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0|0|0|||1||Forward to Glorious Socialism%21 If it%27ll start.|Gryphon||13:27:37|12/19/2013|Zoner sent me a copy of a book called %5Bi%5D%5Blink%3Awww.amazon.com%2FCars-Eastern-Europe-Definitive-History%2Fdp%2F1844259919%2Fref%3Dsr_1_1%3Fie%3DUTF8%26qid%3D1387472061%26sr%3D8-1%26keywords%3Dcars%2Bof%2Beastern%2Beurope%7CCars of Eastern Europe%5D%5B%2Fi%5D%2C which is basically just what it says on the tin.  It%27s a massive coffee table book in which the history of the former Warsaw Pact countries%27 automobile industries is examined with a scholarly bent and a great many pictures.  It%27s by a chap called Andy Thompson and is a sequel to his earlier work%2C %5Bi%5DCars of the Soviet Union%5B%2Fi%5D%2C which is sadly out of print and thus being scalped for extortionate prices on Amazon now %28last I checked they wanted upward of %24300 for a copy%2A%29.%0D%0A%0D%0AThere are downsides%3B the binding is very crackly and I%27m not sure how it will stand up to repeated readings%2C the text is all in a sans-serif font so that long passages are a bit hard to read%2C and it%27s not quite as funny as I was hoping.  Plus%2C the %28British%29 author has a very distinct axe to grind with the forces he holds responsible for that country%27s industrial decline and generally doesn%27t fail to get his digs in whenever possible%2C which is a bit distracting.%0D%0A%0D%0AHowever%2C this is still a hugely entertaining book if you%27re interested in a%29 cars b%29 the socialist experiments of the 20th century c%29 vintage photos of either.  It has lots of information on interesting side branches of European automotive history%2C such as Tatra %28the Czech company Hitler and Porsche stole the Beetle from%29 and the always intriguing Yugoslav auto industry %28Americans of a certain age may remember the USA%27s brief flirtation with the %5Blink%3Aen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FZastava_Koral%7CZastava Koral%5D%2C or as we knew it%2C the Yugo%29%2C as well as the giants of the socialist era %28e.g.%2C East Germany%27s immortal %5Blink%3Aen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FTrabant%7CTrabant%5D%29 and the interesting survivors like %C5%A0koda and Dacia.  There are fascinating tidbits of history%2C too%2C such as the fact that there were briefly two BMW companies after the war%2C one in West Germany and one in East.  Also%2C try to spot how many of the Eastern-bloc cars in the book are really Fiats%21%0D%0A%0D%0AGood times.  The Belv from %5Bi%5DWarrior%27s Legacy%5B%2Fi%5D is obviously not represented here%2C but many a one of its spiritual sisters is.  %28My mental image of the Belv is sort of a cross between a Trabbi%2C a Koral%2C and a %5Blink%3Aen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FWartburg_311%7CWartburg 311%5D%2C with the cockeyed-but-virtually-indestructible construction of the first%2C the compact hatchback format of the second%2C and the styling sensibilities of the third.%29%0D%0A%0D%0AAlso%2C I kind of weirdly want a Trabant now.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A%5Bsmall%5D%2A Not%2C by far%2C the craziest OOP price I%27ve seen on Amazon. They want more than a grand for the third volume of %5Bi%5DArmored Fleet Dairugger XV%5B%2Fi%5D%2C I mean%2C what%3F%21%5B%2Fsmall%5D%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
1|1|0|||1||RE%3A Forward to Glorious Socialism%21 If it%27ll start.|Peter Eng||16:05:28|12/19/2013|%3E Not%2C by far%2C the craziest OOP price I%27ve seen on Amazon. They %0D%0A%3Ewant more than a grand for the third volume of %5Bi%5DArmored Fleet%5B%2Fi%5D%0D%0A%3E%5Bi%5DDairugger XV%5B%2Fi%5D%2C I mean%2C what%3F%21%0D%0A%0D%0AI read an article on this.  It%27s something about automated pricing systems interacting with each other.  Chris is selling a copy using a robo-pricer%2C and so is Pat%2C and the preset responses put the programs in a rising price war.%0D%0A%0D%0APeter Eng%0D%0A--%0D%0AInsert humorous comment here.
2|1|0|||||RE%3A Forward to Glorious Socialism%21 If it%27ll start.|jonathanlennox||17:35:58|12/19/2013|%3EAlso%2C I kind of weirdly want a Trabant now. %0D%0A%0D%0AWhy is the Trabant the quietest car in the world%3F%0D%0A%0D%0ABecause your knees cover your ears%21
3|1|0|||1||RE%3A Forward to Glorious Socialism%21 If it%27ll start.|twipper||10:03:54|12/20/2013|%2Asnip%2A%0D%0A%3Eand the always %0D%0A%3Eintriguing Yugoslav auto industry %28Americans of a certain age may %0D%0A%3Eremember the USA%27s brief flirtation with the %0D%0A%3E%5Blink%3Aen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FZastava_Koral%7CZastava Koral%5D%2C or as we %0D%0A%3Eknew it%2C the Yugo%29%2C %0D%0A%2Aend snip%2A%0D%0A%0D%0AMy father-in-law bought me a Yugo back in %2797%2C I think%2C not long after I married his daughter.  I%27m still not sure if it was a gift or a punishment for some unnamed offense...%0D%0A%0D%0AAmusingly%2C a car that was already 20 years old %28and a Yugo...%29 when it came into my hands made a round-trip drive from eastern Kansas to Flagstaff without breaking down after I sold it to a neighbor.%0D%0A%0D%0AShocked the hell out of me.%0D%0A%0D%0ABrian
4|2|3|||1||RE%3A Forward to Glorious Socialism%21 If it%27ll start.|Gryphon||14:20:34|12/20/2013|%3EAmusingly%2C a car that was already 20 years old %28and a Yugo...%29 when it %0D%0A%3Ecame into my hands made a round-trip drive from eastern Kansas to %0D%0A%3EFlagstaff without breaking down after I sold it to a neighbor. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EShocked the hell out of me. %0D%0A%0D%0AI was once told%2C by someone who had had one in high school%2C that the Yugo was similar to some types of computer%2C in that a lot of them were hopeless right out of the box%2C but if you were lucky enough to get one of the ones that worked%2C it would last pretty much forever.  That seems to have been a feature of many Communist-bloc cars%2C actually - that they tended to be poorly built but well-designed.  Since they weren%27t developed with anything like fashion or planned obsolescence in mind%2C the idea was that once you%27d waited your ten years for your Trabant%2C you%27d never need another one.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
5|3|4|||1||RE%3A Forward to Glorious Socialism%21 If it%27ll start.|McFortner||20:36:12|12/20/2013|It%27s that way with a lot of Communist made items.  My Soviet FED and Zorki rangefinder cameras %28originally based off of the Leica II line%2C but evolved over time%29 are well designed cameras%2C but a bit crude in the finishing.  Once you get everything working within tolerances%2C they are great cameras.  You just have to get past their poor assembly to make them shine.%0D%0A%0D%0A%5Bfont color%3D%22black%22%5DMichael C. Fortner%5B%2Ffont%5D%0D%0A%5Bfont color%3D%22green%22 size%3D-1%5D%22Maxim 37%3A There is no such thing as %22overkill%22.%0D%0AThere is only %22open fire%22 and %22I need to reload%22.%5B%2Ffont%5D
6|3|4|||1||RE%3A Forward to Glorious Socialism%21 If it%27ll start.|ebony14||09:55:54|12/23/2013|%3EI was once told%2C by someone who had had one in high school%2C that the %0D%0A%3EYugo was similar to some types of computer%2C in that a lot of them were %0D%0A%3Ehopeless right out of the box%2C but if you were lucky enough to get one %0D%0A%3Eof the ones that worked%2C it would last pretty much forever.  That %0D%0A%3Eseems to have been a feature of many Communist-bloc cars%2C actually - %0D%0A%3Ethat they tended to be poorly built but well-designed.  Since they %0D%0A%3Eweren%27t developed with anything like fashion or planned obsolescence %0D%0A%3Ein mind%2C the idea was that once you%27d waited your ten years for your %0D%0A%3ETrabant%2C you%27d never need another one. %0D%0A%0D%0AInteresting. I was told %28by a Yugo owner%29 that they were pretty much designed to break down at 50%2C000 miles%2C to ensure people bought more of them. Which is%2C of course%2C a marvelous feat of engineering%2C if you could do that %28you know%2C without rigging a bomb to the odometer or something%29%2C but less than likely. Though the aforementioned Yugo owner%27s Yugo did die somewhere around that range of total mileage. Make of that what you will.%0D%0A%0D%0AI did think that it had a certain charm. The hood scoop amused me%3B it was as if the designers saw all those muscle cars%2C and thought%2C %22Hey%2C we can do that%21%22%0D%0A%0D%0AEbony the Black Dragon%0D%0A%0D%0A%22Life is like an anole. Sometimes it%27s green. Sometimes it%27s brown. But it%27s always a small Caribbean lizard.%22
7|4|6|||1||RE%3A Forward to Glorious Socialism%21 If it%27ll start.|Gryphon||11:36:27|12/23/2013|%3EInteresting. I was told %28by a Yugo owner%29 that they were pretty much %0D%0A%3Edesigned to break down at 50%2C000 miles%2C to ensure people bought more %0D%0A%3Eof them.%0D%0A%0D%0AWhile I%27m sure Malcolm Bricklin %28the man primarily responsible for bringing the Yugo to America%29%2C being the sort of chap he is%2C would have liked that a lot%2C it doesn%27t fit with all the other evidence available about the Communist way of building automobiles.  The people at Zastava were confounded by their American customers%27 demand for %5Bi%5Dtrim levels%5B%2Fi%5D%2C for pity%27s sake%2C they were certainly not thinking up arcane ways of drumming up repeat business. %3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
8|5|7|||1||RE%3A Forward to Glorious Socialism%21 If it%27ll start.|The Traitor||17:51:57|12/23/2013|I%27d pass comment%2C but at around the same time%2C we were making the Wolseley Hornet and such things. I must confess a certain amount of fondness for the old Frogeyed Sprite. It%27s like the car equivalent of a kid running down a flight of stairs going %22nyoom%22.%0D%0A%0D%0A---%0D%0A%22She%27s old%2C she%27s lame%2C she%27s barren too%2C %2F%2F %22She%27s not worth feed or hay%2C %2F%2F %22But I%27ll give her this%2C%22 - he blew smoke at me - %2F%2F %22She was something in her day.%22 -- Garnet Rogers%2C %5Bi%5DSmall Victory%5B%2Fi%5D%0D%0A%0D%0AFiMFiction.net%3A we might accept blatant porn involving the cast of My Little Pony but as God is my witness we have %5Bi%5Dstandards%5B%2Fi%5D.%0D%0A%0D%0A%5Bsmall%5DI toooooooooootally never did that. Nossir. Nuh-uh.%5B%2Fsmall%5D
9|6|8|||1||RE%3A Forward to Glorious Socialism%21 If it%27ll start.|ebony14||08:37:01|12/24/2013|%3EI%27d pass comment%2C but at around the same time%2C we were making the %0D%0A%3EWolseley Hornet and such things. I must confess a certain amount of %0D%0A%3Efondness for the old Frogeyed Sprite. It%27s like the car equivalent of %0D%0A%3Ea kid running down a flight of stairs going %22nyoom%22. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%0D%0AThat%27s a very Clarkson-esque assessment %28in tone%3B I can%27t speak for accuracy%29. You should be proud. %3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0AEbony the Black Dragon%0D%0A%0D%0A%22Life is like an anole. Sometimes it%27s green. Sometimes it%27s brown. But it%27s always a small Caribbean lizard.%22