Several European automotive makers created an affordable car for the masses in the mid 20th century. But for every VW Beetle, there was a Lada.

The Volkswagen Beetle

Volkswagen (“people’s car”) began as a government project in the early ‘30s but it didn’t take off until Adolf Hitler came into power and got involved. The famous car designer Ferdinand Porsche collaborated with Hitler on an affordable vehicle for the average German. The dictator even suggested that it should be shaped like a beetle. The first models debuted in 1938 and slave labor was used to churn them out of Volkswagen factories during World War II. Despite the bleak circumstances surrounding their creation, the Beetle has since gone on to become one of the world’s most iconic and popular vehicles, and remained in production until the mid-‘70s.

The Trabant

The Trabant was one of the most widely used cars behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. They could commonly be found in East Germany and all across eastern Europe. While the Trabant was cheap enough for even a factory worker to own, it was also notoriously shoddy. The model first debuted in 1957 with an outdated two-stroke engine and subsequent models were known for their weak horsepower, sparse features, and extraordinarily smoky exhaust. A widely circulated urban legend also claimed that the body on each car was made out cardboard—it was actually recycled metal. Despite being, by all accounts, a terrible car to own and drive, Trabants are considered kitschy and trendy in Berlin where “Trabant tours” have become a popular activity for tourists.

The Lada Classic

During the last few decades of communist rule in Russia, AvtoVAZ cranked out cheap cars for Soviets with limited rubles. Named for a sailing ship, the first models debuted in 1970. The car that would go on to become known as the Lada Classic had a solid steel frame and other sturdy features that made it the ideal vehicle for Russia’s n rough highways and frigid winters. The average one was built so well that an owner could rack up 300,000 miles or more before they puttered out. Production on the Lada Classic finally ended in 2012 with over 20 million sold worldwide. By the time the last one rolled off the assembly line, the model had become the highest-selling automobile in hist