About Lada
Lada is the trademark of AvtoVAZ, a Russian car manufacturer located in the city of Togliatti (Tol`yatti). It was chosen for exports over the domestic Zhiguli brand, but since the 1980s the name has been used in Soviet and later Russian market as well. Lada made its name in Western Europe selling the Lada Riva as an economy car in large quantities during the 1980s, but subsequent models have not enjoyed the same success as the Riva. Its headquarters are in Togliatti (Samara Oblast or province).
The common Lada sedan/estate series popularly known as the 'Classic' in the west ('Signet' in Canada) has the distinction of being one of the most produced car models in automotive history. Since 1980, over 13.5 million Lada Rivas have been built, and an unknown number of millions of the same car were also produced between 1969 and 1979 badged as 2101s - 2107s depending on engine size and interior specifications. Lada has since ceased production of the Classic series, but it is still in production at another Russian car plant as well as several other countries.
The Lada was widely exported throughout the world in the 80s and 90s (the US was the only large market not to have imported Ladas, but Canadian cars can be found there) and is unique in being the only car model that can be found on every continent, including Antarctica (where the Russian research base used Lada Nivas). The rugged design of the original Lada, which was built to cope with extreme Siberian climates and poor roads, meant that huge mileages were possible in well maintained examples (300,000 mls or more on the same engine has been reported).
Logo and Name
The logo represents the stylized slavic/Viking boat called Ladia (Lad`ya). Lada is the name of a slavic divinity (goddess of youth, love and beauty).
