By Michael Berenis

Tampa Sports Car Examiner

Originally named the Zastava Koral, the Yugo was an hit around the world. Turbocharging one with a swapped BMW 325 engine takes the Yugo experience to a whole new level. Read more about the turbo Yugo at Tampa Sports Car Examiner.

It’s not every day that a Yugo gets to star in a movie, and it’s even more unusual for a movie car to show up for sale while its film is still in theaters. According to the seller, this is one of three identically prepared Yugos used in Nick and Nora’s. And the blemishes on this rust-free ride, he says, are "scenic applications"—not rust spots at all, but cleverly rendered paint-on fakes. Weird! Check out the auction.

I never even knew you could get a convertible Yugo, and you know, it really is kind of cute in an ugly sort of way. Hell, I’d drive it! But for 3500 bucks?? I mean, come on. The seller knows it’s a Yugo, right? He does, and in fact he even justifies his outlandish starting bid by claiming that "a similar car on the west coast hit over 5500." Well, I can’t say I ever saw this mythical "similar car" myself, but I guess anything’s possible—and they don’t call it the Loony Left Coast for nothing. It’s not like I have anything against oddball junk, and it’s fine if people want to be dreamers about the value of their cars—hey, if he thinks his Yugo’s worth several thousand dollars, he’s not hurting anything except his own chances of selling it. But, really: the day that someone has the gumption to ask $3500 for a Yugo is the day that eBay has ceased to become a place for good deals on cars. Take that high-falutin’ Yugo to Barrett Jackson and leave eBay for the rest of us junk-traders! 

If anyone even meets the opening bid on this one, I’ll eat my hat.