In terms of automotive pedigree,
Russia is really only famous for the
Lada name. Perhaps infamous is the more accurate word to
use. Nevertheless, there’s never really been anything more mother Russia could
offer, except maybe Formula One driver Vitally
Petrov, and he only because he probably caused Fernando Alonso the 2012 F1 Drivers’ Championship. But this hasn’t
stopped Russian Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin from ordering his bureaucrats
to start buying only Russian-made cars.
You might think the Prime Minister knows something the rest
of us don’t, something like Russia is about to launch a new car brand suitable to even his high standards of transportation. Actually not. What he
means is exactly what he said; Russian-built, not necessarily of Russian
origin. That could be any number of cars these days, including the BMW 3 Series, which, in addition to
Pretoria, is also built in Kaliningrad,
Russia. Ford also has a Russian assembly plant, so do Peugeot and Hyundai.
Such a decree has
not come to South Africa, as our politicians
often buy whatever wheels they can afford,
including BMW 7 Series, Lexus LS,
Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Volvo XC90s and others. Had they been forced to follow the Russian example,
their choices would be limited to cars like the 3 Series, new Ford Ranger, Toyota Fortuner and Mercedes-Benz
C-Class. Such a move would help lift local manufacturers’ coffers, boost employment and increase the tax base. At
the same time, judging from the number of politicians
who drive cars that cost over R1 million,
such cars would surely suffer a notable drop
in sales!
1 comment:
Russian politicians are very sharp and strict towards their political system. And this blog describing us in detail about it.
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