SOLVED - What car #26 - Lada Kalina 1118

[@re]

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[@re]

Christmas is coming - an early present for the Experts!

[grobmotorix]

Looks like a GM product. Maybe an Opel Corsa B sedan offspring for China?

I think they´re sold as "Buick Sail" there, but this looks different...

[@re]

It does look like a GM product, but as far as I can tell there is no official GM involvement in this car. And it is not Chinese.

[SeaLion]

Lada Kalina sedan

[@re]

As so often before - correct! It's the Lada Kalina sedan, also known as the 1118. As far as I have been able to find out, Lada seem to have developed this car by themselves in Russia - however, GM is involved in other Lada projects such as the new Niva. That's why I said that there doesn't seem to be any GM involvement in "this car".

[grobmotorix]

Well it is indeed an Opel Corsa B sedan offspring as well as the chinese Buick Sail as can be read here:

http://youpas.livejournal.com/33297.html


http://www.youpas.ru/2006/China/Ukr-news-LADA_KALINA_3_4_fr.jpg


http://www.youpas.ru/2006/China/buick_sail.jpg


http://www.youpas.ru/2006/China/P1070092.jpg


http://www.youpas.ru/2006/China/LadaKalina3.jpg

But I wasn´t lucky and forgot to tell about the third alternative, of course...

[@re]

Well, I'm not raising my voice or being picky or anything here, but that site can hardly be used to prove anything. The topic is about the Chinese way of copying everything (including the BMW X5 - that's a Chinese copy in the first picture), and a translation of the text above the first Lada pic says something like: "But before we laugh at the Chinese - compare the Buick Sail (for the Chinese market) and the Lada Kalina (for the Russian market). (...) Who are more skilled in thieves' craft?"

Which definitely does not prove that there is any GM involvement in the Kalina - it actually seems to point in the opposite direction: That the Kalina is a copy. And if you look at it, that seems more likely: The roofline isn't quite the same, and the A pillars and doors are also clearly different - and these are all structural elements. To top it all off, the Sail (which is now marketed as a Chevrolet) is 10 cm (4 in) longer than the Lada, whereas the Lada is 10 cm wider. And the wheelbase doesn't match, either...

Conclusive?

(No, I'm not a lawyer and have never dreamt of being one. But this was quite fun  )

Please tell me if you still disagree. I could still be wrong.

[grobmotorix]

Ah, no problem, really, as my russian is still not very good

Well, just another copycat, then...

[@re]

My Russian sucks, too. But try www.freetranslation.com