Copyright © 1999

Porsche Club of America Out For A Spin March, 1999 Bruce Corwin Bruce968@PorscheNet.com

My partner and I recently closed down one of our companies, which had been doing business in Russia for almost 10 years and we reflected on some of the absurd situations of automotive life in Russia. So this month, I thought I would share this insight with you. Some of this may sound very hard to believe, but it is all true!
 
The first thing you notice about parked cars in Russia is that they have no windshield wiper blades. The drivers remove them or they will be stolen immediately. One problem with this habit is that most drivers forget to put them on until it rains, which usually leads to turning them on without the blade and scratching the windshield. You will also notice drivers pulled over on the highway to install them when a cloudburst occurs. You can imagine all of the thrills associated with this habit.
 
From 1992 until last year, most gas was not sold by gas stations. If you saw a gasoline truck parked along the road, you pulled over, gave the truck driver some money and he put some gas directly into your car. This was particularly a problem between Saint Petersburg and Moscow since the cars only have 5-gallon gas tanks and there is just one gas station on the road between the two cities. When you arrive there, chances are they have no gas and you just wait as many hours or days it takes for a truck to arrive. As a result, many Russians carry full gas cans (of low quality) in their cars. When accidents occur, the results can be horrific. More gas stations are now finally being built.
 
As you can imagine, Russian cars are notoriously unreliable. If you purchase your car new from the factory, the first thing you do is to go through the whole car and tighten all the bolts. Getting a license isn’t easy either. Until recently, in order to get your license you had to be familiar with how to adjust your carburetor and how the engine worked. In fact, most Russian drivers can totally rebuild their car. Many have to do it on a regular basis. And of course, there are no automatic transmissions.
 
If your car does break down on the road, be prepared to fix it on the spot because you probably can’t afford a tow truck and if you leave the car unattended, it won’t be there when you return. With the theft rate so high, virtually all cars have alarms, which go off all night long outside the apartment buildings.
 
The same models have been produced since the 1970’s, especially on the Fiat 124 base and no change in  engine design or pollution control has been attempted.  There are four models produced in Russia. The Lada is the only one they export. The Volga looks a bit like an old Volvo. The Moscvich is made in Moscow and is the most unreliable. It won’t run in the rain and you are lucky if you can drive it away from the factory. The fourth Russian car is the limousine, Chaika, which means Seagull (a bird often seen at the dump, eating garbage).
 
Wealthy Russians (don’t ask how they got that way) buy foreign cars, which generally cost about twice what they do in the States. The most popular was the Mercedes SL600, but now the Mercedes Galandewagen 4x4 seems to be the vehicle of choice. These high-end cars used to be more prevalent in Moscow, but now the owners mostly keep them out of the city since a majority of them are stolen (frequently right from the factory) and the Police are beginning to crack down.
 
As you drive through the city, expect the police to stop you 2 or 3 times a day. They can stop you for no reason and can always find something wrong with your car or your driving. For example, if your car is too dirty, you can get a ticket. People rarely get tickets though because what the cop really wants is cash and there is always some negotiation involved. If you have been drinking, you won’t get a breathalyzer, because if you even have alcohol on your breath, you’re going right to the station.
 
Factoid: no domestic Russian car has air conditioning. There isn’t enough power to run the compressor. Russian joke: why do Russian car manufacturers put defrosting wires in the rear windows? To keep the drivers hands warm while pushing the car!