Autoblog

Click above for more shots of the Volga Siber

Featuring a slightly revised front and rear fascia on a previous-generation Chrysler Sebring chassis, GAZ has resuscitated the Volga brand name with the Siber sedan. In the words of Sergey Zanozin, Chairman of the GAZ Group, "The GAZ Group has started to produce a new line of cars under the Volga brand on platforms from the world's leading manufacturers. The new production complex has the flexible capacity needed to bring new models into production at minimal cost and investment in the future." Well, alrighty then. While the old Sebring platform might not exactly set the world on fire, it is definitely a step in the right direction for Russian roads, with a slightly lifted ride height and beefed-up suspension components to handle the stresses of Siberian winters. The Siber uses a either a 2.0-liter Chrysler engine with 141 horsepower or a 2.4-liter churning out 143 hp. Standard features include air conditioning, dual airbags, ABS and traction control. All in all, it's not that bad.


[Source: GAZ]

Russia has just passed Germany as Europe's largest market for new car sales -- for the first half of the year, at least. In fact, Russian consumers managed to snatch up 41% more cars for the first half of this year as compared to the previous year. Not only that, but the vehicles being sold in Russia are more profitable than before as well, with the record $33.8 billion in sales so far an increase of 64%. Top marques are General Motors and Hyundai, which replace last year's first and second place finishers, Ford and Toyota. Russian brands? Not so much.

Don't expect the sales figures to cool down any time soon, as the economy in Russia is still booming and it's the middle-class that is seeing the biggest benefit. Older cars will continue to be taken off the road as consumers purchase new replacements which will allow automakers to find an estimated 20-percent of the entire industry's growth in the Russian market over the next several years.

[Source: Inside Line]

We've seen badly-painted cars before, some with store-bought spray cans and even some painted with brushes. But we've never, EVER, seen one painted with, um, what is that? Stucco? Bondo applied with a shovel-wielding 6-year-old? And, possibly more important, what WAS that? A Renault?

Going to the source (careful, link NSFW for some) of these photos didn't really help much, either. Not only was there little accompanying text, but it's all in (surprise!) Russian.

We look forward to hearing our readers' comments on this one, and would be very interested to hear from anyone who might have insight into this lumpy car's slimy background. And, yes, we know some of the other off-color things it might resemble, but let's keep things family-friendly.

[Source: Fishki via EnglishRussia]