactured in these countries.



Also, military officers serving in limited contingents and receiving foreign exchange salaries began to invest them in the purchase of foreign cars. They were joined by sailors bringing foreign cars from abroad. And a long stream of Japanese cars with right-hand drive stretched to the Far East.

At the beginning of the next decade, foreign cars appeared in provincial cities. With the collapse of the Union, he completely threw an endless stream of various brands. They were no longer in short supply and are now accepted as commonplace in our country.