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The Last Yugo: Zastava Automobili says "Goodbye, no more"

The last Yugo rolled off the assembly line at 9:00 a.m., November 11, 2008. With no more ceremony than factory worker’s hand-written paper sign reading “Cao, nema viša” (“goodbye, no more”) on the tailgate of Yugo number 794,428, production of the Yugo has ended.

 

Earlier this year, Fiat purchased a 70 percent controlling interest in Zastava Automobili from the Serbian government and will begin production of the Fiat Punto in the company’s plant in Kragujevac, Serbia, by the end of 2008.

 

Americans are familiar with the Yugo from its 1985 introduction in the United States by entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin (who earlier had brought the first Subarus to the U.S.). Selling for $3,990, the Yugo GV (great value) was significantly the cheapest new car for sale in the country. Sales were initially strong as car buyers were attracted to the low price, but the cars could charitably be described as being unsuited for American driving. More accurately, the consumers reported a lack of quality. Consumers Reports was more blunt, calling it “barely assembled bag of nuts and bolts.”

 

Early adopters were willing to forego quality, sales rising from an initial 400 cars per month in September 1985 to 5,000 monthly a year and a half later. On the other hand, the first cars were equipped with an 1100cc 55-horsepower engine, and with a manual transmission only, its market was limited in an America where automatic transmission sales were well over 90 percent.

 

Road & Track magazine tested a Yugo GV in 1986 and found that it would edge out a 1984 Chevrolet Sprint costing $1,000 more in acceleration, but the Yugo returned 30 mpg in “normal driving” while the Sprint achieved 44 mpg, no doubt in part from its five-speed versus four-speed transmission. The bigger competition, however, turned out to be the Hyundai Excel.

 

Although R&T found it would do “all the necessary things” in its first full test, in more extended use, owners found “Yugo” and “reliable” didn’t belong in the same sentence unless there was a “not” in there somewhere. Owners complained of engine failure, shifter and transmission problems, malfunctioning brakes and electrical system faults, in addition to interior and trim parts that frequently went AWOL or were dishonorably separated from service.

 

By 1988, Yugo’s 300 dealers in the U.S. had inventory clogging their lots and offering news cars that had been there for several years for half their original selling price. Yugo America went bankrupt in 1989, and no ’89 models were imported. With reorganization, the new Yugo America became a subsidiary of Zastava Automobili. But even though, quality had improved with fuel injection replacing troublesome carburetion and a 1300cc engine having been made standard equipment, the Yugo’s image had been irreparably damaged. It wasn’t helped by the EPA recalling 126,000 vehicles for failure to meet emissions requirements with its complex carburetor arrangement that by the time of the recall had been replaced by injection. Even a convertible, the GVC Cabrio, wasn’t able to revive the little car’s fortune.

 

But Yugo hung on in the United States until 1992 when Yugo America Inc. told dealers in a letter that the compact car had fell victim to “civil strife in its European homeland,” according to the New York Times. A dealer visiting Yugo America’s headquarters found the lights off and doors locked. The final count total for Yugos coming into the United States was 145,511.

Production continued at Zastava, however. Even in 1999, six months after when “NATO used the factory for target practice,” in the words of a Zastava Automobili press release, the factory was up and producing cars again. (Zastava, it should be noted, was an arms maker long before starting car manufacture). Zastava, still government owned even after the Communist government had fallen, continued to improve its product, as a company press release notes:

 

“For an encore, Zastava’s engineers forged an alliance with PSA/Peugeot-Citroen, and developed Europe’s most affordable diesel car, the Florida TDC, a five-door hatchback that was praised by Britain’s AutoCar magazine (in its February 28^th, 2008 issue), in the last throes of the company’s independence.”

 

The Yugo isn’t quite the last car from Zastava, however, though the last Scala 55 will be built on November 20. The Zastava 128 is assembled in Egypt, and Zastava is negotiating with government officials in the Congo about building the Scala 55 and Yugo Koral In in that African country.

 

But on November 11, 2008, it all ended for the Yugo at the Kragujevac factory. As they say in Serbia, “Cao, nema viša.”

 

1988, The Little Yugo's Giant Slump

1989, Importer of Yugo Seeks Protection

1989, A Car Industry Veteran Will Try to Revive Yugo

2001 The Yugo, Wartime Survivor, Faces Open Market  

2002 Sales of Yugo End in U.S.

 

How do you make a Yugo go faster? A tow truck.

What do you call a Yugo's shock absorbers? Passengers.

Two guys in a Yugo were arrested last night in Oakland following a push-by shooting incident.

Why does a Yugo have a defroster on the rear window? To keep your hands warm while you push it.

The new Yugo has an air bag. When you sense an impending accident, start pumping real fast.

 

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