So Long Trusty Comrade?

Please say it isn't so? Odious financial crisis by all means take GM, but don't take the icon that is Lada. The world would surely be a less colourful place without the boxy cars that have mobilized most of the former Soviet block? If this BBC report is to be believed, Avtovaz, owners of Lada, may be out of business within weeks. Although this seemingly has very little to do with the Japanese car industry and everything to do with the impact on Russia of the global financial crisis, the rash of cheap second-hand Japanese market cars entering Russia through its Eastern ports such as Vladivostok has surely provided one of the nails to seal Lada's coffin?