Yugo was trying very hard to ride the coattails of the "Japanese invasion" of the 1970's. I recall the comments made about my parents' 1971 Datsun B210 and 1975 Corolla. People could not believe you could buy a "real car" for the cheap prices they were charging at the time. They were crude, noisy vehicles, but they were bulletproof and reliable. I think Yugo thought it could follow the same route. I drove one in the late 80's and my opinion was that it just felt like too much of a throwback, plus, with all the legal requirements applied to cars, even then, it just wasn't cheap enough compared to other, more sophisticated cars. Somehow, Hyundai survived its infancy in the U.S. during this same period.
I guess it's about timing and luck as much as engineering. If the Yugos had sold well imagine where they might be now.
I guess it's about timing and luck as much as engineering. If the Yugos had sold well imagine where they might be now.