Trabant

Trabant was a famous automobile brand produced by East German auto maker Sachsenring. The most popular vehicle in former communist countries, Trabant cars had a bad reputation but were quite reliable. The Trabant (meaning "natural satellite" in German) is still affectionately regarded. The cars are often referred to as the "Trabbi " or "Trabi," pronounced with a short a.

People in Eastern European countries would join a waiting list to obtain this car, and it could be many years before their vehicle would be available for purchase.

The Trabant was the first (or second, after P70 model, "pre-Trabant" 1954-1959) German small car with a plastic body. The material was Duroplast, containing resin strengthened by wool or cotton. It was cheap to manufacture,and helped the GDR to avoid expensive steel imports,but did not provide much crash protection, although in crash tests it has actually proven to be superior to some small hatchbacks. There are numerous unconfiremd reports that the plastic material was actualy digestable by pigs and that they have acquired the taste for Trabants in some places. One such scene can even be seen in the movie Black Cat, White Cat by Emir Kusturica.

The engine was a small two stroke engine with two cylinders giving the vehicle modest performance. At the end of production it delivered 25 horsepower (19 kW) from a 600 cc displacement. The car took 21 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h and the top speed was 112 km/h. The main problem with the engine was the smoky exhaust and the pollution it produced.

The Trabant factories grew from the factories of other German manufacturers, closed after World War II. After producing cars under the name of AWZ (Auto-Werke Zwickau), the name Trabant was used for the first time in 1957, after launching the Trabant P 50 model. This was originally meant as a three wheeled covered motorbike. It was only converted to a car in its final design.

Later, a Volkswagen Polo engine replaced the elderly two stroke one. This came as many owners were already replacing the initial engine with that of a Fiat 128.

After the 1989 Wende and later reunification of the two Germanies, financial trouble hit the Trabant factories which closed in 1991. Although Trabants had been exported from East Germany, they became well known in the West after the fall of the Berlin Wall when many were abandoned by their eastern owners after migrating west. News reports inaccurately described them as having cardboard bodies. In the early 90s it was possible to buy a Trabant for as little as a few marks, and many were given away. Later, as they became rarer, prices recovered, but they remain very cheap cars.

In the 1990s, the Trabant became suddenly famous when it upset the famous "A Class" by Mercedes-Benz while performing the common "Moose test" (a sort of slalom with small obstacles on the course). The Trabant perfectly passed the test. Mercedes had to deal with the embarrassment, while the Trabant received unexpected praise.

Since Trabants are so inexpensive to buy, they have been used in rallies.

Trivia

The rock group U2 used Trabants as props on their "Zoo TV" tour, including several vehicles suspended from the ceilings of concert halls.

Models

• Trabant 500
• Trabant P60
• Trabant 601

See also:

• Wartburg
• Barkas
• Ostalgie
• Microcar
• Zaporozhets - The Soviet Union's counterpart

External links

• A picture of Trabant P50 (ftp://ftp.team.net/ktud/pictures/Eastern.cars/Trabant/p50.jpg)
• Technical details and pictures (http://www.team.net/www/ktud/601_1.html)
• Possessing a car in Eastern Europe (http://www.team.net/www/ktud/601_2.html)
• A sort of official site (http://www.trabant.de/) (in German, but with many pictures)
• Another site (with the noise of - presumably - its engine!) (http://www.trabi.de/)
• http://dmoz.org/Recreation/Autos/Makes_and_Models/Trabant/
• History of the Trabant (http://www.gizmohighway.com/autos/trabant.htm)
• Sachsenring Trabant site (http://home.clara.net/peterfrost/trabant.html)cs:Trabant

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