The history of the automobile brand GAZ

The Gorky Automobile Plant (abbreviation GAZ) is one of the largest companies in the automotive industry in Russia. The main specificity of the company is focused on the production of cars, trucks, minibuses, as well as the development of motors. The headquarters is located in Nizhny Novgorod.

The history of the enterprise dates back to the times of the USSR. The plant was established in 1929 by a special decree of the Soviet government to improve the country's auto production. At the same time, an agreement was also concluded with the American company Ford Motor Company, which in turn was supposed to equip GAZ with technical support to establish its own production. The company has been providing technical support for 5 years.

As an example of a model for creating future cars, GAZ took samples of its foreign partner like Ford A and AA. Manufacturers realized that despite the rapid development of the auto industry in other countries, they would need to work hard and make many important improvements.

In 1932, the construction of the GAZ plant was completed. The production vector was focused mainly on the creation of trucks, and already in a secondary turn - on cars. But in a short period of time, a number of passenger cars were produced, which were used mainly by the government elite.

The demand for cars was great, in a couple of years, having achieved a significant reputation as a domestic automaker, GAZ released its 100th car.

During the Second World War (Great Patriotic War), the GAZ range was aimed at the production of military off-road vehicles, as well as tanks for the army. "Molotov's tank", models T-38, T-60 and T-70 were invented at the GAZ plant. At the height of the war, there was an expansion in production to the manufacture of artillery and mortars.

The factories suffered significant damage during the bombing, which took a very short time to restore, but a lot of labor. It also affected the temporary suspension of the production of some models.

After the reconstruction, all activities were aimed at resuming production. Projects for the production of the Volga and the Chaika were organized. As well as modernized versions of older models. 

In 1997, an act was signed with Fiat to agree to the creation of a joint venture with the name Nizhegorod Motors. The main specificity of which was the assembly of Fiat passenger cars.

By the end of 1999, the number of vehicles sold exceeded 125486 units.

Since the beginning of the new century, there have been many projects for the application of newer technologies, and a large number of contracts have been signed with various companies in the automotive industry. The financial plan did not allow GAZ to realize everything that was conceived, and the assembly of most of the cars began to be carried out at branches, also located in other countries.

Also, 2000 marked the company with another event: most of the shares were acquired by Basic Element, and in 2001 GAZ entered the RussPromAvto holding. And after 4 years, the name of the holding was changed to the GAZ Group, which next year buys an English van manufacturing company. 

In the following years, several important contracts were concluded with foreign companies such as the Volkswagen Group and Daimler. This made it possible to produce cars of foreign brands, as well as to increase their demand.

Founder

The Gorky Automobile Plant was founded by the government of the USSR.

Emblem

The emblem of GAZ is a heptagon with a silver metal frame with an inscribed deer of the same color scheme, located on a black background. At the bottom is the inscription "GAS" with a special font

Many are surprised why the deer is painted on the brands of GAZ cars. The answer is simple: if you study the local area of ​​Nizhny Novgorod, where the company was revived, you can understand that a large area is forests, which are predominantly inhabited by bears and deer.

It is the deer that is the symbols of the coat of arms of Nizhny Novgorod and it was he who was given a place of honor on the radiator grille of GAZ models.

The emblem in the form of a deer with horns proudly raised upwards symbolizes aspiration, speed and nobility.

On the initial models, there was no logo with a deer, and in wartime an oval was used with the inscription “GAS” inscribed inside, framed by a hammer and sickle.

History of GAZ cars

At the beginning of 1932, the company's first car was produced - it was a GAZ-AA cargo model weighing one and a half tons.

The following year, a 17-seat bus rolled off the assembly line, the frame and skin of which consisted mainly of wood, as well as a GAZ A.

The M1 with a 4-cylinder engine was a passenger car and was reliable. He was the most popular model at the time. In the future, there were many modifications of this model, for example, the model 415 with a pickup body, and its carrying capacity exceeded 400 kilograms.

The GAZ 64 model was produced in 1941. The open-body cross-country vehicle was an army vehicle and was particularly durable.

The first post-war car produced was a model 51 truck, which came out in the summer of 1946 and took pride of place, having high reliability and economy. It was equipped with a 6-cylinder power unit, which developed a speed of up to 70 km / h. There were also a number of improvements along with previous models and the carrying capacity of the car was increased by one and a half times. It was further modernized in several generations.

In the same month of the same year, the legendary “Victory” or the M 20 sedan model, which became famous all over the world, rolled off the assembly line. A completely new design shone with originality and was not similar to other models. The first GAZ model with a load-bearing body, as well as the world's first model with a "wingless" body. The spaciousness of the cabin, as well as the equipment with independent front wheel suspension, made it a masterpiece of the Soviet automobile industry.

The passenger car model 12 “ZIM” was released in 1950 with a 6-cylinder power unit, which had strong power and was called the fastest car of the company, capable of reaching speeds of up to 125 km / h. Many technical innovations have also been introduced for maximum comfort.

The new generation of the Volga replaced the Pobeda in 1956 with the GAZ 21 model. An unsurpassed design, an automatic gearbox, an engine that reached speeds of up to 130 km / h, excellent dynamics and technical data could only be afforded by the government class.

The Seagull was considered another prototype of the Victory. The premium model GAZ 13 released in 1959 had similar characteristics to the GAZ 21, bringing it closer to maximum comfort and a place of honor on the pedestal of the auto industry of those times.

The modernization process went through the trucks as well. The GAZ 52/53/66 models deserve special attention. The models were excellently operated due to the increased load level, which was improved by the manufacturers. The reliability of these models is still used today.

In 1960, in addition to trucks, modernization reached the Volga and Chaika, and the GAZ 24 model was released with a new design and power unit and GAZ 14, respectively.

And in the 80s, a new modernized generation of the Volga appeared with the name GAZ 3102 with a significantly increased power of the power unit. The demand was unusually high, but only among the elite top of the government, since an ordinary citizen could not even dream of this car.