European Yugo, a 'terrible' but rare car

Beverly Hills is a place where flashy and sometimes rare cars are a common sight, including a 1989 Yugo.

"I think it's the only car ever to become an icon for being terrible," said Josh Sadlier, senior editor at Edmunds.com.

The Yugo is an inexpensive car imported from Eastern Europe in the 1980s that quickly became the butt of jokes.

The automotive site Edmunds just added this one to their long-term test fleet, a fleet typically made up of the latest and greatest new cars that the Edmunds staff gets to drive.

So why add a Yugo bought for under $1,000?

"We needed a 'penalty box' to give those editors an incentive to keep up on their business," Sadlier said.

For a place to take it for a spin, I suggested the streets of Beverly Hills. Actually, the car hardly got noticed, except when the Yugo's 50 horsepower had it impeding traffic somewhat.

Despite all the horror stories I'd heard, the little Yugo isn't actually that bad of a car.

Malcolm Bricklin came up with the idea of importing the Yugo. In the 1970s, he brought out his namesake sports car, the Bricklin SV-1, which was innovative, but a flop.

Before that, he was the guy who set up Subaru of America. Obviously, that one worked out very well.

But the Yugo? Well, poor reviews were the beginning of the end, followed by emissions issues and then the Bosnian War. By 1992, no more Yugos for the U.S.

Today, they're a rare sight in America. Maybe even a classic?

"There are some savvy collectors out there who have their eye on this car. We might want to sit on it and just let it appreciate," Sadlier said cheekily.

Edmunds' $950 investment could have been a good one... or not.