Custom East German Trabant Car

A computer-generated, black and gold, image of a customized East German Trabant automobile. The customized car's nickname, Trabasaurus rex, in an appropriate font, appears both on the vehicle door and below the image. The vehicle bears an Idaho license plate reading "TRABI REX" as it was customized by mythical Warsaw Pact Wonder Wheels (Classic Commie Cars) in Sandpoint. The Trabant was the people's car of East Germany "Trabant" means travelling companion and was inspired by the Russian word "sputnik" with the same meaning. Over 3 million Trabants were produced in the span of 30 years. The Trabant's engine was underpowered, inefficient and created much pollution. The much maligned Trabant, or Trabi as it was commonly known, has long been the butt of jokes, but has become trendy in recent years. Some have been imported to the United States. The roof, trunk lid,hood,fenders, and doors were constructed with Duroplast, a hard plastic akin to Bakelite, made of recycled materials: cotton waste from the Soviet Union and phenol resins from the East German dye industry. This made the Trabant the first car with a body made of recycled material and was partially responsible for the misconception that it was made of cardboard. Various crash test results showed it performed better than comparable contemporary Western hatchbacks.