Yugo 45

Yugo 45

Test drive of the nation's favorite: Yugo 45 - first kilometers, first impressions! (1979)

We bring to you one more than interesting story that happened in the age of prosperity and great progress of the national car manufacturer. It is a 1979 newspaper article entitled FLAGS OF THE FLAG 102 and represents the visit of two reporters to the interrogation of the new Yugo 45 flag model, then still under the working flag of the FLAG 102.

Yugo 45

August 1979: The end of the month, a new season is in sight. The main tourist season is over, there are no more crowds in Yugoslav summer resorts. Holidays can be spent in silence and at much lower board prices in many of our tourist destinations… Here, for example, on the beautiful Mljet, an island-national park, in "Melita", in mid-September a complete hotel board for seven days stops only 1490 dinars, while that price is now, almost in August, almost twice as high (2660 dinars)… In Poreč bungalows "Plava laguna" seven-day board is even cheaper: 640 dinars… Sibenik hotel "Ivan" also has the best offers (1480 dinars) ), Opatija's "Adriatic" (1690), Hvar's "Bodul" (1380)… For the Montenegrin coast call "Montenegroexpress", and if you are more for lakes, rivers, mountains, spas - on Goč, in Ivanjica, on Jastrebac, Kosmaj, Kopaonik, in Mataruška Banja… one-day boarding houses range from 140 to 160 dinars… However, let's return to the Adriatic, more precisely to one of the towns on the Adriatic coast (its name will remain a secret - due to economic espionage!), Where Kragujevac's Zastava is testing its latest model - Flag 102, our future "South ća “…

"After laboratory tests, road checks of the latest model from Kragujevac - Zastava 102. The first kilometers of the newborn were also attended by our reporters."

Yugo 45

After nine days of phone calls and one trip to Kragujevac - the long-awaited answer arrived. We will be able to attend tests of the 102 flag - a car that will complete the range of products between "Fixtures"I"Stojadina".

We will see the exclusive "Zastava" model for which the project was made in the Departments, in cooperation with Fiat.

The first infant information from Kragujevac, appeared last year. When celebrating 125 years of the Institute, another Tito is a gift flag 102, handmade.

Of course, photo reporters seized the opportunity and photos emerged.

But since the car was not set up for posing, black and white photos were mostly published in the newspaper, showing only a few details, while the rest were obscured by ficus. Thanks to the kindness of the people from the Institute, "Man and Car" got a great opportunity for his reporters to be in the "road lab" for two days.

We could look, feel, ask, peek. An opportunity not often presented. Especially since car factories are reluctant, mainly because of commercial espionage, to provide any precise information before the vehicle is offered to the buyer.

The meeting place was one of the towns on the Adriatic coast. We promised not to reveal his name.

Zastava 102 was waiting for us there, which, after laboratory tests at OUR Zastava razvoj, had just started its first "race" on Yugoslav roads.

We were already on the spot the next day. Admittedly, we haven't had any experience with what these tests look like. Even that, for us, mysterious "secret" polygon looked quite ordinary.

If we didn't have a guide we would surely have overlooked the cones near the road marking the track where performance is measured.

They would certainly overlook the car we came for.
It was parked on the left side of the road. The hood was lifted, and the mechanic and test driver had just included instruments to measure fuel consumption. A few meters behind Flag 102, a white “Stojadin” was parked carrying accessories.

We had an escort, otherwise the people who did business around Zastava 102 would surely "convince" us to continue our journey as soon as we started peeking. They just looked at us in amazement like this. They could not hide the question"Where are you from".

Yugo 45

Sturdy legs

So we came face to face with the currently most mysterious car in Yugoslavia. Both photo-reporter Slobodan Jeftovic and I had the opportunity to see the aforementioned photos from Kragujevac. However, the photos are one thing, and the real car, though, quite another. Slightly shorter than the three-door Flag 101, its younger sister the Flag 102 looks much more solid and robust. It's a weird feeling when you get in an expensive car. And this one is safe the most expensive in which we could sit. Unofficially, we learned that the trial model of handmade costs 250 million old dinars. Everything is new inside. Instruments, switchboard, steering wheel - nothing reminiscent of any "Zastava" or "Fiat" model. We are a little skeptical if they thought of that Italians.

"Not" - was the answer.

- Well, they are not Italians, certainly some European design center, we are stubborn.

"Yes, the designers came up with it, but from Kragujevac", they explain to us.

The steering wheel has a completely new shape, and all the switches are at hand. We have already seen a similar solution of "driving space", but in very expensive cars.

As soon as we scattered around the car, we had to get out. Tests are continued according to a previously established plan. Colleague Jeftovic is in a hurry to get his appliances ready, and Zastava 102 embarks on his usual morning tour.

Fuel consumption is measured, first at an average speed of 40 kilometers per hour, then 60, 80, up to 140 per hour. Even at 140 km / h it is very stable.

What we can do about Flag 102 on the road, we noticed a few hours later.

Escaping the press

Behind the wheel was a test driver, Slavisa Jovanovic, who explained to us why the car was great. To us, when looking at the kilometer clock where the index finger stands at 140, we somehow don't care to see it.Adriatic Highway as for bad luck full curve, and Slavisa's leg never gets up from the accelerator pedal. Interesting, but in the car nothing sounds, except for special instruments, which are mounted right in front of the passenger seat. They measure the temperature of the engine, oil, fluid for cooling in the block and radiator… There are also instruments that record how many times the car was started, how many times the speed was changed, how many times the brake was applied. All this data will be valuable to people who examine this car.

Because, it will ride until so to speak it falls apart, and then it disassembles and measurements begin again, which will show whether something needs to be changed.

The ride is over.

We are sitting in a restaurant and trying to get some information from afar. Most questions are answered in the form of a kind smile.

And then also, otherwise our old race car acquaintance, tells the story of an adventure from the time they tested itFlag 101.

- Then the journalists chased us all day, says Keza. - We go to the mountains, they follow us, we go to the sea - here is someone "spying" again. But, despite all the chases, we always managed to escape them.

- How did you get there? Keza asked.

Instead of answering now we smile. How we found out that the Flag 102 began testing itself is still a professional secret.

While we outwit the test drivers in the style of who will extract the information from whom - at the next table, the vehicle examiners make a plan for the afternoon. We hear from the edge - "we will change the tires, to compare the test results".

It's behind the wheel Tomislav Josifović, a member of the old Guard of the Trial drivers.

A photo reporter begs him to turn on the lights while driving on a gravel road. With high lights on and yellow fog lamps as it winds through a narrow gravel road, the Flag 102 resembles a rally car.

Yugo 45

As if they are reading our minds, people who follow the work of this infant say they will be well suited to sports. A solid bodywork should easily handle all the competition effort. The driver Jovanovic adds:

"It's a real race car."

The tested car contained an ordinary Zastava 101 engine. However, due to the lighter body and better aerodynamics, it is as if the Zastava 102 has more power. In fact, this "excess" power is the result of a smaller number of kilograms per horsepower.

Thomas drives a sharp steep winding road.

In addition to the two of us, there are 180 pounds of extra cargo in the car. However, Flag 102 didn't stop for a moment. On the contrary, we got the impression that the car could run faster.

Full lungs

Of course, the question is with which engine this car will appear on the market. Earlier, it was officially announced that engines of 900 and 1100 cubic meters would come into consideration. When we asked if the 102 would have a "Stojadin" engine - we did not get an answer.

As is well known, it is not uncommon for car factories to inform in advance the number of horsepower, the degree of compression, and the torque of those engines that will be fitted to the new model.

Yugo 45

Our impression, after a two-day ride, is that the Stojadin engine was simply created for Flag 102. We will see what the Departments will decide on.

It wasn't until the next day when we made our impressions that we took a closer look body.

The rear seats can be "packed", similar to the "Stojadin", so that a comfortable space for larger luggage is created in an hour.

The car has built-in seat belts fastened to "three points", as already required by traffic safety regulations.

The car seat belts were originally fitted. Unfortunately, due to factory secrets, we cannot say how it was done, but something similar has not been seen with us yet.

The front seats move comfortably forward and backward, but are slightly lower than in the Stojadin. This solution was chosen, as explained by the hosts, so that there would be enough space for long-legged drivers.

And the gearshift lever has a whole new shape, which will delight all those future customers who like to sit far from the wheel.

For more provocation, we asked how the car was braking.

"Perfect", Slavisa replied and pressed the brake. The car didn't vibrate or shake, but it was a little lacking for us to collide with measuring instruments near our heads.

The "Stojadin" brakes inherited by the 102, we are convinced, are very effective.

Yugo 45

Ours - twice cheaper

People from the team that performs tests on Zastava 102 work in three shifts. He needs to start running a few more cars like this these days. And this whole "road laboratory" will, when they cross a certain number of kilometers, move to another terrain. - It will be fun there, the drivers complain. - You drive on macadam every day, after that month all the bones hurt! On these bad roads, as they explained to us, you will see how the body endures difficult terrain, how the so-called hanging… After all, we agreed to visit them again on a test like this. If we are given the opportunity, we will describe how Zastava 102 enjoys bad roads. almost in the same mode as 102. They explained to us that it is common for factories to perform a comparative test of their new model with a car that is already in production. Based on later measurements, certain solutions can be compared. Of course, we will have to keep quiet about which car it is, but we can compare the performance determinations. It will be very interesting to compare their results, especially since this page is twice as expensive as the newborn from Kragujevac, which should appear on sale, as announced, in 1980.

Written by: Milorad Ljubisavljevic
Photo: Slobodan Jeftovic (Man and Car, 1979)
Source: www.vrelegume.rs

Mladen

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