THE RETURN OF THE YUGO

People of a certain age may remember the Yugo – an infamous compact car built in what was once Yugoslavia. The Yugo was sold in the U.S. from 1985 to 1992, with a total of 141,651 sold. It was known for its for its ugly design, poor safety, and lousy reliability. (* So it fit right in with U.S. cars of the 1980’s.) The Yugo was voted Car Talk’s worst car of the millennium. It was promoted with a ten-year/100,000-mile warranty, free maintenance, and a price of only $4,500. But that was then. Well, now, guess what’s coming back! A man who calls himself – really – Professor Doctor Aleksandar Bjelić, an engineer, economist, and professor with decades of experience in the car industry, is behind the Yugo relaunch. He is buying the rights to the Yugo name, has filed trademark applications all over the world, and commissioned a Serbian designer to come up with styling proposals for the car. A working prototype is tentatively scheduled to debut in 2027.
* “Working” being the key word in that sentence.
* Well, I guess SOMEBODY has to give the Tesla Cybertruck a run for its money.
* The Yugo was the subject of many jokes back in the day. Here are a few:
– What makes a Yugo go faster? A tow truck.
– What do you call a Yugo at the top of a hill? A miracle.
– What do you call the Yugo owner’s manual? The bus timetable.
– How can you double the value of a Yugo? By filling its gasoline tank.
– What is the smallest part of a Yugo? The owners brain.
– What is the difference between a Yugo and a golf ball? You can drive a golf ball 200 yards.
– Two guys in a Yugo were arrested last night following a suspected push-by shooting.
* If they’re going to bring something from the 80s back, at least it’s not parachute pants.