Trabant

The **Trabant** is an automobile that wis produced bi umwhile East German auto maker VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau in Zwickau, Sachsen. It wis the maist common vehicle in East Germany, an wis exportit tae kintras baith inside an ootside the communist bloc an aw. The main sellin pynts wis that it haed room for fower adults an luggage in a compact, licht an durable shell an that it wis fast (whan introduced). Wi its performance, smoky twa-stroke engine, an production shortages, the Trabant is aften citit as an ensaumple o the disadvantages o centralised plannin; on the ither haund, it is regardit wi derisive affection as a symbol o the failed umwhile East Germany an o the faw o communism (in umwhile Wast Germany, as mony East Germans streamed intae Wast Berlin an Wast Germany in thair Trabants efter the openin o the Berlin Wall in 1989). It wis in production wioot ony muckle chynges fur nearly 30 yeir wi 3,096,099 Trabants produced in tot.

## Overview

The name, meanin 'satellite' in German, wis inspired bi Soviet Sputnik. The caurs are aften referred tae as the **Trabbi** or **Trabi**, pronoonced *trubbee*.

Syne it coud tak yeirs (uisual waitin time 15 yeir) fur a Trabant tae be delivered frae the time it wis ordered, fowk that finally got ane wur verra careful wi it an uisually becam skillful in maintainin an repairin it. The lifespan o an average Trabant wis 28 yeir. Uised Trabants wad aften fetch a heicher price than new anes, as the umwhile wur available immediately, whilk the latter required the lang wait.

Thare wur fower principal variants o the Trabant, the **P50**, kent as the **Trabant 500** an aw, produced 1957-1962; the **Trabant 600**, produced 1962-1964; the **Trabant 601**, produced 1963-1991; an the **Trabant 1.1** produced 1990-1991 wi a 1043cc VW engine (makin the "1.1" a slicht misnomer). The engine fur the *Trabant 500*, *600* an oreeginal *601* wis a sma twa-stroke engine wi twa cylinders, giein the vehicle modest performance. At the end o production in 1989 it delivered 19 kW (26 horsepouer) frae a 600 cc displacement. The caur teuk 21 second frae 0 tae 100 km/h (62&nbsp;mph) an the tap speed wis 112&nbsp;km/h (70&nbsp;mph). Thare wur twa main problems wi the engine: the smoky exhaust an the pollution it produced—nine time the amount o hydrocarbons an five time the carbon monoxide emissions o the average European caur o 2007. The fuel consumption wis . Syne the engine disnae hae an ile injection system, twa-stroke ile haes tae be addit tae the 24 litre fuel tank every time the caur wis filled up, at a 50:1 or 33:1 ratio o fuel tae ile. Gas stations o the time in kintras whaur twa-stroke engines wur common servit premixed gas-ile mixture frae the pump. The day, owners uisually cairy a container o twa-stroke ile in the caur fur this purpose. The aerlier models hae nae fuel gauge; a dipstick is insertit intae the tank tae determine how much fuel remains.

The Trabant wis a steel monocoque design wi ruif, bootlid/trunklid, bonnet/huid, bumpers/fenders an doors in Duroplast, a form o plastic containin resin strengthened bi oo or cotton. This helped the GDR tae avoid expensive steel imports, but in theory it didnae provide much crash pertection, awtho in crash tests it allegedly performit superior tae some contemporary Wastren hatchbacks. Acause the caur lacked a fuel pump, the fuel tank wis placed heich up in the engine compartment sae that fuel coud be fed tae the carburettor bi gravity; a tred-off o this design is an increased fire risk in front-end accidents. The Trabant wis the seicont caur tae uise Duroplast, efter the "pre-Trabant" **P70** (Zwickau) model (1954–1959). The duroplast wis makkit wi recycled material, cotton waste frae Soviet Union an phenol resins frae the East German dye industry, makin the Trabant the first caur wi a body makkit o recycled material.