The Yugo

The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History

By: Jason Vuic

Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt

Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Six months after its American introduction in 1985, the Yugo was a punch line; within a year, it was a staple of late-night comedy. By 2000, NPR's Car Talk declared it "the worst car of the millennium." And for most Americans that's where the story begins and ends. Hardly.

The short, unhappy life of the car, the men who built it, the men who imported it, and the decade that embraced and discarded it is rollicking and astounding, and it is one of the greatest untold business-cum-morality tales of the 1980s. Mix one rabid entrepreneur, several thousand "good" communists, a willing U.S. State Department, the shortsighted Detroit auto industry, and improvident bankers, shake vigorously, and you’ve got The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History.

Brilliantly re-creating the amazing confluence of events that produced the Yugo, Yugoslav expert Jason Vuic uproariously tells the story of the car that became an international joke: The American CEO who happens upon a Yugo right when his company needs to find a new import or go under. A State Department eager to aid Yugoslavia's nonaligned communist government. Zastava Automobiles, which overhauls its factory to produce an American-ready Yugo in six months. And a hole left by Detroit in the cheap subcompact market that creates a race to the bottom that leaves the Yugo...at the bottom.

©2010 Jason Vuic (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

“This is a fun read about a heap of junk that should make anyone feel better about having to take their car to a repair shop.” ( Publishers Weekly)

Better Than The Car!

What a fun read! If you like business, cars or "Americana"---pop culture, you'll enjoy this book. It's got it all...I'm not a "car" guy but really enjoyed this book. A lot of fun.

Oddly, I don't know what to make of the central character. Crook? Unlucky? Both?

Read it and then draw your own conclusions---then Google the guy! He's got a NEW venture in cars...

Chris Reich

A fascinating look at the car behind the punchline

The Yugo is known these days mostly as a punchline. The car's terrible build quality, Communist heritage and oft-bankrupt importer, Malcolm Bricklin, obscure the fascinating connection between the Yugo, consumerism, fads, the Savings and Loan crisis of the 80s, junk bond traders and more.

Auto Wreck

Fascinating in the much the same way that gawkers find the wreckage of an auto collision fascinating. You can't make this stuff up!

Fun and fascinating listen

I have zero interest in cars but I like history, particularly modern history. This book made cars interesting. I liked the political intrigue and back story of a flawed dreamer who was behind the Yugo. I'm glad I bought this.

great content

Factual, a real story about what actually happened to this car/business. Quit the track record for Brinkmann.

A Little Too Much Detail

I bought this book because of my interest in scams, ruthless marketing and shameless misrepresentation. It did not disappoint. Sadly I got more detail about the auto industry than I bargained for. I would have preferred an abridged edition, but I really was very amusing on the whole.

A good story for what it is

I was captivated at the beginning. However, as the story continued, I found that I started to care less about the actual events and wanted more as to why? How could this possibly happen? Although it gave a very good history, I wish it included through the book opinions from key players and outside sources to give more commentary.

A fun, if somwhat to detialed listen

I bought this book on a whim, Audible having offered it to me for $4.95 with the purchase of another book. It was a fun listen. Vuic peppered the book with Yugo jokes, but he researched his subject and gave us a detailed look into the marketing of this 80s ikon to simple, basic transportation and to the ability of one man, Malcolm Bricklin, to spend his life importing some of the wort cars in history, the Yugo being only one of them. It was also a short history of Yugoslavia in the bargin. the narration was good, with Synnestved doing very well with the pronunciation of all the names that appear to roll off his tong but would get most of us tong tied.
The only thing I would fault about this book was that it was a bit to detailed at times, siting over and over the cost of various cars down to the penny. But all in all I was sorry to come to the end of the book and that makes for a good listen.

Good driving fodder.

It was an interesting story. I always wondered about the Yugo. How did it get here.
Why was it so bad?

What fun!

I have to admit that I bought this read for a little comic relief and was pleasantly surprised! I never knew the entire history of this butt of jokes and found its story to be interesting and tragic. It was well written and touched upon just enough of the history to keep my interest peaked. I wonder how far the Yugo could have come if not for all the mismanagement and corruption.