Corporate Obituaries: Yugo

The flagship of Serbo-Croatian technology met a fateful end as the final Yugo rolled off the assembly line on November 11, 2008. The much-maligned car was 30 years old.

Yugo's death came as something of a surprise: Many familiar with the subcompact had no idea it was still being manufactured and couldn’t for the life of them figure out why.

But in spite of the confusion, most agreed the Yugo’s passing signaled the end of an era - of lemon jokes, at the very least. More than a few tears were shed by factory workers.

The Yugo began its life as a product of former Serbian weapons manufacturer Zastava. After building automobiles for the Yugoslav Army, the company began engineering passenger vehicles based on designs by Fiat of Italy.

By using the Fiat 128 -- the most popular model -- as a prototype, then modifying the body, Zastava’s Koral -- otherwise known as the Yugo 45 -- was born on October 2, 1978.

The car was heralded as a great achievement for the communist state. It was affordable, and for a brief time enjoyed a tender and loving infancy in its native land. It wasn’t until it was exported to the United States in the mid-1980s that it was deemed a freakish sideshow catastrophe.

Entrepreneurs Miro Kefurt and Malcom Bricklin struck a deal for the stateside production of the Yugo. At an introductory rate of just $3990, it was the most inexpensive model on the market by far.

But the initial excitement was soon dampened by poor user experience and the harsh assessment of critics.

The Yugo was cruelly mocked for its off-putting appearance and defective parts. Consumer Reports viciously accused it of "barely being a car," while others regarded the vehicle as "disposable.”

The hatchback was left sputtering in the face of mocking giggles and derogatory barroom jokes - often by the side of the road while its owner looked for a nearby mechanic.

In 1992, Yugo’s American operation was forced to close its doors due to Yugoslavian unrest and a failure to meet exhaust emissions standards. The car spent its remaining years in war-torn Serbia.

The Yugo declined any bailout and died peacefully in Kragujevac. The cause of death was reportedly an acquisition by Fiat, but some claim it was actually sadness.

In lieu of donations, Zastava asks that jokes involving the Yugo are now made at the expense of its former competitors General Motors (GM) and Ford (F).