GAZ Volga

The **GAZ Volga** was a series of executive cars that were produced from 1956 to 2012. The series replaced the GAZ Pobeda which was discontiniued in 1958 in Soviet Russia but continiued production in Poland until 1973, when it was finally discontiniued. Over 2 million units of the Volga were built and it is fairly common in the roads of Russia even as of 2021.

## GAZ Volga

### Successor

GAZ-24 Volga

Work on a replacement for the GAZ Pobeda started in 1954. The new vehicle needed to have a chassis of it's own, seperately from the Pobeda and a more modern design. It was decided to use stolen blueprints from the Ford Mainline to design the new vehicle. The first prototype was built in 1955 and was called the GAZ 21 Volga. Mass-production started in 1956, in that time it was produced along the GAZ Pobeda, although the production of the GAZ Pobeda stopped in 1958 in Soviet Russia, but continiued in Poland until 1973, so the plant could focus more on the creation of the newer Volga vehicle.

The new Volga was also available to the KGB but with a more strong engine which made much more power. The vehicle was exported to the whole Eastern Bloc where it was also relatively popular. The Volga was lighter than the Pobeda, an had a higher stance which made it much more ideal in off-roading. In 1970 the company started produing the new 24 Volga, and the older Volga was discontiniued in 1971.

### Versions:

* GAZ-22: station wagon version.
* GAZ 22 Pickoupe: pickup truck version.
* GAZ-22R: sedan delivery version.
* GAZ-28B: version with the engine from the GAZ-69 off-roader.
* GAZ-21O: version for the KGB with upgraded engine.

## Gallery

A 1968 GAZ Volga In Russia.A 1969 GAZ Volga In Ukraine.A GAZ Volga Used As A Railway Car In Romania.A GAZ Volga In A Vehicle Show.

## GAZ Volga

### Successor

GAZ-3102 Volga

The second generation of Volga vehicles was called the 24 Volga and started getting produced in 1970, the design of the vehicle was based on the Ford Falcon but was slightly heavier. For some time the 24 Volga was produced alongside the 21 Volga, however, the older Volga was discontiniued in 1971 with the 24 Volga officially replacing it. Compared, to it's predecessor, the 24 Volga was more sleek and lower, and had a more masculine look to it.

The 24 Volga started getting available to the public but was very expensive. The vehicle is often said to be the most popular Volga, since it was exported to the whole Eastern Bloc and even to North Korea and China. The 24 Volga was also produced in East Germany as the **Scaldia Volga**. The GAZ-24 Volga was similiar to other vehicles from the West, such as the Audi 100, the Buick Electra, and the Chrysler New Yorker. In 1980, a new Volga called the 3102 Volga started getting produced, but it was actually just a re-skinned GAZ-24, and it used the same chassis, but production of the original GAZ-24 also continiued even after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It was eventually discontiniued in 1992.

## Versions

* GAZ-24-02: station wagon version.
* GAZ-24-08: pickup truck version.
* GAZ-24-95: off-road version.
* GAZ 24-10: version with GAZ 3102 grille.
* GAZ-24-89: version with the engine from the UAZ-469.

## Gallery

A GAZ-24 In Russia.A Scladia Volga In Berlin.A GAZ-24 Vehicle In Traffic.A GAZ-24 In The Snow.

## GAZ Volga

### Successor

GAZ-31029
GAZ-3110
GAZ-31105

The third generation of Volga vehicles started getting produced in 1980 and was called the 3102 Volga. It was produced alongside the older GAZ-24, but the newer 3102 Volga was just a re-skinned 24 Volga, with some minor updates and a more modern grille. With the start of production of the updated 3102 Volga, the 24 Volga was reduced to a more cheap and affordable alternative.

The 3102 Volga was not based on any foreign vehicle, but considering that it was just an update of the 24 Volga, which was based on the Ford Falcon, many components were interchangable, but from a stylistic point of view, it was not a copy of any other vehicle. Like it's predecessors, it was only available to rich and important people in the Eastern Bloc, but was also available to the public, but at a very high price.

In 1988 GAZ modernized the 24 Volga as the 24-10 Volga, and the modernized Volga used the grille of the 3102 Volga, making the 24-10 Volga and 3102 Volga almost indistinguishable, thus, to clear confusion, the 24-10 was discontiniued in 1992, shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the only executive vehicle that was produced by the company was the 3102 Volga, but by that time, it was widely available to the public, and while sales rose, it lose it's status as an executive car and was just seen as a full-size sedan that was affordable and fully available to the public.

In 1992 the plant launched the more affordable 31029 Volga, however, due to most customers preferring the more refined 3102 Volga, the newer one was discontiniued in 1997. In 1996 the plant started producing the 3110 Volga, as a true replacement for the 3102 Volga, but these cars shared the same chassis and some body parts. Nevertheless, the production of the 3102 Volga continiued along the one of the 3110 Volga.

In 2004 the plant started producing the 31105 Volga which was far more modernized and replaced the 3110 Volga, although the production of both the 3102 Volga and 3110 Volga continiued alongside the modern 31105 Volga. In 2011 both the 3102, 3110 and 31105 Volga models were discontiniued.

## Versions

* GAZ-09: pickup truck version.
* GAZ-3102-05: station wagon version.
* GAZ-31021: convertible version.
* GAZ-9000: version made for Ukraine.
* GAZ-1000: sedan delivery version.

## Gallery

A GAZ-3102 Being Used As A Police Vehicle In Bulgaria.A 1998 GAZ-3102 In Russia.A 2003 GAZ-3102 In Latvia.A GAZ-3102 In Romania.

## GAZ Volga

### Successor

GAZ-3110 (?)

In 1992 the plant started producing the 31029 Volga, which was marketed as a more affordable and cheap variant, although the 3102 Volga outlasted it in production, the 31029 Volga was more modern and thus was seen as a successor, but it was still based on the 3102 Volga, in terms of it's mechanicals and chassis. The vehicle, however, was not very popular popular with private buyers and costumers, with most preferring the more upmarket 3102 Volga vehicle.

In 1996 the plant decided to produce a true replacement for the 3102 Volga, called the 3110 Volga, eventually the 31029 Volga stopped being produced in 1997 with no direct replacement, in an affordable vehicle produced by the company, although the chassis of the vehicle was still used on the 3110 Volga.

## Versions

* GAZ Trofim: pickup truck version.
* GAZ-31029B: station wagon version.

## Gallery

A GAZ-31029 Being Used as a Police Vehicle.A 1994 GAZ 31029 Volga.A GAZ-31029 In Russia.A GAZ-31029 In Romania.

## GAZ Volga

### Predecessor

GAZ-3102
GAZ-31029 (undirectly)

### Successor

GAZ-31105

In 1996 the plant started producing the 3110 Volga which was made as a true replacement and successor for the 3102 Volga. By that time the plant started producing the GAZelle cargo van which quickly became very popular. The 3110 Volga was produced alongside the 3102 Volga, and both cars were selling pretty well in Russia and in other Commonwealth of Independent States countries, but it was clear that the Volga series needed a more modern replacement, since both the 3102, 31029 and 3110 Volgas were based on the chassis of the GAZ-24 Volga.

The new 3110 Volga had an engine which made more power than the older one, and some more modern body parts which made the newer car look more like a unique car, despite using a chassis that was over 40 years old. In 2004 the plant started producing the 31105 Volga which was based on the same chassis as the older Volgas but recieved a much more modern body. All the GAZ-24 based Volgas were discontiniued in 2011.

## Versions

* GAZ Trofim: a pickup truck version.
* GAZ-3110B: station wagon version.

## Gallery

A GAZ-3110 In Traffic.A Parked GAZ-3110 In Russia.A Parked GAZ-3110 In The Czech Republic.A GAZ-3110 With More Modern Headlights.

## GAZ Volga

### Successor

GAZ Siber

In 2004 the plant started producing the 31105 Volga, however, that did not stopped the production of the older 3102 and 3110 Volgas, which were still very popular on the market. The newer 31105 Volga was based on the chassis of the older Volgas but had an upgraded engine and a more modern bodyshell, but there were still some outdated parts from the older Volgas from early as 1970.

In 2008 the company was aquired by Chrysler who decided that the outdated Volgas needed to be discontiniued, although due to good sales they were still kept in production. In 2008 Chrysler decided to produced the Dodge Stratus in Russia under the GAZ Siber to replace the older Volgas. In 2011 both the 3102, 3110 and 31105 Volgas were discontiniued, and some months later the GAZ Siber was discontiniued with the plant stopping all passenger vehicle production.

## Versions

* GAZ Trofim: pickup truck version.
* GAZ-311052: station wagon version.

## Gallery

A 2006 GAZ 31105 Volga In Ukraine.A 2011 GAZ 31105 In Russia.A 2004 GAZ 31105 Volga In Romania.A 2011 GAZ 31105 Volga In Armenia.