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Yugo GV (1984–1991)

For all intents and purposes, the Zastava Koral—known stateside simply as the Yugo—had everything going for it. Making its U.S. debut at the 1984 Los Angeles Auto Show, the quirky hatchback offered buyers a 55-hp engine that was capable of 30-mpg fuel ratings and a claimed 110-mph top speed for just $3990. As an added bonus, the GV (great value) Yugo also boasted a 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty. However, few customers took heed of the owner's manual recommendation to change the interference engine's timing belt every 40,000 miles and found themselves stuck with blown motors no dealer would touch. There was also a highly publicized incident, when on a blustery day in Michigan in 1989, a driver, worried that the wind was blowing her '87 Yugo all over the road, stopped on the Mackinac Bridge, only to have a 55-mph gust blow her car over the edge and kill her.



The Yugo was a colossal bomb in every sense of the word, and Zastava's Kragujevac factory (suspected of making weapons and military vehicles) was itself bombed by NATO forces during a Kosovo air-raid, categorically ending its car-manufacturing days.