Greetings from Siberia

[shoedoos]

Game Over, do you have any history on why these types of cars have ended up in Russia? It seems strange that during the cold war era, people were importing American vehicles to what was a communist country at the time?

 

[Game Over]

Game Over, do you have any history on why these types of cars have ended up in Russia? It seems strange that during the cold war era, people were importing American vehicles to what was a communist country at the time?

Most of them comes here as used cars in 90’s (mainly cars of 80’s and nineties), when the Soviet Union was down. For example, my ‘90 Grand Marquis was imported here in 92, and professor of the Moscow State University owns it all the time before me. Ambulance was made for Pennsylvania Suburban squad, works there, but when it was imported in Russia in mid-90’s, it was an ambulance too, in Ministry of Foreign Affairs). But if you drove a foreign made car here at that time - you was not a such person. It was a some escalation of how important you are. If you are the ordinary man - you are pedestrian or Soviet car driver, if you starts as businessman or street gangster, your car will be a used Japanese or European import, but if you a god father, successful businessman or famous person, your car is Mercedes (W140), BMW (7-series), top of the line English, and, of course, American made cars. Don’t know the story of my Olds before late 90’s. The first information which I have from ‘97. The owner lived in the center of the Moscow. In 2000 this Olds was sold to the village for a boss of the local company where I found it ~20 years later. Don’t know why it didn’t eats asphalt all that time, but it’s fine.
If you interested with American cars in Soviet Union, two of my friends made a great research from the post-war era till the early 80’s. It covers the history of ~90% of American cars in USSR. You can see it here http://freedomcars.ru/retro/oldamcar.shtml
The most of them were owned by long-distance sailors (it was a very prestige profession in USSR), diplomats, actors and artists, politics, and, of course, foreign embassies.
In the early ‘00s old American cars costs here little bit more than nothing. I lived in Moscow at that time and there was a lot of abandoned ~15+ years cars there. Also Moscow road patrol used CVPIs. It looks phantasmagorical when them stops me and my friends on American still runners)
Now times have changed. Near the end of previous decade the interest to American cars grows up. The price grows up too). But now there are some car museums here (https://instagram.com/most_cultcars?igshid=t75cav2iipf6 , https://mos-holidays.ru/muzej-retro-avtomobilej-na-rogozhskom-valu/ and more), last year Baikal mile race event starts (https://denisminchenkov.com/2020/03/10/baikal-mile-2020/) and much more. Sometimes it smells like establishment. But wait. Me and my friends are trying to keep that punky taste of freedom without lot of money. We don’t need any approval, we just like to drive our cars)

 

[shoedoos]

wow man, those website links you gave us are fantastic.....I'm stunned how many US origin cars made it over that way....cheers for that

 

[mclellan83]

Really cool to see all that have made it over there and the work your doing on yours, thanks for sharing