The Immortal Toyota Crown (Part 2)

Now, I would like to particularly highlight one model- the Toyota Crown, an executive sedan of business class. Although little known outside the country of the rising sun, this car was in great demand on the markets of Europe and Australia. 

In the late 80s the countries of the USSR were swept by an import wave of used and relatively inexpensive right-hand-drive vehicles from Japan.  As for this car, it’s one of the first Toyotas in Armenia. It appeared in Yerevan in 1989. Having been used as a taxi cab in its homeland for about 10 years and having been driven nearly 400.000 kilometers , the car, in a sheer factory condition,  was brought to Yerevan as an everyday vehicle.
To be continued...

The Immortal Toyota Crown (Part 1)

Nothing lasts forever in this world. But, are you sure about that? Try to impose this opinion on any owner of a Toyota with a diesel engine. Be sure, you will crash and burn- it’s like trying to make a primitive man to read War and Peace.

Moreover, if this is an atmospheric diesel engine, or even worse (for you), the engine belongs to the L family, your efforts will be completely wasted. Besides, you will be persuaded that these engines can run on used vegetable oils, jet fuel and all other unbelievable substances without any damage. The pity is that we, the automotive skeptics and owners of modern vehicles, will never be able to appreciate such cars. 
And indeed, there was a time when cars were built with a huge safety factor and used to be much more reliable than now. There was little use of cheap plastic and completely useless electronics. Preference was given to extremely simple and reliable designs. Nowadays, the modern market rules over the automotive industry making it simply unprofitable to produce “eternal” cars. The era of “disposable cars” makes oldies from distant 70-80s look especially exotic.
To be continued...

ERAZ-Electro (pics)

I want to share some interesting pics related to our previous post about ERAZ.

The first prototype of electric car "ERAZ-ARMENIA" (written in Russian in the picture above). Also you can see inscription 'Testing' on the front bumper.

And the other 2 pics of ERAZ were made for 1980 Olympic games in Moscow.

 

The forgotten Technologies of the Soviet Armenia: ERAZ Electro

Nowadays, hybrid technologies are considered as one of the most promising developments in the automotive world. In this sphere, there are already clearly identified leaders among the giants of the global auto industry. Today it’s almost impossible to believe that during Soviet times, our country also undertook active efforts to develop a car powered by electricity. In different republics of the Soviet Union, thanks to the efforts of many institutions there were built challenging samples which were put to the test in various conditions. In Armenia, the first result of such works became this vehicle running on a hybrid power train. It was designed in 1978 in Yerevan Polytechnic Institute, in the research laboratory for electric vehicles.

Unfortunately, today, this car is consigned to oblivion. The fate of its designers is also unknown. I just came across this miraculously preserved photo.
By the way, the Yerevan Automobile Plant also made major efforts to create an electrically powered cars.
More about this, I will cover in the near future.

The Reliable A4 (Part 4)

Just try to enter a turn at a greater speed and slightly chop the throttle spinning back the wheel. The rear axle immediately takes up the sliding baton from the front and the car performs smooth drifts, which are controlled at any stage of difficulty.

At the breaking point the car slides with all wheels slightly throwing the back, but nothing to worry about- the skid is easily corrected with the wheel. The steady engine will allow you to drag the car from a slide with minimal efforts. Clutching the road surface with all wheels, the A4 whistles like a bullet out of the turn.
The “Quattro” of the A4 is based on the old and reliable self-locking differential “Torsen”, which cleverly distributes torque between axles.
It’s not by chance that among the great German trio, the A4 is the leader in the D segment. And it’s no wonder that there is a growing number of so many restyled modifications of this model in our streets. I enjoyed the car very much and hopefully managed to maintain objectivity in this article. One thing for sure, the A4 is a correctly balanced, fast and technologically advanced car, so you will never regret owning it.

The Reliable A4 (Part 3)

Whenever I drive an Audi, I always get fascinated by the work of power steering, which generates great feedback depending on the driving speed. In a parking lot, you can spin the wheel with your little finger, but as the speed increases, the steering wheel gets heavier and heavier allowing you to accurately control the car. Another undoubted advantage is that you don’t have to gradually change the force during fast rotations of the wheel. In addition, the steering wheel of the A4 TFSI is pleasant to the touch- the cross-section is correctly chosen. The gearshift paddles are ideally set, so you needn’t get used to them.

I pressed the brake pedal and slightly revved up the engine. As the light turned green, I fully pressed the accelerator…the car sped along the road like a bullet making my body shake with adrenaline shock. The only pity was that the turbine whistle couldn’t be heard. The engine was roaring without giving away the presence of the turbine.
The engine is quite flexible. It demonstrates excellent traction after about 4000 rpm. When the sport mode of the automatic transmission is enabled or the gas pedal is fully pressed, the gear will hang on the selected speed till the very last moment and will shift only after reaching the maximal rpm. To the credit of the tiptronic, it should be noted that it copes with the task very quickly and without delays. My friend was even convinced that it was the DSG gearbox.
Is the standard suspension capable of coping with the dynamic capacity of this powerful A4? The answer is YES. Of course, I’d like a little less swings and more composure, but let’s not forget that this is not the S4. The chassis is set up for everyday use. However, comfort keeps up with flexibility. The suspension is very power-intensive and can be broken, only if you try really hard.  Bends and turns are the natural elements of the “Quattro”.
To be continued...

The Reliable A4 (Part 2)

However, the main advantage of the car is hidden under the hood: the 2-liter turbo engine with direct fuel injection (FSI). The Audi is very proud of this technology, since it got its baptism of fire in motorsport.

So our A4 2.0T FSI, is a vivid example of a sport-civic sedan: 200 HP, a torque responsive engine, 19-inch wheels (unfortunately, the car has a standard suspension). I got slightly frustrated with the fact that this wonderful engine is supported by a 6-speed tiptronic transmission- I wish it was manual, or at least the superfast DSG. By the way, the first option is available, as for the second, we will have to forget about it.  But instead, as a compensation we get sporty flappy-paddle tiptronic gear shifters (there is a special algorithm used on powerful A4s and the S4), which makes you feel as if behind the wheel of a Formula One car. However, I never used those paddles. Luckily, I had ridden in a Land Cruiser for a few hours, before I started the test. So, it was very fun to get into a compact 200HP sedan after the huge Japanese” yacht”. 

 Firstly, I’d like to highlight the perfectionism of the interior finishing- it’s almost the same as that of the company’s flagship A8- the same stylistic techniques and the same aura of the impeccable quality. All the parts are perfectly assembled.
Everything is great with emphasized modesty. There is no pathos, but lots of grace. The ergonomics is beyond question; the visibility is also good. “Try to be perfect in everything”, this seems to be the motto of the designers from Ingolstadt.
To be continued...