America's worst car, which once served as a cautionary tale for automakers, is making a comeback
A dirt-cheap car practically laughed out of the US decades ago is making a surprise comeback
Yugo, a two-door European hatchback that ceased US sales in the 1990s, just released pictures of an upcoming model.
The company hasn't produced any vehicles since 2008. The potential revival comes after decades as an American punchline.
In the 1980s, Yugo hit US dealerships with huge fanfare.
The hatchback was a simple, small car that boasted a sub-$4,000 price and a tiny engine.
At the time, America was going through a historic bout of inflation and huge gas shortages caused by geopolitical tensions.
The car sounded revolutionary on paper — a no-frills commuter with the pricetag of a clunky TV that competed with large American gas guzzlers.
Built by a European firm called Zastava in a factory with Cold War-era tooling and limited quality control, the Yugo was based on an old Fiat engine and came with equally dated engineering.
The company, now owned by Aleksandar Bjelić, is hoping to bring this 1:5 size model to prototype shows by 2027
The company's brand image fell apart once rubber met US roads. Yugos were famously unreliable, unsafe, and frighteningly slow.
Drivers even reported that the car struggled to start in cold temperatures, and the company's reputation crumbled under the weight of blistering punchlines and poor press.
American economic sanctions in the mid-1990s against the communist regime of Yugoslavia, the home country for the car, was the final death knell for the hatch's American sales.
For years, Yugo has remained a cautionary tale in the American automotive industry, as brands attempted to avoid being labeled 'cheap.'
But Yugo's potential revival, which expects to produce a full-scale model in 2027, comes at an equally fractious time.
The globe has struggled with massive inflationary pressures in the aftermath of pandemic-era supply chain struggles, and many cars have become too expensive for consumers.
Last year, the average American financed $48,000 for a new vehicle.
Over 70 percent of Americans make less than $100,000. Financial experts say most Americans should have monthly bills of $400 or less on their cars, but the current market has pushed the average monthly cost for a new car over $700.
The company said it will keep the famous vehicle's two-door hatch style with new modern touches
The car is available with both automatic and manual transmissions and may have some 'electrified' powertrains
The Yugo might not come to the US - but the car company has a long American history
The Yugo came to the US in the 1980s with a ton of fanfare - but the car was practically lauched out of the market following years of terrible reviews
Yugo hopes to slot back into the expensive car conversation with another small, cheap model.
But this time, it is hoping to catch headlines for bringing back a car that actually caters to consumer demands.
The new Yugo will have a combustion engine, an option for a manual gearbox, and just two doors.
The company has not announced plans to bring the vehicle to the US, and will likely face President Donald Trump's 25 percent tariffs if they try.
But the company is hoping to get ahead of other carmakers that are starting to scale back growingly unpopular and expensive tech.
Volkswagen just announced that it will scale back its attempts to digitize interior climate controls, while Ford filed patents to bring manual transmissions to EVs.
Slate, an EV pickup company with funding from Jeff Bezos, is also hoping to enter the market with a cost-cutting vehicle.
The pared down pickup, which features crank windows and no infotainment system on base trims, hopes to be the cheapest car on the US market, the company's CCO told DailyMail.com.
