Though set in Verplanck, "Drowning Mona" was shot entirely within an hour's commute of Los Angeles. During the time the clutch cable was dying, I broke the shifter mechanism, due to the clutch cable dying. Sloppy or ignorant engineering plays a part most times; but its MANAGEMENT thats supposed to identify problems and stop them as soon as possible. I cant think of another car that disappeared off the roads faster. Subaru was just a little behind the curve in terms of design and safetyas befits a smaller company. Only with the threat of armed intervention by Nato and the UN is an uneasy peace maintained. Privacy policy The mechanical bits all seemed OK, and no obvious leaks or other damage. I remember checking them out back in I think 1986 at a local dealer and loved that bright blue they were offering at the time, called Adriatic Blue. Having had some up-close contact with a 128, Id say that its more 128 than 127. I would love to find one of those. Having seen pics of the 127, I can relay that the Yugo body is a complete reskin no lines or panels are the same or interchangeable. Old joke. These rear engined devices were a blast to drive, with tail-out shenanigans a-la Porsche 911 being easy to emulate. Except that the belt managed to get into the TIMING BELT caseand pop THAT off. I could be wrong there; but a surprising number of parts, including the airbox and cables, the steering column, the drivetrain, are all direct or modified parts from the 128. Had Bricklin given the tooling to the Koreans, and had it built to their standards under contracthed have had what he wanted. I really believe that the cars were treated as disposable, and in that way expectations were met. The local news interveiwed some and they were going for $4000 Id end up with used junk, but now I got a new import!. When they all disappeared, I surmised it was because he had been caught by the police for driving unregistered vehiclesmore likely they all just died from their terminal junkiness. An older Yugo, since the car hasn't been manufactured since its country went out of business. . What kind of car is in the movie Drowning Mona? You know, we have a joke here in ex-Yugoslavia about Yugo: If I remember correctly, the car was equipped with all the usual goodies a Fiat engine with dual Webers, full roll cage, sticky racing tires, etc. Drowning Mona is one of my favorite comedies, and its currently available on YouTube for free. In the moviedrowning MonaI remember there was among the many regular Yugos one that had four doors (a black one).Was it if(document.getElementById("unic-gdpr")) { The possibility upsets Ellen, who explains in some of the movie's best dialogue: "I can't marry a murderer. A lot of Wehrmacht occupation troops went home in tiny little pieces because Zastava knew what they were doing. This is the real reason that Yugo failed in the US- a poor dealer network. As the movie opens, a local woman named Mona Dearly (Bette Midler) speeds down a country road and directly into the Hudson River when her brakes fail. Had the car been screwed together properly, and had there been an engineering department to iron out the bugs, it could have had a long run. Its not too late! } The running gear would be the 1.1 Litre straight four that Zastava had learned to build from Fiat and the transmission would be a truly nasty four speed manual. My favorite memory was the NYC art exhibit where every sculpture was created from the remains of an old Yugo. Required fields are marked *. document.getElementById("unic-ccpa").style.display = 'inline'; var readyGEO; They even found dirt and rust that had been painted on in the inside of some cars nearing completion. Ive always had a soft spot for these little cars from Yugoslavia. Destination was Las Vegas; and by the time I got there the only way to get it to move was in First. Someone wanted her dead. Further, it was the only small car of the era that could be genuinely fun to drive. Since my father was born in Vukovar and some of our family still lives in Croatia it was of great interest to me. The cars WERE crap, you concede; and uncompetitive in a world market. I was scarred for her to be driving it. I knew about their reputation, but I really needed a set of wheels that wasnt going to set me back a couple of thousand dollars. No regrets and better than any $1500 alternatives at the time. Anyway, you got 2 I think 6.5 door speakers standard and an option for 2 46 oval speakers, mounted in the rear cargo covers side panels for a total of 4 speakers and an optional AC unit that replaced the console stack, just below the heater and the floor and it I think augmented the weak heater in these things. Its a tough call on the Yugo. 3. Ladas were, and are, shite. Many years later I saw it, and her, driving down a street near my house. I think that was true of most of the Japanese automakers the early passenger cars evolved from tiny commercial trucks and three-wheelers, sharing engines with motorcycles. 1) Anything assembled at gunpoint tends not to be of high quality. The salesman was vaguely aware that they were built somewhere in Europe,but he was cagey about just where. The "Fetzer valve", when Lucinda the mechanic is giving the Sheriff her findings about Mona's car, she says the "Fetzer valve" had been punctured. IIRC, David E Davis even tried to help move these things by stating in Automobile that he was going to send his daughter off to college in one. Thanks for telling it. Vehicle used a lot by a main character or for a long time, Vehicle used by a character or in a car chase, Minor action vehicle or used in only a short scene. Japanese rust problems are designed in the cars are only meant to last 6-7 years and were poorly protected in the factory. There was something wrong with every single facet of this car. And when longtime resident Mona Dearly (BETTE MIDLER) drove her Yugo into the river to her death, no one really seemed to care. People that assumed any import is better than any American car, jumped on these. By the 90s Japan had it totally nailed. (A former test site for the Yugo car company, we're told. I shut it down to call a dealerand it wouldnt leave the parking spot under its own power. Drowning Mona | 2000 | PG-13 | - 5.5.5. Introduced at an offer price of just under $1300 , the little Subaru made much of its over 60 MPG fuel economy and low cost of ownership. But what about quality disasters in a different scenario?. With the pullout of Fiat, Renault and the British makes just a few years before,. The engine in mine was the old fiat 903 engine that dated back to the Fiat 600 of the 50s. This is the same scenario as Chrysler- My parents always said that if you get a Dodge in town itll be a lemon, but in the country, itll be a good car because the smaller country dealer relies on repeat business and does a better PDI, ensuring bolts arent missing, and both sides identify the car correctly. The last Yugo I saw was 12 years ago, parked by a gas station in Truckee oh, and a restored Yugo was for sale on Craigslist a bit ago but I figured that would be a bad idea on the Subaru front: I heard a rumor, years ago, that Fuji bought all the American 360s and had them crushed any truth to that? Also, I think that first step after buying any used car in general should be changing of belt. I know of a 1979 Datsun pickup that completly rusted out in 6 years. Its essentially a Fiat, and the same thing applied to them. Assuming the gentleman was telling the truth, this has to be some kind Technically if its going downhill it wasnt moving on its own power. Actually, Yugos timing belt is ~10$, and pretty easy to change. Every character's automobile has personalized plates. A Rolls-Royce Ghost, a Mercades S-class, and a Bently Mulsane. Tye Mobile Homes in Tye, Texas using the incentive of Buy a mobile home at Tye Mobile Homes, get a new Yugo for $1. No joke. Drowning Mona is basically a comic murder-mystery. Also, the GM Colonades from 73-77 were pretty rust resistant as well. Bricklin was kicked out in the first (of two) bankruptcies, true. Dont forget, we had the Czech Skoda Estelle, the Russian Lada and the Polish FSO 125p all competing at the bottom of the market. (Italy) 1989 Chrysler TC 1983 Dodge Omni 1991 Dodge Ram 1980 Ford F - 350 Ford Ranger 1993 Ford Ranger GMC C / K - Series 1992 Honda Civic He later served briefly as acting Secretary of State during the last months of the first Bush presidency). @ahight: I think there is no need to put the location square in every screenshot, only the ones with more than a single car visible. But the proof of the pudding is the tasting; and I have YET to see a government-built car, or other product or service, which could stand head to heat with private competionstand on MERIT. Malcom Bricklin The twice bankrupt Bricklin has resurfaced periodically over the years, always pushing the latest crack brained scheme to sell a car that would occupy the place that his Yugo once did- the bottom rung of the American market. American Brands: AMC, Jeep and All Others, Tractors, Lawn Mowers, Off-Road Equipment, Automotive History The Jokes On U.S.- The Short, Wild Ride Of The Yugo In America, TOAL:1974(?) Or maybe not. In regard to that old devil corrosion, an honest question: were there any cars of the seventies that DIDNT rust like mad? The first year all those repairs were paid for, so it wasnt as miserable then. But I was unprepared for the panoply of problems that came abouteverything from a latent short or current leak, that would kill the car and prevent starting without warning (to restart, the only way was to pull the battery terminal to let whatever relay was behind it, reset) to binding heater-control cables. It is difficult to overstate how rustprone 1970s Japaneese cars were. Jamie Lee Curtis' character looks like she has some colorful insights to share but isn't given the dialogue to do it--she's more a plot marker than a person. The lovable numbskulls of Verplanck, New York, are all beside themselves with shock and quiet joy when town bully Mona Dearly dies in a freak accident involving her Yugo, some cut brake lines, and a plunge into the Hudson. if (window['UnicI'].geo === 'EU') { Mine was 5 years old and had like 40K miles on it. Bricklin used franchise fees to run the company (a major accounting no-no) while the car was being modified for safety and emissions certification in the U.S. and dealerships were sold, territories assigned. Ah yes, I can see it now. Witness the fact that everyone's car of choice is a Yugo; each Verplanck citizen drives one ever since the company conducted a cheap sales test of the vehicle there some 10 years ago. I was listening one Saturday to Car Talk and one of the callers that day to the show was a Catholic priest who drove a Yugo and commented on all the flak he received for his choice of automotive transportation. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Thank you for the history, it complements the story of the car well. I actually grew to like winding the snot out of that motor. A "Fetzer valve" is a fictional part of an engine, introduced in the movie Fletch (1985). Contact us Wheel barrow. if (window['UnicI'].geo === 'CA') { Frequently, that new model sets the status quo on its ear and forever changes the way we think about (and react to) our transportation needs. It couldnt be trusted just sitting in the parking lot. With no new product in the pipeline, Bricklin would either have to find another car to flog or get an honest job, so there was a mutual meshing of interests when he arranged a visit to the Red Banner Factory in Yugoslavia that turned out the new apple of his eye in 1984. What kind of sicko lives there? I bought a used, year-old Yugo. The Yugo, new clutch, new exhaust, patched wiring and all, went into the trash. On the side fixed windows was lettered YuGo BIG or YuGo HOME. Not a bit ! (As you said JustPassinThru). That's not what I'm about." 2. As the pride of Serbo-Croatia hit the streets of America, reports of slipshod assembly began flooding back to the companys Upper Saddle River , New Jersey headquarters. While poor Yugo certainly was not the best car made, but it was hardly the worst either. In the early 80s many of the domestics suddenly found they could use galvanized steel for body panels, and inner fender liners and other rust proofing methods, (better drains, etc.) So on the line, a worker would have to cut and install and tape it, with about a 25 percent failure rateincorrectly re-connected. Membership also saw a similarly sharp increase, with over 1,800,000 in the same year (300,000 more than in 1970). Jason Vuic details this in his book The Yugo of how management refused plans for premiums for top-grade work or extra effort; of how primitive and shoddy were the paint booths, of how design goofs went uncorrected for years. Its not unlike the relationship I have with my cockroaches of the road (TM). Ive heard that by 1989, Malcolm Bricklin was kicked out and Zastava took over importing the cars to the US and made a substantial series of changes/improvements and the cars then came with fuel injection, the GV, GVL, GVC, and GVS and the sportier GVX were combined into one car, the GV Plus fitted with better seats (the fold and slide seats from the GVX), the larger 1.3L 4, the 5spd in a more basic interior and exterior trim package, adding the AC etc and Bosh fuel injection and I hear from Chris Vitale who runs Fiat 500 USA blog who owned a 1991 Yugo with FI until a couple of years or so ago that by then, their warranty claims were very good, but the war took its toll as did the emissions debacle in 1992 brought the cars run in the US to an end. Nobody had let management know that the wiring harness as made, wasnt usable in that part of the car. Learn how your comment data is processed. Install shift knob on replacement car. The little cars--all Yugos--are almost identical; they only differ in color, and Rona's has a sunroof. It wasnt ancient ethnic hatreds, it was more a perfect storm. But the little Yugo turned out to be a lot less than the sum of its parts. An older Yugo, since the car hasn't been manufactured since its country went out of business. It was not much bigger than a homeless persons shopping cart and similarly stocked. Competing econoboxes included the Chevy Chevette,. FSO 125P: Me and my friend Jerry (from Sam Bonds) drove a Yugo at a wrecker yard in Coburg some years back. Two Yugo episodes: The first while working on a construction crew in the 1987-88 period, at a project west of Rochester, NY one morning a Yugo rolls onto the lot, out pops a nervous, typical pocket-protector young engineering type, tells us he is out of gas, could anyone give him a ride to his job.at Kodak! The 4 door one was a dodge omni, think it was a glh. Neve Campbell was also working on Party of Five (1994) and Scream 3 (2000) while shooting this film. She is a bit of a contrarian anyhow, and has a mechanic-relative. She had a habit of parking illegally, and, faced with a ticket and impound bill that exceeded her estimate of the value of the car, donated it to the towing company. Or inherrent underdog status? Theyre really a mishmash of the two; with their own unique body. Also in Drowning Mona's favor, at the heart of the movie, is a genuinely positive character, Verplanck Police Chief Wyatt Rash (Danny DeVito).He's possibly the only principled citizen in town. Actually, from my experience with Yugo monocoque, four doors would have crushing effect on rigidity:). Hell, I was 20 years younger, A lot can change in that time. The collapse of Communism removed any perceived legitimacy left in the public who thought their future under capitalism would reflect a standard of living like W Germanys. It failed, of all places, on the Bonneville salt flats area in Utah. But of course, a parking lot fender bender would be enough to total these cars. Unscrew the shift knob. The other being Yugo / Zastava missing out on producing a smaller model based on the Autobianchi A112 as a replacement for the Zastava 750, initially carrying over the existing Fiat 100 Series engines prior to using the Fiat FIRE engines. The car was a modest success with just under 8000 sold in the first year, but when the 360 was pilloried by Consumer Reports as being unacceptable because of its numerous safety issues, the bottom dropped out of the venture and the last few cars sat on dealers lots for years before they were practically given away. Soon we would have a whole line of Adams Family cars on the road! Comments are property of their authors. Ive got a couple of rusted out British cars one of which I repaired The rust was caused by poor window sealing on both water rusted it way out however the spares one was driven full of rust which spread it all through the unpainted box sections. (At the same dealership on the window sticker above,actually). And incompetence does not negate the political reasons, until and unless the failure of management becomes an unavoidable political embarrassment. Ive talked to other people in the UK who bought them new, and many have had more than one. Yugos are cars. I really dont think that anyone has a competitive advantage in rust resistance any more. To be said, Jasons book is 90% about Bricklin. At first glance, the car looked up to date- Front wheel drive, rack and pinion steering, decent mileage. I was amazed when I rode in one, expecting a bouncy distaster but encountering a surprisingly supple feel of the suspension. But, its a tough sell to have someone take a car thats running fine, and pay $500 for a maintenance replacement and maybe screw something up in the process. console.log(window['UnicI'].geo); Dubrovnik is kind of old fashion place with somewhat stricter rules about dressing on the beaches and elsewhere. Why Fiat? Found it! I assume some were worse than others, but Ive heard this complaint levied against such a broad range of cars (American, Japanese, Italian, British, even German) of that era that I have to wonder if there was some sort of fire sale on water-soluble steel. Mine was still only about a year old, so I was in denial about its performance. I paid a lot of attention to new cars back then, and even then I dont know if I ever saw one. The gravity powered it! The poor gal, if I remember, was named Lelo. IIRC, they licensed Fiat designs in the mid 50s and in 2008 they signed a Memorandum of Understanding to buy the auto assembly plant from Zastava. Your experience was exactly what my suspicions were about these cars. The chief is not rash, but fairly level-headed as he patiently sorts his way through a case that seems to reduce itself to a series of bar fights dimly remembered by drunks. But after a slow start because of supply problems, the car began selling in volume during year two. Since it had the potential to continue the well-regarded reputation of the Autobianchi A112 base car as a small model in markets like the US compared to the SWB Fiat 127 derived car that become the infamous half-baked small Yugo. After Mona Dearly (Bette Milder) dies in the movie's opening moments when her Yugo plows through a guardrail and into the Hudson River far below, Wyatt begins investigating her death. Whats bad. It cut costs, and as was the concern then (as now) it was Green using the parlance of today. Sales quickly slowed when word of the myriad problems began to circulate in the media. I must admit that I own a Yugo. 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It wasnt ancient ethnic hatreds, it was more a perfect storm little behind the curve in terms of and...

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