Lada History:
In 1966, Fiat built a new car factory on the banks of the Volga River. A new area called Togliatti was developed around the factory, which started producing a "peoplescar" called the Lada. It was based on the new Fiat 124, but aimed at the budget end of the market to target buyers of cars like the Volkswagen Beetle and Citroen 2CV - except the Lada was a more practical and spacious offering in four-door saloon and five-door estate guise. Fiat installed British-built machine tools supplied by Herbert-BSA of Birmingham for the manufacture of many Lada parts. The Fiat 124 design was mechanically upgraded to survive treacherous Russian driving conditions and freezing Siberian winters. Imports to Western Europe began in 1974, and after a few years of slow sales, the cars began to sell well thanks largely to their low asking price. This car was upgraded to become the Lada Riva in 1980, a year after the launch of a four-wheel drive - the Lada Niva - which was specially designed for the Russian army. It failed to match the on-road handling of similar small off-roaders like the Suzuki SJ, but off the road there were few vehicles that could match it. In 1984, Lada made its first attempt at a modern front-wheel drive hatchback. The Samara was an all-new design that was a superb engineering achievements considering the years of technical isolation in Eastern Europe. But it was let down by a dreadful plastic interior and dismal finish. Even though it was a rugged car capable of dealing with the worst road conditions, many Western European buyers stuck with the old Riva. Western European imports of the Samara began in 1987, the year in which the Lada range totalled more than 21,000 sales in Britain. But the low asking price of the Lada range was not enough, and by 1996 the Lada range sold just over 6,000 cars in Britain. The following year, this - and ever-tougher emissions requirements - forced Lada out of Britain and many other export markets. In 1996, Lada did make another attempt at an all-new modern front-wheel drive car. The Lada 110 was a more modern looking car than the rest of the Lada range, but its modern looks were not carried through to the engineering design or build quality.

Lada Overview:
Lada is the trademark of AvtoVAZ, a Russian car manufacturer in Togliatti, Russia. The name replaced the original Zhiguli brand, because of phonetic resemblance of Zhiguli to Gigolo, which hampered exports. Lada made its name in Western Europe selling the Lada Riva as an economy car in large quantities during the 1980s, but subsequent models have not enjoyed the same success. The common Lada sedan/estate series, known as the Classic in the, is one of the most produced car models in history. The car was based on the 1966 Fiat 124 sedan. Since 1980, more than 13.5 million Lada Rivas have been built, and unknown millions were produced between 1969 and 1979 badged as 2101s - 2107s. Lada has since ceased production of the Classic but the car is in production at another Russian car plant as well as being built under licence in other countries.

Other Lada Details:
Famous Lada models over the years include; Lada 110, Lada 112, Lada 1300, Lada 1500 Lada 2107,Lada Kalina Lada Niva ,Lada Nova,VAZ-1111,Lada Revolution,Lada Riva, Lada Samara,VAZ 2103,VAZ 2107 ,VAZ-2101,VAZ-2103,Lada Nadezhda.Production of the Samara ceased in 2004, but the ancient Riva and Niva remain in production, alongside the newer 110 as well as another new car, the Lada Kalina. Launched in 2004, this small car is available as a hatchback, saloon and estates, and sets new standards for Russian small cars in terms of specification and design. AvtoVaz, the firm who makes Ladas, hopes to have the Kalina on sale in Western Europe in the near future.