Coffee For Cars, Colombia and Russia/Eastern Europe

[Colombiaauto]

The following is a google translation of the introduction from:

https://www.carrosyclasicos.com/cron...tina-de-hierro

While the websisite is in Spanish there are many images of obscure vehicles, cars trucks and 4x4s you've probably never heard of. I'm a car guy and when I moved to Colombia almost twenty years ago I was amazed at the oddball Russian and Eastern European vehicals from years back I saw on the road. Sadly they are disappearing due to age and modernized transportation agency safety requirements etc. But some are still daily runners like the 4x4 Romanian Aro Carpatis and Russian UAZ that do public transportation service to the mountainous areas around big cities like Cali. Anyway if you're a car buff and interested in the unusuals take a look.

"Starting in the 1950s, it was common in Colombia to exchange coffee for items that were not produced in the country. Automobiles were one of them and the former socialist countries of Eastern or Eastern Europe were some of those that entered the business. With few exceptions, they were resounding failures, mainly due to the terrible after-sales service, which did not exist and which its importers did not take into account.

There was the case of new vehicles that fell apart as spare parts were needed to keep the rest running. Empirical technicians and mechanics without training in each of the brands and vehicles and finally, low-quality products, which did not meet the minimum quality standards. This brought with it economic detriment for buyers and a bad image for foreign brands that ventured into this risky business, many times managed by unscrupulous merchants who made a lot of money selling products without guarantee of service and spare parts, with the complicity of the government authorities of turn. The main attraction of these vehicles was their low price, their simple mechanics and their great structural strength."