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Don and Vesna

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The little car that couldn't

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 01-24-12

Would you listen to The Yugo again? Why?

I might listen to this again someday, to relive the moments of promise and optimism of that time just after the Sarajevo Olympics when it seemed Yugoslavia was on the brink of transitioning from a second to a first world nation, when its natural and human resources seemed to be coalescing into something great and perhaps even lasting.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Yugo?

There'd always be a guy with a tray full of little glasses of this jet fuel -- plum brandy -- that everyone would partake of at all hours of the day at the Yugo factory. The way the Americans tried to eat the coffee grounds at the bottom of their Turkish coffee!

What does Erik Synnestvedt bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

The narrator brings a lighthearted, yet earnest, tone to the book. He helps you believe in the charm and winsome nature of the little car at the center of the book. His pronunciation of Serbian names and words is very good. He's good at bringing an ironic, dark undertone to the Yugo gags sprinkled throughout the book. I would listen to more books narrated by him.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I cried at the end, at the lyrics of Yugo 45, about the window of peace and a sort of prosperity symbolized by the freedom to fill up the tank and drive over the border to Trieste to buy jeans. In a completely different vein, I was angered at how much wealth and luxury the entrepreneur Malcolm manage to glean from his huge salary and then his multimillion dollar severance package, while investors and Yugo dealers lost everything they contributed to his dream.

Any additional comments?

I remember when the Yugo came to America. I took one for a test drive, but I never considered actually buying one. This book explains how the car became a punch line, a longstanding laughingstock, a latter-day Edsel -- and why the reputation was and wasn't deserved.

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