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Rank: Administration       Groups: Joined: 08/03/2010 Posts: 19,151 Points: 53,871 Location: UK
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https://m.youtube.com/wa...tu.be&v=XimM5Qwt3mI
GAZ was founded in 1929, with the assistance of the Ford Motor Company. Its first car was a Russian-built Model A. After the Second World War, the company's mainstay was the Pobeda, a squat 2.1-litre four-cylinder saloon that resembled a scarab beetle, but in 1953 GAZ needed a replacement car for middle-ranking Communist officials. Furthermore, Nikita Khrushchev was eager to move the Soviet Union forward. GAZ's chief designer Alexander Nevzorov was given carte blanche to develop a car that would rival those made in America.
The result was the 1955 GAZ M21, the first to bear the Volga badge. The running gear was largely inherited from the Pobeda, but the Volga's specification combined the practical with the lavish. Inside, there was a front bench-seat that could be converted into a double bed, an integral radio, a cigarette lighter and full instrumentation. There was a radiator blind (essential for the Russian winter), a volcanic heater (ditto) and an amazing nine inches of ground clearance. Until 1960, the M21 also came equipped with a pedal-operated lubrication system that allowed the driver to grease the Volga's moving parts (and much of the road).
The Volga was a versatile vehicle by the standards of the day, equally at home as transport for middle-ranking party members as it was crossing the Urals. It boasted rather stylish coachwork in a 1953 Ford Custom fashion and was initially available as a six-seater saloon. By the time full production commenced in 1957, the Volga's engine was a mighty 2.5-litre four-cylinder unit, boosting the price tag to 5,400 roubles. There was a guaranteed export market to the likes of East Germany and Poland, whose party chiefs were eager to acquire the latest Soviet fashion item (the Czechs preferred their Tatra), but the Volga was also developed with Western markets in mind.
A big factor behind the Volga's success was the generous credit terms on offer, but as a low-budget alternative to a fin-tail Mercedes-Benz 190, the Volga did possess a certain cachet for Benelux taxi-drivers. In its homeland, scarcely anyone could afford to buy one, for the Volga was priced at the upper-middle class end of the Soviet automotive hierarchy. It may have lacked the elite status of the Zil, but it was a good deal more appealing than the AZLK (Moskvich) or the ZAZ Zaporojetz.
For those who lacked the appropriate Party status, there were three ways to get behind the wheel of a Volga: drive a taxi, join an ambulance crew or enlist in the KGB. This last role earned the Volga the reputation of being the car you least wanted to see outside your front door at midnight in the Cold War-era Soviet Union.
In its heyday, the Volga was regarded as the "Russian Mercedes", but competition from the real thing has proved too much for the Cold War icon.
Today, the original Volga is fondly recalled by the likes of Vladimir Putin - who owns one of the original models - and those who remember the newsreels of Yuri Gagarin receiving his black M21 as a reward for being the first man in space.
Tomick attached the following image(s):
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I could be tempted with this....  Regards Alan
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 Rank: Elite  Groups: Registered
Joined: 20/04/2012 Posts: 1,785 Points: 5,296 Location: Thurso
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An interesting subject with some nice working features.
Graeme
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 Rank: Super-Elite  Groups: Registered
Joined: 09/11/2012 Posts: 6,092 Points: 18,113 Location: East midlands
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Very nice detail and feature list on this one.  Regards delboy271155 (Derek) COME BACK GUY FAWKES "YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU"
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Rank: Administration Groups: Joined: 08/03/2010 Posts: 19,151 Points: 53,871 Location: UK
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Rank: Super-Elite   Groups: Registered
Joined: 20/10/2016 Posts: 3,069 Points: 9,240 Location: Wiltshire
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Nice looking motor Tom. There's something very distinctive about saloon cars from this period [1950'-1960's?]. Regards, Phil W. Completed projects: 1/43 scale Bedford HA van / 1/43 scale MG TD sports car
Current projects: 1/48 scale U-boat [U230]
Future projects: 1/148 scale railway diorama / 1/50 scale R/C Volvo F89 logging truck / 1/148 scale Thunderbirds Fireflash
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Rank: Administration Groups: Joined: 08/03/2010 Posts: 19,151 Points: 53,871 Location: UK
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Sticky Wickett wrote:Nice looking motor Tom. There's something very distinctive about saloon cars from this period [1950'-1960's?]. Regards, Phil W. There is indeed, The Volga should be with us around Spring 2019.
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Rank: Elite Groups: Registered
Joined: 20/04/2012 Posts: 1,785 Points: 5,296 Location: Thurso
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Looking forward to this one arriving.
Graeme
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 Looks a nice car with plenty of detail, one to watch out for Current builds:-C57,Zero, Lamborghini Countach, Caldercraft HMS Agamemnon,Robi,R2-D2, MFH Cobra .
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Guest
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UK
