Author: Александр Беленький
Photo: Александр Беленький
Unauthorized and unsolicited translation from the Russian by this blogger
"Coffin on wheels", "rust bucket with nails". That's what some call the Bukhanka back home.
But in Japan, the UAZ is considered an icon of style.
Who would have thought of it, but they do dream about owning one!
Buy a UAZ van, emanate real coolness.
Why does a Japanese man need a Russian UAZ van?
I met with an owner of a Bukhanka and rolled along Japan roads in a Russian van.
I met with an owner of a Bukhanka and rolled along Japan roads in a Russian van.
The
sound of an Ulyanovsk engine splitting the silence of a Japanese
village appeared much earlier than the familiar silhouette loomed on the
horizon. The owner of the rare car looked very pleased.
I met Yuichi Wong Kei on Facebook. In Japan there nominally is a club of lovers of Russian cars, UAZ and Nivas, but it was not easy to find them. Finally, it turned out that one of the "Bukhankas" is not far from my Japan route. That day I was going to a nursery for snow macaques but traded them for this meeting.
I had to leave my car at the station, so I drove for a while behind the UAZ van and watched the reaction of other drivers. Left-hand drive cars do have some presence there, but these are usually expensive Mercedes saloons. However, in the eyes of the Japanese, a UAZ Bukhanka (452 / 2206) looks much cooler than German plastic crapcans on wheels.
- Yes, he must be Russian at heart! - That's what I thought just as I opened the passenger door. Well, how else does he know how to decorate such vehicles? Only the coins under the rubber band of the windshield were missing.
We raced along the main streets of Japanese towns with the maximum permissible speed. Forty kilometers per hour in a UAZ van - only one hundred and twenty per sensation.
Yuichi loves his van and it shows. But I will not lie to you by saying that it is his only car. The UAZ is needed for shock-and-awe'ing people and hanging out, Yuichi owns a nightclub, and usually the van is parked in front of it. Unfortunately, that night the club was closed so I didn't go to visit. The Japanese man appreciates the off-road characteristics of the van, and its rugged beauty. Yes, in their eyes this is the pinnacle of automotive design.
The van really looks cool, and in Japan they do like vans and minibuses. A
few years ago, on Russian television, they showed a story about another
UAZ owner in Japan, and he told viewers that he was reworking and improving everything in the van.
Yuichi did not do any of this, the vehicle is almost in the same condition as it came off the assembly line.
Yuichi did not do any of this, the vehicle is almost in the same condition as it came off the assembly line.
He bought it seven years ago. And he spent more than thirty thousand euros. The van itself cost 22 thousand, the rest went to bring it in line with environmental standards.
Today UAZ vans in Japan can no longer be bought: it is impossible to import new onesdue to outdated construction, inconsistencies in safety requirements and ecology (in the law, there is something that has been changed, it is impossible to upgrade such vans to meet the new requirements). And no one is willing to sell such a unique vehicle in a used condition.
So in the country of the rising sun, just about twenty of our UAZ vans keep on rolling into the sunset.
Today UAZ vans in Japan can no longer be bought: it is impossible to import new ones
So in the country of the rising sun, just about twenty of our UAZ vans keep on rolling into the sunset.
Inside the van, a passenger is traveling. This is for laughs.
This stuff reminds you of the vehicle's military specs. And judging by the mud wheel, Yuichi still gets to offroad through the woods.
Hybrid!
However the Japanese do not like their own cars very much. But we will talk about that some other time.
Автоблог: Как «Буханка» Японию покоряла.: Как «Буханка» Японию покоряла. Оригинал статьи: http://macos.livejournal.com/1220070.html Автор: Алексан...
HoroLex: Автоблог: Как «Буханка» Японию покоряла.: Это интересно! Как «Буханка» Японию покоряла. Оригинал статьи: http://macos.livejournal.com/1220070.htm...
cool
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