Let’s start with why.
Why I’m doing this.
Why I bought this domain on 12/18/2020 and put together this little crappy website.
I’ve always had a fondness for cars, ever since I was young. My father worked at General Motors for over 40 years, first as a diemaker, and working his way up to a computer programmer. He never owned particularly odd cars (an early 90s Wrangler, an early 2000s Blazer, and a Silverado from the same era), but from a fairly young age, he instilled upon me a basic mechanical knowledge and fondness for motorized vehicles.
I suppose I like cars like the Yugo because….they’re underdogs. They don’t pretend to be anything they’re not, and yet they’re exclusively shit upon by the general public. The Yugo was never a truly _terrible_ vehicle…it was just a mediocre basic 1980s economy vehicle with slightly disappointing build quality. The Yugo is similar to a lit-up Waffle House sign in the distance when you’re riding a desolate highway late at night – perhaps one with a burned out neon letter or two – it doesn’t promise to fulfill all your hopes and dreams, but it does promise to be there for you and nourish you. It’s not a five-star restaurant, but it’ll help you on your journey. It doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not.
I don’t consider myself my Yugo’s owner….nah. More like its caretaker. I’m going to keep it repaired and running and driving using original, stock parts until I can no longer drive myself. I don’t foresee myself selling or trading this vehicle at all in my lifetime. It’s charming.
It’s won me over.
With all that being said, I’ve owned my Yugo for a little over a year at the time of me writing this, and I wanted it & the brand to have a proper online presence, as maybe a 21st century gravestone – something with which to commemorate its struggles and strides it made in the automotive world.
Feel free to reach out with any comments, suggestions, or ideas.
збогом
Sean/Detroit Yugo
For those wondering, my Yugo is a 1987 GV, with a blue exterior and gray interior. Everything is original, save for the fluids, tires (though the spare is original), modestly-upgraded aftermarket stereo, and battery. The VIN is VX1BA1213HK349611. It is powered by the original 1.1L carbureted I4, which sends power to the front wheels via the original 4-speed manual transmission. It retains the original spare tire & wheel, official Yugo bulb kit, and the tool kit, all of which appear to not have been used.
The rear hatch sports a dealer sticker from McGee Dodge in Midfield, Alabama, though strangely, there is no entry on the Carfax for anywhere in Alabama. I would say that the hatch had been swapped, but the paint quality on the hatch patches the rest of the car. The first reported titling was on 8/13/1987, in Livingston, TN, with the first owner having a lien on the title. The Yugo, according to the Carfax and the previous owner, stayed in Tennessee all its life until I brought it home with me to Michigan in August of 2019. I believe I am the third owner.
It runs and drives fine, though I intend to replace several things in the near future. I plan on replacing the mechanical fuel pump with an electric one, I plan on replacing the carburetor, and I’d like to replace the clutch.
I don’t think I’ll ever sell this.
