page_title: Lada
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Lada / History
caption_attribution_description: Lada 1600, produced in 1978, at the I. International Oldtimer and Youngtimer Festival, Budapest, 2011.
context_page_description: Lada is a brand of cars manufactured by AvtoVAZ, a Russian company owned by the French Groupe Renault. The first cars manufactured by AvtoVAZ, with technical assistance from Fiat, were marketed under the Zhiguli brand, allegedly chosen after it was suggested by the designer, A. M. Cherny. When the cars began to be exported on foreign markets, the Zhiguli brand was found to be inappropriate, as it was hard to pronounce for non-Russian speakers, and it was said to resemble the word gigolo too closely.
  The Lada brand appeared in 1973, and it has since become the main brand for AvtoVAZ vehicles. The name Lada is derived from a type of small boat in Slavic language, symbolized by the car's logo. The brand has a long history in Russia, and it is well known in post-Soviet countries; today Lada vehicles are positioned as affordable, and as offering good value for money.
  The keys to its success were said to be its competitive price, reliability, simple DIY-friendly mechanics and simple functionality. The car was built under license in several other countries.
context_section_description: The automaker AvtoVAZ was formed from a collaboration between Fiat and the Soviet Vneshtorg (Department of Foreign Trade), and based in the city of Tolyatti on the Volga river. Both sides discussed the proposal in Moscow, where Gianni Agnelli, the owner and nephew of the founder of Fiat, and Vittorio Valletta, the president of the company, had arrived from Italy. The first preliminary agreement was signed on 1 July 1965. On 4 May 1966, the Soviet minister of automotive industry Alexander Tarasov and Vittorio Valletta put their signatures on a protocol on the scientific and technical cooperation between Fiat and the Soviet ministry. Eventually, a general agreement between the two sides was signed in Moscow on 15 August 1966.
  The company began producing the VAZ-2101 in 1970, which was a more rugged version of the Fiat 124 sedan. The car was given heavier steel body panels and strengthened components, which improved reliability on the bumpy roads and in the harsh winters of the Soviet Union. In Fiat's documents the prototype of the car was named Fiat-124R, where 'R' stood for Russia.
  Since the original Fiat engine did not have any space for modernization, which was considered as unacceptable by AvtoVAZ, it was replaced with a newer overhead camshaft motor. The car was equipped with rugged drum brakes, as the latter proved to be more reliable on poor roads, and more reliable and up-to-date frontal and rear suspensions, along with increased ground clearance, modernized transmission, recessed door handles. The work on the new car was conducted by joint groups of NAMI and Fiat engineers, who worked together in Turin and Tolyatti. By the spring of 1970, AvtoVAZ had formed its own team of experienced designers and engineers and worked independently.
  The VAZ-2101 was sold under the brand "Zhiguli" in the Soviet Union, and branded as "Lada" for export. Due to the scarcity of auto repair shops in the Soviet Union, Ladas were designed to be easily maintained by owners. The rugged Lada was popular in Europe, Canada and South America for customers looking for more affordable alternatives to local brands, and sales of the new cars were extremely successful, reaching as far as New Zealand. In the West, their construction was frequently described as cheap and that inspired jokes at the car's expense; nonetheless, Lada "gained a reputation as a maker of solid, unpretentious and reliable cars for motorists who wanted to drive on a budget."
caption: Lada 1600, produced in 1978, at the I. International Oldtimer and Youngtimer Festival, Budapest, 2011
exif: {"Image Make": "FUJIFILM", "Image Model": "FinePix S7000", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Digital Camera FinePix S7000 Ver1.00", "Image DateTime": "2003:05:06 19:24:22", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "252", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1252", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "8154", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/85", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2003:05:06 19:24:22", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2003:05:06 19:24:22", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "32/5", "EXIF ApertureValue": "3", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "69/20", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "39/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2848", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2136", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1104", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "3742", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "3742", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "3", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}