Custom East German Trabant Statuette

A humorous, computer-generated, black and gold, image of a customized East German Trabant automobile. The customized vehicle's nickname, "Trabasaurus rex," appears on the door. The vehicle bears an Idaho license plate reading "TRABI REX" as it was customized by mythical Warsaw Pact Wonder Wheels (Custom Commie Cars) in Sandpoint. The Trabant was the people's car of East Germany "Trabant" means traveling 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.