Something Canada got which the US didnt, the Cold-War era Romanian 4x4 known as the ARO 24.

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P_f_M@reddit

I've owned two of those... That was one of the stupidest investment I did in my life... first one was a 1980s original petrol... the other was a 90s one with the Andoria diesel :-D

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P_f_M@reddit

I would not say "bad everything". Build quality and assembly was abysmal and they never got over it.

The original ARO petrol engine was literally a cut-in-half US V8 (people used to say that "it was a Packard, or maybe not" - but for sure it was a half cut of something), gas guzzling and no power. During summer and terrain ride, it was also constantly overheating. The Andoria diesel was way better, but it came with its own set of issues, to name one: during terrain ride, the timing belt could jump a teeth or two.

The best course of action was to completely disassemble it, de-rust everything possible on the body, have the frame galvanized, assemble everything back together using new bolts, if possible also replace wiring and connectors...

So, I paid for the Andoria one something around 4k 2003 USD (for East Europe, this was a small fortune)... and I had to invest another big money and time to first trying to fix minor things here and there, before I've succumbed to a 1 year full work. Then it could do hardcore stuff. So the reason I've got rid of it - exhausting! I don't know what is the deal with those, but I could drive an old Wrangler all day long and not feeling "beaten up" like I did in this thing after an hour.

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Poonis5@reddit

Thank you for a detailed reply. Talking about exhausting driving. I think Lada Niva, another Warsaw bloc offoroader, gives similar experience. But I only experienced it as a passenger.

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Phogger@reddit

When I was a teenager and just starting to drive, there was some kind of effort to bring these to the US. My dad worked at a Ford dealership and brought home a bunch of sales brochures but it didn’t work out I guess.

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Angelworks42@reddit

Canada got a lot of vehicles that we never did - like the original mini. My uncle has a mid 80s diesel Land Cruiser that you couldn’t hear either.

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Yummy_Crayons91@reddit

The Crosslander I think it was called? It was supposed to be a super cheap 4x4 (sub $20,000 IIRC) and powered by a Ford Ranger Drivetrain to meet US Standards. It was in a few auto mags in the 2000s.

I'm blanking on the story but I think the guy behind the importing idea was going some sort of embezzlement or investment scam, went to prison, and that was the end of the Crosslander.

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Enough-Engineering41@reddit (OP)

That's unfortunate, even if the cars were crude and rough it would have been cool to see them in the US, I heard that even Lada has plans to sell their cars in the US in the late 70s.

And according to Motorweek, UAZ was planning to sell their 4x4s in the US in the 90s.

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VestigeOfVast@reddit

What is it about Romanian cars that made them transition so poorly to the post-cold war era compared to other cars from the former eastern bloc? The Tavria, the Samara and especially the Polonez, despite being socialist constructions from the 80s, fit reasonably well in the soft and colorful 90s. Then you look at a 1310 or a Super/Nova and they just look 5-10 years out of date in comparison.

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Arschgeige42@reddit

In the dark days of the GDR i owned one :)

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hankjmoody@reddit

That's wild. Pretty rare to see something in this subreddit that I've genuinely never heard of before, and was sold here in the Land of Hoseheads.

Wonder how many were actually sold? I'll definitely pay more attention to small town marketplace listings now, too. I know a guy in Chilliwack who would kill to restore something like this!

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Enough-Engineering41@reddit (OP)

I'm sure these are basically almost extinct in Canada, but in the photos I've posted you can see some examples in the modern day that were saved.

I would assume u could possibly find one in a junkyard or someone's backyard, but the chances are probably really low. Maybe look online if there is any for sale.

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tadeuska@reddit

But ARO had an aluminium body, just like the Land Rover. Some should be around, no?

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nalonso@reddit

Nope... Quite bad quality on the body. The engine was a special kind of beast. My father used to turn it on with a torch, like a caveman, on really cold days. Sometimes, when less cold, just spraying gasoline in the intake.

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birgor@reddit

If they where built like Land Rover with an aluminium body on a steel frame and cage are they probably even less probable to be around. That construction is a disaster when it comes to rust in the steel frame. As all owners of old Land Rovers can verify.

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KeeganY_SR-UVB76@reddit

Some bodies should be around. Not the rest of the car though.

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hankjmoody@reddit

Canada's used car markets are hilariously fragmented. Kijiji, AutoTrader, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, etc, all have ads and there's no consolidation service like AllOfCraigs used to be in America.

I'll keep an eye out, but yeah, mostly just wondering out loud. I did happen to stumble on a Canadian-market Vauxhall Viva a few years back, though. Never knew it before, but they were actually sold through Buick dealerships back in the 60/70s!

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Enough-Engineering41@reddit (OP)

Good luck, maybe look if there is any forums online regarding odd vehicles in Canada, there has to be some.

Yep, even Opels were sold through Buick dealerships so I've heard.

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Enough-Engineering41@reddit (OP)

Keep in mind these models in the Eastern Bloc were usually used by the military or workers, meaning the ones offered in Canada were probably had more options than the bare bone ones in the East Bloc.