Its Ladas still sell in provincial Russia because there are lots of dealers, the cars are cheap and there are few alternatives.

ECONOMIST: Cars in Russia

Yann Vincent, the newly installed operations chief, says the priority is to bring new Ladas to market, based on Renault platforms, by 2010.

ECONOMIST: Cars in Russia

"You can't just go over and become a dealer in Ladas, " recalls Thompson, who was selling tires and lubricants to several big Avtovaz dealers.

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The cheapest are the state-owned yellow and black Ladas, although these are not meant to pick up tourists within 100 meters of a hotel.

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Even quite elderly VWs and Toyotas were a revelation of modernity, quality and price compared with the Ladas of AvtoVAZ and the Volgas of Gaz.

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Mr Putin has given it a cheque for 25 billion roubles and promised to pay for transporting Lada cars through six time-zones to Russia's far east, where most people long ago ditched Ladas for second-hand Japanese cars.

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