History of the UAZ plant from 1941 to 2001

Material prepared by: Museum of History "UAZ"

The history of the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant, like the history of many enterprises and factories of the country, begins in July 1941, when, shocked by the attack of Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union was already waging bloody battles, losing its best sons and daughters.
It was in July 1941 that the State Defense Committee decided to evacuate a number of large enterprises from Moscow to Siberia, the Urals and the Volga.
Among them was "ZIS", the director of which was then I.A. Likhachev. It was he who already in August 1941 sent to Ulyanovsk a group of specialists headed by E. Dundukov in order to find a place for the assembly production of the plant. A place for the assembly production of the plant was found on the banks of the Volga. Here were the warehouses of the State Customs Administration. Their advantage was that two railway lines approached here, along which the first managers and workers of the future Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant arrived from Moscow on October 20, 1941.

From the first day, work began to boil. It was necessary to vacate the warehouses, and then to mount the arrived equipment. Already at the end of October, snow fell, frosts hit, but the work was carried out day and night for 12 hours per shift. In just a little over two months, it was possible to establish production and by the new 1942, the ammunition shop had released its new product - aircraft shells.

The main personnel of the plant consisted of workers sent from Moscow. There were 1,500 of them, headed by the appointed director P.I. The evacuated Zisovites were placed in Laishevsk, Baratayevka, Arsk, Kremenki (a suburb of Ulyanovsk) and other villages. Ulyanovsk youth joined the ranks of Muscovites. On the most difficult days, 16-17 year old boys and girls worked for 12-14 hours, helped in the hospital, orphanage, collected parcels with knitted things for the front. And they themselves constantly prepared themselves for the front. They studied to be submachine gunners, machine gunners, snipers, sappers.

By May 1942, the first five ZIS-5 vehicles were assembled. By this time, the following shops operated at the plant: MSC-1, MSC-2, normal shop, TsSIV (assembly and testing shop), instrumental 1 and 2, thermal with a metal coating department, mechanical assembly, railway, central laboratory. And in July 1942, when the assembly rate increased to 20-30 vehicles per day, the Ulyanovsk branch N4 of the ZIS (UlZIS) was officially appointed the head enterprise for the production of ZIS-5 vehicles. At the same time, there were assembled marching workshops on the basis of "ZIS-5", small car engines and gas generators for "ZIS-21".

On June 22, 1943, the State Defense Committee decided to build an automobile plant in Ulyanovsk. To this end, the city executive committee allocated 2000 hectares of land for industrial and housing construction beyond the Sviyaga River. At first, construction was carried out with great difficulty. At the same time, it was decided to erect a thermal power station. There were no building materials, there was a very shortage of qualified personnel, there was no forest and electricity: all this strongly hindered construction. But people overcame these difficulties: they built a brick factory in Vyrypaevka, in April 1944 a concrete one started working, in the Staromainsky district they organized logging. In September 1945, a team of carpenters N. Podosinnikov will initiate a competition for the early launch of the CHP. On October 8, the first brick will be laid, and five minutes before the new one, 1947, the new plant's CHP will give the long-awaited current.

One of the most interesting moments of that time was the creation of the UlZIS-253 car. Designers and technologists from the time they arrived in Ulyanovsk, in anticipation of a permanent refuge, first occupied the premises in the Palace of Books, then the building of the local history museum, and in the fall of 1944 they moved to the new territory of the plant outside Sviyaga. In the spring of 1943, chief designer B.L. Shaposhnik. was summoned to Moscow, where People's Commissar S.A. Akopov gave instructions to prepare new machines for production. And by May 1944 the first prototype of a diesel truck named "UlZIS-253" was assembled.
The designers Churazov, Davydov, Pakhter, Kuznetsov, Grishin and others took part in the work on it.
This 3.5-ton diesel truck was not inferior to the American "Studebaker" in terms of engine efficiency and dynamic qualities, was highly appreciated by specialists, but for a number of ordinary reasons did not go into the series.

Of the numerous plant staff, only a small part lived on the new site, the rest were still scattered around the villages. The settlement in October 1943 consisted of 8 barracks with 25 apartments, five wooden four-apartment houses. In one of the barracks, a club for 120 people and a hairdresser's, a room for visitors were equipped. Soon, primary and secondary schools, a health center and a hotel with 40 beds began to work. In 1944 residential barracks "Shalashi" were developed. These were semi-basement barracks, each of which occupied up to 40 families of automobile manufacturers. The total population of the village as of January 16, 1945 was 1200 people, of which 674 were factory workers.
In 1944, the car manufacturers opened their own hospital, as the city was no longer able to cope with the large influx of population.
In April 1944, an order was issued to open an auto-mechanical technical school, with the aim of educating competent specialists for the new plant. AM Golubev became the first director of the technical school. The first graduation of this technical school - several dozen technicians-technologists - took place on May 23, 1946 (three departments: forging and stamping, foundry and cold working).

At the end of 1944, the ZIS-5 car was transferred to the Urals in Miass, and our plant was instructed to master and launch the production of GAZ-AA cars. Already in the fall of 1945, a group of specialists from the Gorky Automobile Plant arrived in Ulyanovsk along with the first batches of various equipment and technical documentation. The plant, which was still under construction, was supposed to begin production of a one and a half ton truck "GAZ-AA".
In June 1947, the question arose about accelerating the construction of the main conveyor. This most important business was headed by the workers of the mechanical assembly shop, the head of which was T.F. Fuchs, foreman V.M. Yagodkin and the head of the assembly section V.M. Fadeev. Installation of drive and tensioning stations, conveyors, underground utilities went on for 14-15 hours in a row. Air ducts, exhaust ventilation system were installed by tinsmiths from M. Khairullin's brigade.

The first car left the workshop gate on October 26, 1947.
In August 1948, I.K. was appointed director of the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant. Loskutov, who previously worked as the director of GAZ. In the 50s, under his leadership, the construction of the main factory buildings was carried out: a forge, a press workshop, the building of the Main Conveyor, an automatic workshop, a chassis workshop, a wood-finishing workshop were opened at the plant.
In 1949 V.G. Demidenko, a former "Zisovets", who worked in Miass as the head of the tool shop throughout the war. His workpiece unification system revolutionized production.

In 1950, the UAZ-300, the first Ulyanovsk truck, passed road tests. It was first shown at the October 1949 demonstration. But this brainchild of Ulyanovsk designers was not destined to go into production. The plant was not ready to produce such machines.
In 1950 the enterprise significantly increased the production of GAZ-MM trucks, which had practically no structural differences from GAZ-AA. This was largely facilitated by the growth of production capacities and the release of new parts, which made it possible to significantly reduce the plant's dependence on GAZ supplies. At the same time, the management of the plant paid much attention to housing construction. Avtozavodskaya became the first street in the new residential area. And next to it, a cinema and concert hall was erected with a stage, backstage, rooms for circle work.

1950 to 1955 At the plant, a lot of work was done on the technical preparation of production for the release of the new GAZ-69 and GAZ-69A vehicles, transferred from GAZ. In the summer of 1955, by order of the Minister of the Automotive Industry of the USSR, the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant was instructed to master the production of GAZ-69 and GAZ-69A off-road passenger cars and trailers for them previously produced in Gorky. These machines were created by Gorky designers headed by G.M. Wasserman. and put on stream in 1953. Commissioning lots of all-terrain vehicles left the assembly line at the end of 1954. The first thousands of "green goats" were assembled from units and parts supplied to the plant from Gorky. Since 1955, the plant has officially specialized in the production of light-duty off-road vehicles. GAZ-69 is widely used in many sectors of the national economy in all climatic zones of the country. For its reliability, ease of use and other quality, it is gaining great popularity both in our country and abroad. And in 1956 it entered the world market. Already in 1959, the Ulyanovsk all-terrain vehicles were exported to 22 countries of the world.

In 1954, the department of the chief designer (OGK) was created at the plant. At first it was a small group led by I.A. Davydova, who received the documentation from GAZ and transferred it after processing and completing to the technological department. With the arrival of young specialists, the development of new vehicles of the "UAZ" family begins. Their first prototypes were assembled back in 1955. By this time, the department was replenished with highly qualified specialists, the head of the department was P.I. Muzyukin, State Prize Laureate (for GAZ-69).

Since 1955 "UAZ" has been specializing in the production of light-duty off-road vehicles. Two years later, the production of the all-wheel drive "UAZ" family of its own design began here. In the mid-60s, the plant developed and put into mass production cars of the UAZ-451 family with one drive axle, which were used mainly on asphalt roads.

The first vehicle of the new family was the UAZ-450A ambulance. A wagon layout with smooth contours, a curved windshield providing good visibility, several stretchers and seats in the cabin, two driving axles and a soft suspension - all this meant a kind of revolution in automotive technology. All over the world then there was no worthy competitor to this model. Taking into account the requirements of consumers, OGK develops new components and assemblies. Along with the ambulance, the UAZ-450D small-tonnage truck is being created.

In the 50s, among the specialists of the plant, the idea of ​​complex mechanization and automation of assembly production arose. Engineers came to the idea of ​​the need to create push conveyors. Their use would make it possible to use the entire volume of the building and the basement, organize the transportation of the main units of the car in a given direction, create hanging warehouses for their placement and food for workers. In 1960, a group of designers: Bykov P.V., A.I. Pyasetsky, V.I. Myazin, G.P. Beglov, P.V. Makarov, L.N. Kholodov, received an inventor's certificate (December 22) for the invention of the Push Rod Conveyor. The introduction of the new system into assembly production turned out to be so effective that the Izvestia newspaper wrote: "There is no such complex either at GAZ or ZIL. The Ulyanovsk people seemed to be ahead of their older brothers, from whom they recently took lessons in large-scale production." ...

In January 1961, it was decided to develop new car models. Already this year the plant starts serial production of a truck with an onboard platform - "UAZ-451D" and a van "UAZ-451". At the same time, work was constantly being carried out to improve the technical characteristics of cars, a more rational and convenient layout of units. In 1959, the development of a passenger car began, which was supposed to replace the GAZ-69.

In 1965, after careful work of designers on the cab, suspension, bridges, control tests of the UAZ-469 were carried out, and then the documentation for the car was transferred to the production preparation department.
In those years, many important large-scale objects were being built in Ulyanovsk, which were supposed to turn the city into a large industrial and cultural center. Violent construction began in Zasviyazhie as well. Comfortable houses, schools, hospitals and kindergartens were built in several central micro-districts. In 1964 alone, more than 500 families of automobile manufacturers celebrated housewarming. The Palace of Culture, a wide-screen cinema, a music school, and a library were under construction.

One of the main achievements of 1965 was the release of the UAZ-452A automobile, the brainchild of the designers E.G. Varchenko, L.A. Startseva, M.P. Tsyganova, S.M. Tyurin, in which hundreds of engineers, technologists, foremen and workers have invested their labor. At the same time, designers were intensively engaged in the creation of specialized vehicles based on serial cars.

Thus, a snowmobile vehicle was created on the basis of the UAZ-451D truck. Instead of the front wheels, he had steerable skis, and the rear axle was equipped with rubber-metal tracks. On the basis of the serial "UAZ", another interesting model was created - a snow and swamp-going vehicle with four caterpillar propellers. The very possibility of creating such original machines once again testified to the successful design solutions, the rich potential of the Ulyanovsk all-terrain vehicles. And, as a natural result, the international exhibition of agricultural machinery, which took place in May 1966 in Moscow, has borne well-deserved results. By the decision of the jury, the UAZ-452D truck was awarded the highest mark - a gold medal.

1966 was a significant year for the team of thousands of "UAZ". On August 20, UAZ was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for the early fulfillment of the seven-year plan, the successful introduction of new equipment and advanced technology into production. Many workers have been awarded high government awards for years of impeccable work. This is how the plant workers celebrated the 25th anniversary of their enterprise.

In January 1967, the USSR Ministry of Automotive Industry and the State Planning Committee of the SSR approved the design assignment for the reconstruction and expansion of the plant. This assignment envisaged an increase in the production of cars by 3.5 times and start the production of new models. At this time, I.D. Maslov, former secretary of the Ulyanovsk regional party committee. In the early 70s, preparations were underway to master the production of a new UAZ-469 passenger car. But the work was hampered by the lack of the necessary funds for the construction and technical re-equipment of workshops. The Ministry of Automotive Industry was reluctant to allocate additional funds. Only in March 1971, the minister agreed to look at the new cars. The products were presented by the chief designer P.I. Zhukov. Only after that did the minister agree to the allocation of the necessary funds and mass production of the new Ulyanovsk all-terrain vehicle.

The staff of the plant had to transfer the production of "GAZ-69" to other enterprises in a short time and prepare for uninterrupted and rhythmic work since 1972. In the spring of 1972, shortly after the formation of the AvtoUAZ production association (with the transfer of the Ulyanovsk Avtozapchast plant to the subordination of UAZ), the all-terrain vehicles of the new model successfully passed tests, the results of which convinced that the new Soviet cars are at a sufficiently high technical level. ... In 1972, an extension was made on the south side of the main conveyor, which made it possible to launch a second conveyor line. In just a few months, the production of trucks has increased by more than one and a half times, and labor productivity has grown significantly.

On December 15, 1972, the first production vehicles "UAZ-469" rolled off the main assembly line, the daily output of which was supposed to more than double in the 1st quarter of 1973.
By February 1974, the total number of cars produced by the plant was already approaching a million. On February 18, the millionth car rolled off the assembly line. It was a UAZ-452 car. Overcoming the difficulties of growth, the plant steadily developed the material and technical base to further increase the production of all-terrain vehicles.

One of the largest new buildings of the company at that time was the press-body building N2. The contours of the second blacksmith building were more and more clearly indicated. In place of the recent excavations, the foundation of a new mechanical building was growing. Designers, engineers, builders prepared for commissioning new production areas of large workshops to ensure the rhythmic operation of the conveyor. For 1974, it was planned to introduce complex mechanization of heavy and high-performance equipment for mechanized warehouses, modern transport technology. In 1975, it was planned to commission two apartment buildings, expand the sports and recreation facilities, including the construction of a swimming pool, sports grounds, a dispensary with a medical building. By the end of 1975, new production facilities, automatic lines, hundreds of units of the latest equipment were put into production at UAZ. The third mechanical assembly building began to operate, a mechanized line for assembling and welding of door extensions of the UAZ-469 car in the second press-body shop and a mechanized section for assembling bodies "UAZ-452A" in the second body shop were being prepared for launch.

On February 16, 1976, the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant was awarded the second Order of the Red Banner of Labor for the successful development of the production of new models of cars and the early fulfillment of the five-year plan.
In November 1977, the "UAZ-452" car (van) was awarded the State Quality Mark, and the highest quality category of the "UAZ-452D" car was again confirmed. Further reconstruction, which took place at the car plant, made it possible to dramatically increase labor productivity in a number of areas and improve the appearance of cars. The UAZ-452 body painting shop was comprehensively mechanized, an automatic machine shop was given new production areas, and the development of the forging shop capacities continued. For two and a half years, more than 150 advanced technological processes have been introduced, more than 6 thousand running meters of conveyors of various types have been commissioned. On the basis of the first and second press-body, frame, spar reinforcement shops, the PSP was organized; by combining several assembly, assembly-body and woodworking workshops - SKP. In November-December 1978, the MTP and the Exhibition Center were created.

But mechanization and automation of production were far from always accompanied by an improvement in the organization of labor. The main reasons are a low production culture, a shortage of skilled workers, and outdated equipment. The time has come to change the management style of labor organization and technical progress, introduce a system of effective control over the execution of decisions, and actively implement the experience of VAZ.
Soon the new general director of the AvtoUAZ association, candidate of technical sciences Vitaly Vasilyevich Takhtarov, appeared in the factory's large circulation "A system that meets the interests of everyone and everyone." What is the essence of this system? First of all, a large group of piecework workers was transferred to hourly wages with premiums for fulfilling norms and bonuses for their tension. The brigade became the lower self-supporting link. Production planning in standard hours, brigade cost accounting made it possible to centralize control over the course of production, repair work, supply of materials and components, reduce labor intensity. Relatively quickly, the VAZ system was adopted in the UPC, where the very specifics of labor presupposed collective forms of work. And in SMEs, it was necessary to carry out a number of activities with explanations in almost every team. With the introduction of a non-site structure of the shop, the role of the foreman should have increased, and his salary should have increased. The nature of the work of an engineer also changed. The scattered and low-powered design and technological services were replaced by large specialized engineering services equipped with modern technology and equipment. A few months later, positive results were already noted in the brigade organization of labor. Errors were pointed out at the same time. First of all, they included omissions in organizational and educational work, lack of purposeful training of the team, underestimation of traditions, features and methods of work at UAZ. At first, the centralization of repair services did not justify itself; it was noticed that the level of wages of certain categories of workers did not correspond to the results of their work. These difficulties were supposed to be overcome through further mechanization and automation of production, the introduction of more modern technological processes, an increase in the capacity of the MTP and PSP. The reconstruction of all enterprises of the association continued.

It is impossible to imagine modern life in our country without UAZ cars. Having replaced GAZ-69, UAZs confidently stepped onto the world market. If we make a list of all the countries where cars from Ulyanovsk have been exported since 1956, it will include almost 100 states. In order to conquer such a wide sales market, UAZ had to go through a lot of tests.
In 1974, 2 UAZ-469 "climbed to the top of Elbrus (4000 m) in just 25 minutes, taking into account the stops. (Only in 1997, the Land Rover decided to climb the same summit in order to set a record). Rocky slopes, steep, uneven ascents. were a novelty even for experienced testers, excellent sportsmen-racers V. Dunaev, Y. Bulagin, V. Kharuzhe.The cars passed this test with flying colors.

Tests of all-terrain vehicles in the northern regions of the country became memorable for many drivers, engineers and designers. They began in the mid-60s, when the plant produced the first samples of an ambulance for the Far North and Siberia "UAZ-452AS" - with additional heating, double glazing in the cabin, reinforced thermal insulation of the floor, roof and sidewalls. These cars had to pass a comprehensive check on difficult roads, with frosts reaching 60 °.
For several days in the Oymyakon area, tests were carried out at t -60 °, and the temperature in the nurses' cabin was maintained at + 30 °.

In 1975, a race took place in the Sahara desert, in 1979 - in the Kara-Kum desert. Previously, cars of this class did not go there. Commendable reviews about the work of "UAZ" come from Colombia, Egypt, Nepal, European countries. Our vehicles are very popular on the sugar cane plantations and construction sites in Cuba. The Trans-African race on four UAZ vehicles brought them wide popularity in Italy. For many years, these machines have been used to transport numerous tourists to Mount Vesuvius and Mount Etna. Since the beginning of the 60s, the plant began to cooperate with the Italian company of the Martorelli brothers, which bought GAZ-69, then UAZ. Now there is a jointly developed model "UAZ-Martorelli", which is produced on special orders.

In October 1978, in the city of San Remo, the second European competition for off-road vehicles was held, where our all-terrain vehicles took first places, and the representative of the plant, A.I. Kuznetsov, was awarded the main prize "Silver Jack".

In the 80-90s. the enterprise is continuously working on the modernization of all manufactured models. A series appears. Some of the new modifications were UAZ-31514 (metal roof, door locks, adjustable seats) and UAZ-31514-010 with spring suspension.

A major reconstruction of the plant is underway. Currently, more than a dozen basic models and about a hundred modifications come off the assembly lines for almost every taste. The plant constantly participates in exhibitions and advertising rallies, presents its products at car dealerships. The UAZ-3160 car was awarded a small gold medal and a diploma in Yekaterinburg at the international fair "Europe - Asia - Transit".

In 1989, at the invitation of the Central Television, a team of our testers took part in the "Great Silk Road" expedition. "UAZs" passed 10 thousand km along the roads of Central Asia, in no way inferior to the cars of the company "Mercedes-Benz", and overcoming climbs in the mountains at an altitude of more than 2000 m above sea level. "" UAZs even had an advantage in speed Over the past two decades, a lot of changes have taken place at the plant.

In the 80s, designers created several interesting cars that did not go into series for a number of reasons. For example, by the 80s, a car, an environmentally friendly model, was created. A one and a half ton truck, with a diesel engine, was developed for a plant under construction in Kirovabad. And in 1983, a group of designers received government awards for the invention of the floating car "Jaguar". This model was intended for the army, in particular for border guards. The speed on the water is 8-10 km / h. there are still no analogues to this car in the world.
For active assistance in the development of trade, economic, scientific and technical relations with foreign countries in 1982, the car plant was awarded a diploma of the USSR Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

In 1992, the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant was transformed into an open joint-stock company "Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant", and a firm "Autotekhobsluzhivanie" was created to work with clients. In October 1994, the plant was awarded the Golden Globe international prize for an outstanding contribution to the development of the country's economy and integration into the world economy, as well as for competitive and high-quality products, which were repeatedly awarded the State Quality Mark, as well as medals and diplomas. On February 13, 1997, a new workshop "3160" was launched at the plant and the production of small series cars (PAMS) was organized. The first model mastered here was the "UAZ-3153" with an extended base.

On August 5, 1997, the first pilot batch of "UAZ-3160" rolled off the main conveyor belt. This car, in terms of its technical and economic parameters, fully meets the requirements for cars of this class, can be operated in all climatic zones of Russia. The applied technical solutions make it possible to improve reliability, increase the resource up to 220 thousand km. Installation of new engines, both gasoline and diesel (from 100 to 120 hp - "Volga Motors", "Mercedes", "Peugeot", "VM"), will allow, depending on the type of road, to reduce fuel consumption to 14 liters for 100 km.

During 1996-2000, UAZ implemented the 1st stage of updating the produced automotive equipment, putting into production a new UAZ-3160 jeep model. At the same time, a deep modernization of mass-produced cars was carried out. On the basis of serial jeeps, production facilities have been organized: the long-wheelbase UAZ-3153 car, the UAZ-3159 model car with an electronic fuel injection engine mod. ZMZ-409 manufactured by the Zavolzhsky Motor Plant. Serial production of the car began in January 2001. In addition, the preparation of production was completed and the serial production of new car models based on small-tonnage vehicles was started: UAZ-39094 (Farmer-1) with a five-seater metal platform cab; UAZ-39095 (Farmer-2) with a berth in the cab and a metal platform.

The work done to expand the model range of manufactured vehicles allowed JSC "UAZ" to maintain its market for cars in the total volume of sales of automotive equipment in the Russian Federation and the CIS countries. In June 1998, UAZ started assembling vehicles with the UAZ-31604 diesel engine. In the future, the emergence of a range of vehicles based on a new truck chassis, which will include a modern bus, a new truck and a new version of a farm vehicle. UAZ has a strategic program to equip its cars with new models of parts that meet Euro-2 environmental requirements. At present, some of the vehicles are equipped with engines with electronic fuel injection produced by the Zavolzhsky Motor Plant (model ZMZ-409) and JSC Volzhskie Motors (mod. 4213 and mod. 420).

In addition, work is underway to equip cars with diesel engines from the Zavolzhsky Motor Plant, GAZ and, in part, imported ones. new productions were organized at UAZ: Production of new bridges, which made it possible to increase the resource of bridges by 2 times in comparison with serially produced ones; Production of front disc brakes instead of drum brakes; Production of a 5-speed gearbox for completing cars of new models UAZ-3160 and UAZ-3162. The cars are equipped with new units: Diaphragm clutch instead of the lever clutch, which made it possible to increase the resource by 2 times; Power steering replaces the old worm gear design for improved vehicle handling.

During 1996-2000. UAZ has done a lot of work on the development of a new low-tonnage car with a semi-hood configuration of the "Multivan" type. The basic version of the proposed car has a 7-9 seater body with a base of 3000 mm. There is a modification that can accommodate up to 12 people. a large amount of work has been done at the plant to develop and implement a comprehensive plan for the development of science and technology.

Over the years, in the main shops of the existing production, the following have been introduced: 770 organizational and technical measures, the introduction of which has provided savings in the amount of 79.2 million rubles. Due to the introduction of new technological processes, a decrease in the technological labor intensity of the produced automotive equipment was ensured by 865.0 thousand standard hours. 1309 workplaces have been rationalized, labor work has been mechanized for 576 workers. In order to improve the technical level of production over the years, 335 units of technological equipment were introduced in the shops of the main production, including 11 automatic lines and 137 units of high-performance equipment. The introduction of high-performance equipment made it possible to free up 307 units of obsolete and physically worn-out equipment. In order to introduce new technologies, UAZ involved up to 50 research, design and engineering institutes and educational institutions in joint work. The plant's services have developed a program for certification of manufactured vehicles.

With annual plans for technical re-equipment of the existing production, 96 facilities were built and put into operation, and more than 230.0 million rubles were spent. Of these, about 48.0 million rubles for construction and installation work. 800 tons, a section for the production of a metal platform for trucks was put into operation. In the mechanical assembly production, a line for processing a brake drum was introduced into production, a section for assembling bridges of a new design. In the Office of the Chief Designer, the "Design Center" with a model workshop was commissioned to work on new promising car models. The production facilities have introduced 5,000 running meters of conveyors, 20.0 thousand units. returnable packaging, 330 units lifting and mechanized warehouses. Over the past 2 years, in connection with the development of new cars, a lot of work has been done in the transport and storage facilities of the plant. The transport systems in the press-welding and assembly-body industries were reconstructed. The production and storage facilities in the body shop N1 were expanded due to the commissioning of a gallery between the mechanical assembly buildings N1 and N2. UAZ introduced a technological process for the manufacture of complex technological equipment using end-to-end computer technology using a mathematical model of the object. The present, 2001, is significant for the plant in that it celebrates its major jubilee this year - its 60th anniversary. And together with his 60th birthday, the time of his second youth came for him!

A radical turn in the fate of the car plant, a new era in its development was played by the arrival of the Severstal team at the plant. An active, promising program has been outlined, which is now starting to operate. "To used foreign cars - resolute" no ", green light - to domestic manufacturers" - this is the leitmotif of the current state policy in the automotive industry. The state of affairs at the plant cannot be assessed in isolation from the general state of affairs in the domestic auto industry. First Deputy Minister of Industry, Science and Technology of the Russian Federation, Member of the Board of Directors of UAZ S. Mitin regards it as quite stable, and the prospects for market development as positive. An example of this is the saturation of the fleet, the state of Russian technology: 40 percent of the cars have already exhausted their resource. This situation presupposes the renewal of the fleet, which means an increase in demand. No exporter can offer a machine at our price. We can only hope for the domestic industry. At a meeting with the President of the Russian Federation on June 6, which was attended by directors of the largest factories, government officials and managers of Severstal, this enterprise was assigned a large niche. The position of SUVs and four-wheel drive vehicles held by UAZ is being filled by no one today. So, in the strategic plan, the prospects of the car plant are serious. The demand for commercial vehicles for agriculture will also increase. Today it is on the rise. Here the position of UAZ is clearly visible: to provide an offer for the demand that can be expected - at least 100 thousand cars of this class per year. Recently, a new director came to the plant: P.P. Lezhankin handed over to E. Shpakovsky, who has all the quality necessary for a production worker and manager. "

The Ulyanovsk-Zavolzhye-Cherepovets-Ulyanovsk motor rally was called the caravan of friendship, the purpose of which was to demonstrate to allied enterprises the final products of the joint activity - new models of Ulyanovsk cars. that they are Russian

The history of the plant after 2001 in pictures:

The upcoming 2015 will be the last for the UAZ - after 43 years on the assembly line, it will be discontinued. Today we will talk about the compromises of its design, about the modernization and the farewell anniversary version of 2015.

Over the years of production, he had to change several names: UAZ-469, UAZ-3151, UAZ-Hunter ... And how many modifications and special versions have been created over all these years! At the same time, the essence of this car has never changed - exactly as we know it, our fathers and even grandfathers knew it ... And it will be all the more interesting to look at some little-known facts about the biography of the legendary UAZ.

How it all began

The beginning of the countdown of the history of this machine in different sources is called different - after all, it can be counted from the start of production, and from state acceptance, and from the end of testing or design ... We will venture to assert that history is precisely the history of creation - this machine begins back in 1956, although the car, which they began to design at that time at UAZ, did not even have a remote resemblance to the final product.

The legendary UAZ was started by ... an amphibious vehicle. In 1956, the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant, which then produced GAZ-69 and GAZ-69A, received an order from the Ministry of Defense to develop a floating jeep. In those years, such army vehicles were a "trend" in the world, and the Soviet military looked back primarily at the main strategic enemy - the United States.

The new Soviet jeep, in addition to the buoyancy property, had to have a ground clearance of 400 mm in order to pass along a tank track, as well as a fully independent suspension and a carrying capacity designed for 7 passengers or 800 kg.

At that time, the department of the chief designer (OGK) at UAZ was loaded with the development of the UAZ-450 family and its successor UAZ-452, which we have already talked about. Nevertheless, work on a new army jeep began to boil, but soon the requirements of the military were supplemented: it was necessary to install a recoilless gun on an SUV - the Americans began to put such weapons on their light vehicles. And it does not matter that in the USA this way they armed land jeeps (you have to "catch up and overtake"), and the already partly designed Soviet amphibian has a rear-engine layout, and when the gun was installed, the powder gases would be shot directly into the engine compartment.

For the engineering staff of UAZ, this, in fact, meant starting all the work from the beginning, moving the power unit forward. Surprisingly, it was this circumstance that helped the legendary UAZ, which we know now, to appear. Moreover, after changing the layout to the front-engine one, the following happened: the Ministry of Defense removed the requirement for the car's buoyancy, transferring the UAZ to the topic of land vehicles for the army, and the issue with a recoilless gun disappeared from the requirements of the terms of reference.

Nevertheless, the requirements for independent suspension and ground clearance of 400 mm, the possibility of transporting up to 7 people or 800 kg of cargo remained. Moreover, the car body should be unified for the transport of goods and people, while the previous army jeep had two modifications - a three-door cargo GAZ-69 and a five-door passenger GAZ-69A. And what about the ground clearance? The non-trivial ability of the new jeep to walk on a tank track forced the developers to look for completely non-standard solutions.

Legendary "military" bridges

They started, however, from what had already been developed. In 1960, two prototypes were assembled - one of them was designated UAZ-460 and had a chassis from the "Loaf" UAZ-450 with dependent suspension. The second, called UAZ-470, already had an independent torsion bar suspension inherited from the previously developed amphibian.

The first option did not suit the military - the required clearance value was not achieved in this way, and in terms of performance characteristics such a car was for the most part a repetition of the GAZ-69. The customer insisted on the second version, with an independent torsion bar suspension (wishbones plus longitudinal torsion bars) and wheel reduction gears - this machine showed truly unprecedented results on the off-road.

However, there were also some sensitive disadvantages. Firstly, the car provided the declared clearance only in an unloaded state, and when the load was taken on board, the body sagged heavily. Secondly, a separate production was required for an independent suspension, and therefore a new transmission, in which the customer was not going to invest. And thirdly, the study of foreign analogues revealed other design imperfections: the developers of the American Ford M151 could not achieve the desired balance, and on the East German Sachsenring P3, obtained from the famous Horch, during comparative tests, the front suspension on the left side was completely destroyed after contact with a piece of pipe just lying on the ground.

So how to achieve the "indestructibility" and cheapness inherent in an army jeep, while maintaining a high ground clearance? It was decided to take a step back by using a dependent bridge suspension scheme, leaving the keles gearboxes in the structure. That is, sacrifice the smoothness of the ride, but give a high figure for the clearance. But even here pitfalls were discovered: calculations showed that such a car simply would not be able to drive.

External gear reducers, generally accepted at that time, made it possible to reduce the size of the main gear housing (GP) by 100 mm, because the function of increasing the torque is now partly transferred to the wheel gears, and to give an increase in clearance by another 100 mm due to the center-to-center distance of the gears in the gearboxes themselves ...

It turns out exactly the same 400 mm from the road to the GP crankcase, even with a small margin, but ... the bending moment in this case will simply pull out massive U-shaped bridges from the attachment points. And this is only half the trouble: the car itself will have a too high center of gravity and, accordingly, a tendency to roll over. It turned out that a car with the given dimensions cannot have more than 320 mm.

In order to fit the suspension into these values ​​(and there was no other option left), an ingenious solution was found: in wheel reduction gears, go from external gearing to a more compact internal one, when one gear is located inside the other and the center-to-center distance is thus only 60 mm instead of 100 mm ... Yes, the ground clearance is only 320 mm, but such a car will be stable and reliable. As a result, the Ministry of Defense approved just such an option, and the future showed that the compromise was absolutely correct.

The final suspension scheme was approved on November 1, 1960, and in 1961 the first sample of an off-road vehicle was assembled, which was named UAZ-469. The car inherited the element base from the second iteration of the UAZ-452 "Loaf": a frame, an overhead valve 75-horsepower engine, which was also installed on the new Volga GAZ-21, and a 4-speed gearbox. The front drive was designed to be switchable, the transfer case-demultiplier was in the same housing with the gearbox, which favorably distinguished the new jeep from the GAZ-69, where the cardan transmission between the nodes created most of the noise and vibration. The ideology of the chassis was complemented by new axles with internal gear reducers. The very ones!

Interestingly, in parallel with this, another, albeit outwardly very similar, prototype was assembled, the UAZ-471, which had a monocoque body (!), An independent suspension without wheel gears and a promising 4-cylinder V-shaped engine. The engine was approved, but did not go into production, and in general, the final choice by the military was made in favor of the time-tested frame architecture.

Design, competitors and a long way to the conveyor

And only after that, in fact, the birth of that design of the UAZ-469, which is now known to everyone, began. It was not called design at that time, there were engineers and their variety - body designers. In the canonical form, the appearance of the UAZ took shape by 1961. It was then that cars were assembled with a hood rounded from the sides, as if covering the headlights, slightly inflated front fenders and characteristic door openings, beveled at the rear.

In 1961, such a car (albeit still with the "old" UAZ-460 index) in a stylish two-tone orange-and-white livery was even shown at VDNKh - and where, one wonders, has all the military secrecy gone ?! Indeed, just a few years ago, only a couple of employees were engaged in this project at the UAZ, who were sitting in the office behind a locked lattice door with a sign "No entry, call for employees!"

In the same 1961, the UAZ passed comparative tests with the off-road vehicles of the NATO countries. Central Asia, Pamir, Caspian Sea and back along the Volga - this was the run. Tests at the NIIII-21 tank range were spelled out in a separate line. Eyewitnesses claim that all tests ended in complete immobilization of competitors. The legendary Land Rover Defender was invariably among the defeated, both then and after. "Def" drowned in Indonesia, got stuck at the NIIII-21 range, and rolled off the slope of Elbrus not on wheels, but head over heels! However, as is often the case, Land Rover fans probably have other comparative test data.

In the next few years, the proportions of the body were slightly refined, an optimal solution was found for the configuration of the slots of the radiator grille ... By the way, in the course of these works, an unexpected "by-product" was obtained: the UAZ emblem was born - the same one that we see on Ulyanovsk jeeps to this day day. Among other things, a modification of the machine without wheel gears was developed, called UAZ-469B (the letter meant "gearless"). Due to this circumstance, UAZs among the people will subsequently be divided into cars with "collective farm" and "military" bridges. But the introduction of the car into the series was held back by the work that was not listed at all.

According to one of the versions, in those years, the Ministry of Automotive Industry allocated funds mainly for the launch and "buildup" of new plants - first VAZ, then KAMAZ, and the rest were financed on a leftover basis. According to another version, the path of the UAZ-469 to the conveyor complicated the shortage of new engines. Be that as it may, and pre-production copies were assembled only in 1971, production vehicles with gearless axles appeared in December 1972, and a machine with wheel gears, which was the base one and was developed first, appeared in the series, oddly enough. only six months later - in the summer of 1973.

Why is the UAZ better than the "Lawn"?

The distribution on the conveyor was as follows: 20% of all manufactured vehicles fell on "military" bridges, 80% - on "collective farm" bridges. Initially, the division according to the version of the body was also laid - after assembly on the conveyor of the lower part, some bodies were supposed to be equipped with a tent top, and others - with a rigid "fold-over" as a roof. But the UAZ-469 in all cases was "sharpened" for the carriage of both goods and passengers - 175 mm longer than the GAZ-69A, which has an 80 mm larger base, and being 35 mm wider and 57 mm higher than its predecessor , UAZ made it possible to get by with one "universal" option. The cabin could accommodate 5 passengers, and in the rear compartment - two more people on folding "chairs" and / or luggage.

Yes, the body of the well-deserved "Lawn" in a three-door version made it possible to accommodate one more person, but the total carrying capacity of the new UAZ was at a different height - during the tests, the car calmly took on board two people and 600 kg of cargo (or 7 people and 100 kg) and pulled for a GAZ-407 trailer with a ballast of 850 kg. The power system was the same as in the "Gazon" - from two fuel tanks, but the consumption per hundred kilometers of track was reduced by about 2 liters.

A more powerful engine, a spacious interior, improved ergonomics, increased convenience for getting in and out, a drop board that served as a continuation of the body when transporting long vehicles and higher manufacturability ... was not too high, and the front glass did not fold back, which made it difficult to shoot - as we remember, the main purpose of this machine was army. But the combination of all the qualities made it possible to call the UAZ-469 a new generation car. And so he was in for great success.

The car was exported to 80 countries of the world (and in the USSR it was sold to private hands before perestroika only for special merits) and was very popular not only in third world countries, but also in Europe. In Italy, the enterprising Martorelli brothers created their own version of the UAZ, in which they won the national autocross championship in 1978, which greatly helped export sales and the image of UAZ as a whole. In the USSR, the UAZ factory team took first place in autocross 12 times, and in 1974 the "collective farm" UAZ-469B conquered Elbrus, climbing to a height of 4,200 meters ... In addition, the car took part in races across the Sahara (1975) and Karakum deserts (1979).

Team of their youth

The most controversial issue in the history of the UAZ-469 is "who created it." The fact is that it is impossible to name one person here, and this is partly due to the specifics of the OGK UAZ of those years. At the end of the 50s, the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant was experiencing its rebirth, and the engineering staff had to be re-created, for which several experienced specialists were sent from GAZ, in whose subordination were several dozen yesterday's students of KHADI, MAMI, Gorky and Volgograd Polytechnics, as well as others technical universities of the country.

In total, there were about 80 people in the team, each was engaged in his own narrow segment of work and was often transferred from project to project by his superiors (it is precisely because of this, by the way, that it is so difficult to collect information about the creation of a specific UAZ model of those years). However, the team was talented and worked efficiently, completely dispensing with bureaucratic red tape and strict hierarchy (which was neither before nor after!) UAZ-469 business here, believe me, is not limited. Nevertheless, several key figures in the fate of the UAZ-469 can and should be distinguished.

At the time of the development of the prototype, the chief designer of the UAZ was Pyotr Ivanovich Muzyukin, it all started with him. The first prototypes were assembled and designed by Lev Adrianovich Startsev, who later became the chief designer of the plant. The same axles with wheel gears, which served as the main stumbling block at the design stage, were developed by Georgy Konstantinovich Mirzovev, in the future the chief designer of the Volga Automobile Plant. And the design of the car was developed by Mirzoev's close friend - designer Albert Mikhailovich Rakhmanov, who later headed the UAZ design center, and then worked under the "creative direction" of Yuliy Georgievich Borzov, the leading body designer.

The designers of the UAZ-452 van E.V. Varchenko, L.A. Startsev, M.P. Tsyganov and S.M. Tyurin, after all, it was the "Loaf" that became the "donor" of the units for the UAZ-469. In addition, Ivan Alekseevich Davydov, who stood at the origins of the very first "Loaf" UAZ-450, is called the ideological inspirer of the UAZ jeep in many sources. In 1972, the model was brought into serial production by Pyotr Ivanovich Zhukov, who at that time was appointed chief designer. The production was financed by the Minavtoprom, which was headed by Alexander Mikhailovich Tarasov, and the final "go-ahead" for this production, as the legend says, was given by Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, to whom the UAZ workers fitted a prototype as a car for hunting ...

Modernization

In the army, sports and agriculture, the UAZ very soon became an indispensable assistant. But over time, he demanded modernization to meet the tightening requirements of safety, ecology and ergonomics. An option with an all-metal roof appeared, the engine power was first raised to 80 hp. in the army version (the cooling system became closed at the same time), and then they completely changed the engine to 90-horsepower on all modifications. The suspension of the power unit has become softer, the gearbox is five-speed, the transfer case is fine-modular and low-noise.

Instead of lever shock absorbers, hydraulic telescopic ones appeared, the bridges were replaced by reliable continuous ones, the suspension in the part of the elastic element first evolved from a simple spring to a leaf spring, and then completely became spring. The lighting equipment was modernized, the windshield was made one-piece, the wipers were moved to its lower part. A vacuum booster and a hydraulic clutch were introduced into the design, more modern suspended pedals, comfortable seats and an efficient heater appeared in the cabin ...

In 1985, the model was renamed according to the new standard - the military jeep became known as UAZ-3151 (formerly UAZ-469), the civil modification UAZ-31512 (UAZ-469B), the version with an all-metal roof received the UAZ-31514 index, the long wheelbase - UAZ-3153 ... The active phase of modernization continued until the early 1990s, after which the car plant focused on other developments - the not very successful UAZ-3160 Simbir and the quite viable UAZ Patriot that followed. By the way, the same "four hundred and sixty-ninth" served as the basis for these developments.

New time

In 2003, the UAZ-3151, a direct descendant of the UAZ-469, acquired a deluxe version, which was named UAZ Hunter, leaving the unreadable index 315195 for in-plant needs. Despite all the multi-stage modernization and stylistic tweaks, the "Hunter" remained the same "goat" (a nickname inherited from the GAZ-69 for the effect of galloping or longitudinal swing) with all the following pros and cons. Moreover, from April 2010 to June 2011, 5000 copies of the "real" UAZ-469 were produced - the jubilee series was dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the Victory. By that time, the total number of UAZ-469 / UAZ-3151 / UAZ "Hunter" produced exceeded 2 million ...

What's next? The days of the legendary UAZ seem to be numbered. Firstly, the market chooses the more comfortable UAZ Patriot, and secondly, the Hunter does not fit into modern security requirements. And thirdly, the equipment of the conveyor, where these machines are produced, is completely worn out, unable to ensure the proper assembly quality, and its replacement would cost more than 1 billion rubles. The management of the plant will more willingly invest this money in the development of an independent front suspension, the purchase of foreign components and the production of a short-base version of the Patriot, which is supposed to occupy the niche of the Hunter, aka UAZ-469 ... End of the legend?

Final version. To be or not to be?

In early 2014, it was announced that Hunter had about a year left to live on the assembly line - his departure was scheduled for 2015. However, in the spring of 2014, there were reports that before the final parting with the model, the plant will release a limited farewell series of increased comfort and cross-country ability, as well as with a design complemented by laconic but noticeable touches. As we managed to find out, such a version is really planned, but the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant itself has an indirect relationship to the topic, and the development of the machine is carried out by the forces of an engineering company involved from outside.

The complete list of innovations in the design of this car looks almost more impressive than everything that happened to the UAZ-469 and its versions during mass production: the climate system of the Russian brand "Frost" (the same company has developed air conditioners for the Lada 4x4), completely lowering front windows (previously it was only possible to move a part of the glass back), a completely new instrument panel, improved body seals, a "chandelier" with fog lights on the roof, forced locking of the front axle (developed at UAZ) and impressive off-road wheels with dimensions 245/75 R16 (probable brand - Kumho Mud Terrain).

Sounds great, right? Alas, this is just a farewell version, and not a new serial version - the planned initial circulation of the novelty was only about 500 cars, the further depends on demand, but ... hardly even such steps to improve the design of the UAZ can seriously extend its conveyor life. However, for some lucky ones, this would be an excellent chance to touch the legend, and in its coolest performance in history.

According to our information, all the "upgrade" items should have added about 100,000 rubles to the price of the UAZ, but taking into account the current instability, in fact, even more may turn out. However, a limited edition is a limited edition. Another thing is that since the summer of 2014 there was a pause during the project - all the documentation was transferred by the developers to the UAZ, and then ...

Two prototypes of UlZiS-253 during the test run Ulyanovsk - Moscow

The first years of the work of the automobile plant in Ulyanovsk fell on the hard times of war. Even its very appearance was the result of the outbreak of war. In October 1941, when there was a real threat of the capture of Moscow by the Germans, in accordance with the decision of the State Defense Committee, the transfer to the deep rear of the main industrial enterprises of the capital began, including the Stalin Plant. Equipment dismantled on it arrived in Ulyanovsk day and night by rail. The workers of ZiS, transferred by the same echelons, despite the bitter frosts reaching -45 o C, practically unloaded it from the cars on their hands and transported it by dragging to several warehouses located on the banks of the Volga, which were given over to production workshops, and before that they served as warehouses of the State customs office.

In the center of the group of Ulyanovsk testers is Boris Lvovich Shaposhnik, who held the position of chief designer at the plant. In the background - UlZiS-253

The work was in full swing around the clock, thanks to which the new enterprise produced its first products in three months, in February 1942. True, these were not cars - as soon as they entered service, the tool shop immediately began to manufacture ammunition. And the production of trucks, the famous "Zakharov", as the three-ton ZiS-5 was then called, in Ulyanovsk began two months later, in April. Since the conveyor was not yet ready, at first the cars were assembled on trestles, and the first few weeks - without installing engines, which by that time had not been mastered in Miass, where part of the equipment of the capital's auto giant was also evacuated. In July, the daily assembly rate was brought to 20-30 vehicles, and the Ulyanovsk branch of the Stalin Plant, which by that time had received the name UlZiS, was officially appointed the head enterprise for the production of ZiS-5. Six months of selfless efforts of workers and specialists have done their job: a new automobile plant has entered service! Three months later, in October, the last point was set in the first stage of its formation: the main conveyor was launched, thanks to which the production of Zakharov was brought up to 60 units per day, and by the end of 1943 it was increased by one and a half times. In the same period, several hundred American Studebakers were assembled in the workshops of the enterprise - they were used as a chassis for the famous Katyushas.

In 1950, to replace the GAZ-AA, the UAZ-302 was developed with a carrying capacity of one and a half tons.

In February 1944, the production of Zakharov was completely transferred to the Miass Automobile Plant (MaZiS, now the Ural Automobile Plant), where by the end of 1942 the capacity for the production of 10 thousand engines and 15 thousand gearboxes intended for these trucks was deployed. And on the basis of UlZiS, they decided to build a completely new car-building enterprise, for which they chose a site not far from the Sviyaga River. Immediately after the war, a model was also outlined for development at its capacities - it was the one and a half ton GAZ-AA (later GAZ-MM). The Gorky Automobile Plant, which manufactured these cars, just at that time began technological re-equipment to launch the promising GAZ-51 into a series, and the famous and inexpensive lorries in production were transferred to Ulyanovsk. Their release at the new production site began in October 1947 and was carried out until 1955, when the residents of Ulyanovsk got another equally famous car from the Gorky residents, which had by that time been popularly nicknamed "goat" and "gazik", and in official documents called GAZ-69 and GAZ-69A. Thus, before the start of production of light all-terrain vehicles in its workshops, the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant managed to provide the country with tens of thousands of Zakhars and one and a half - two of the most famous domestic trucks at that time. However, even with the onset of the era of “gas workers”, which became the main model for the enterprise for many years to come, the cargo topic did not recede into the background. Quite the opposite: the success of UAZ as a developer of automotive technology was primarily associated with cargo models.

In 1955, the famous "gaziks" were installed on the UAZ conveyor

YOUR RUT

The fact that it was trucks that became the engine of progress for the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant are not empty words. Yes, from the moment of its foundation until the mid-50s, the enterprise produced exclusively cars developed by other factories, but this did not prevent its designers from actively engaged in the creation of promising models of trucks.

The prototype UAZ-450 in the NAMI version with roof and sidewall lines descending to the rear of the body

The first of them was built by Ulyanovsk by May 1, 1944. Moreover, it was not a deeply modernized ZiS-5, as it would be logical to assume, but a machine designed, as they say, from scratch. With a carrying capacity of 3.5 tons, she received a modern for that time cab and hood, a roomy side body, and most importantly - a diesel engine. The prototype was named UlZiS-253. The history of its appearance is as follows. In the spring of 1943, the chief designer of UlZiS, Boris Lvovich Shaposhnik (the same one under whose leadership the unique multi-axle rocket carriers would later be created at MAZ), was summoned to the People's Commissariat, among the chief designers of other automotive enterprises in the country, where they were tasked with developing and starting to prepare the production of a new automotive equipment, which had to go out on the roads of the country after the victory. Just think: quite recently the Battle of Stalingrad rumbled, the battle on the Kursk Bulge has not yet taken place, in fact, the outcome of the war is not fully determined, and car factories have already received instructions to create post-war models! And after all, the Ulyanovsk designers, who worked in an emergency mode and utterly loaded with the execution of the current tasks literally piling up one on top of the other, found the time and energy to fulfill the order of the People's Commissariat! Moreover, to complete it successfully: their first independent development was not ashamed to be put on a par with the cars that went into series after the end of the Great Patriotic War. And it is not the fault of the Ulyanovskites that in 1945 a decision was made to reorient the enterprise to the production of GAZ-AA, which is why UlZiS-253 never entered the conveyor.

UAZ-450 in the factory version, adopted for mass production

And what about the factory designers? Following the enterprise, which changed the class of manufactured trucks, they did the same, starting to design models of light duty.

The UAZ-469, which entered the assembly line in December 1972, turned out to be the last new model of the plant during the Soviet period.

Based on the fact that the cars produced by the plant are too close to the GAZ-51 in terms of the weight of the transported cargo and, in fact, duplicate it, the developed model was initially decided to dilute as much as possible in terms of tonnage with the Gorky analogue. It was named UAZ-300 and was designed to carry one ton of cargo. The first and, apparently, the last official display of the novelty took place in 1949 during a demonstration in Ulyanovsk in honor of the October Revolution. In terms of the design of the hood, fenders and cockpit, this monochromatic in many ways echoed the "Victory" that had just appeared then. Its smooth aerodynamic contours contrasted sharply with the archaic GAZ-AA, which at about the same time entered the factory conveyor. A year later, it was decided to make a complete analogue of the Gorky lorry mastered in the series, which, being a model of the next generation, could easily replace it in production. The UAZ-300 was modified: the carrying capacity was raised to one and a half tons, the frame and suspension were strengthened, and the rear wheels were double-sided. But even in this form, the car, which appeared in November 1950 under the name UAZ-302, did not receive the green light: the enterprise at that time did not have the equipment, technologies and resources for its manufacture. However, the residents of Ulyanovsk did not waste their time and effort on experimental developments: if it were not for them, and it is still unknown how the UAZ-450 family cars would have turned out, the creation of which the plant began in the mid-50s.

The honor of becoming the millionth "UAZ" in February 1974 fell to the UAZ-452 van

"BUKHANKI" AND "GOLOVATIKI"

In the spring of 1955, by order of the Ministry of the Automotive Industry of the USSR, the Ulyanovsk plant was instructed to carry out a cycle of development work in a short time to create a family of small-tonnage trucks, which would include an ambulance and a truck, a van and a minibus. Naturally, the new models, which received the UAZ-450 industry index, were to be developed with the widest possible use of the aggregate base of the GAZ-69 SUV, the serial production of which was just at that time unfolding in Ulyanovsk. That's when the experience of creating the UAZ-300 came in handy! Having already tried the bonnet scheme, not his example, the designers, as a result of heated discussions, nevertheless decided not to go the usual, but ultimately less productive way, creating an elongated modification of the "goat", but chose a more promising concept of a car with a cab over the engine, although at that time no one has ever produced such trucks in the country.

UAZ-452V during tests on Elbrus. 1975 year

The cabover configuration made it possible to achieve the maximum length of the side body with the minimum length of the car itself, reduce the curb weight, increase the geometric cross-country ability, reduce the turning radius and, importantly, create a minibus completely unified with other modifications of the family not only in terms of components and assemblies, but also in the body ... Calculations showed that the front axle from the GAZ-69 will withstand the load that has increased due to the installation of a forward-shifted cab. But in order to achieve an increase in the carrying capacity of promising trucks from 500 to 800 kg, the developers still had to use reinforced suspension and tires.

In 1980, the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant began testing the amphibious UAZ-3907 "Jaguar"

A lot of effort was spent on the search for the external appearance of the UAZ-450. Ulyanovsk residents quickly shook off the design option proposed by US with roof and sidewall lines descending to the rear of the body, with a flat windshield divided into two halves. But what can you offer in return? The final drawing of the exterior of the car in the form in which we all know it now was finally ready just a few hours before the departure of the plant management to Moscow for the final approval of the draft design!

In 1997, the UAZ-39094 with a two-row cab, which became one of the most demanded cargo models of the enterprise, was added to the range of commercial "UAZs"

Then the time came for the embodiment of new small-tonnage trucks in metal. First, a prototype of the UAZ-450A ambulance was built, then it was the turn of an all-metal van and an onboard truck. The first, due to its rounded shape and several stiffening ribs located across the roof, was popularly nicknamed "loaf", and the second, due to the obvious visual dominance of the cab over the body, was nicknamed "tadpole" in everyday life. Already in 1958, they all went into mass production. That is, from the moment the design began to the moment the fundamentally new family was put on the conveyor, only three years have passed! Unfortunately, not much time will pass, and the Ulyanovsk people, and the entire Soviet auto industry, will only dream of such promptness of the introduction of new technology.

Since 1985, UAZ has been working on the KiAZ-3727 family of one and a half, which they planned to produce at the Kirovabad Automobile Plant under construction in Azerbaijan.

But in the late 50s - early 60s, the designers inspired by the success did not think about this - they immediately began to improve the cabover, barely launched into production, while simultaneously solving two most important tasks. Based on the first, it was necessary to develop an urban, that is, a less expensive version of the UAZ-450 in production with a drive only to the rear wheels. The second task implied a comprehensive improvement of components and assemblies of cars of the family, taking into account the comments identified in the first years of their operation. Rear-wheel drive modifications, for the creation of which it was required to seriously modify the frame, suspension, gearbox, propeller shaft, steering and braking system, under the general designation UAZ-451, entered the conveyor in 1961. A year later, the first samples of the UAZ-452 appeared with a new transfer case, improved axles and a body, which went into series in 1966. Having repeatedly undergone modernization, the family of these small-tonnage trucks has quite successfully survived to this day - the UAZ-452D flatbed truck, which has been produced since 1985 under the UAZ-3303 index, ended its conveyor life only at the end of last year. But its lengthened version UAZ-33036 with a carrying capacity increased to 1.2 tons remained on the stream. To this day, other modifications of the cabover family created more than half a century ago are preserved in the production program of the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant, a number of which in 1997 was replenished with a truck with a two-row five-seat cab.

By 1999, UAZ developed Simba, which was supposed to replace the existing range of commercial vehicles.

To all that has been said, it remains to add that it was the UAZ-452 that acted as a donor of units for the UAZ-469 passenger SUV launched into production in December 1972, and not vice versa, as is mistakenly believed today. And it was the UAZ-452 that had the honor of becoming the millionth car that rolled off the assembly line of the plant in 1974.

Today in Ulyanovsk they continue to produce the "tadpole", but with an increased wheelbase and a carrying capacity increased to 1.2 t

FROM THE PAST TO THE PRESENT

UAZ-469 was the last truly new model introduced by the plant into production during the Soviet period. No, the Ulyanovsk people did not sit idly by: from the mid-70s to the early 90s, they developed a number of both passenger cars and promising trucks. Among the first, it is worth recalling the prototypes of the UAZ-3171 and -3172 off-road vehicles, planned as a replacement for the "four hundred and sixty-ninth", the "Soviet Range Rover" in the face of the civil modification of the 72nd model, as well as the floating UAZ-3907 "Jaguar". And among the trucks, it will be enough to name the experimental UAZ-3727 (aka KiAZ-3727): together with colleagues from NAMI, specialists from the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant in 1985-1987. developed, manufactured and tested several modifications of these one and a half, at a new automobile plant under construction in Kirovabad, equipment for their production began to be installed ... But the introduction of machines in a high degree of readiness into the series was disrupted! And it is not even the disintegration of the country that is to blame for this, as it is now commonly believed - the project was actually shaken up and brought to the stage of unrealizability even in the last years of the Union's existence due to the lack of a clear and clear strategy for its implementation, due to too frequent transfer of leadership to them from one source to others. In general, the new lorry fell victim to the situation that developed in the domestic auto industry in the so-called years of stagnation. Nowadays it is customary to shed a tender tear, recalling the "stability of the 80s." But the real assessment of that period is that the pace of putting on the conveyor of new models has fallen sharply in comparison with previous decades: they were simply rejected by the economic system that was stiffening every year, gradually becoming less and less needed by both factories and consumers. Thousands of arguments can be made in defense of the Soviet economy with its "progressive development of the industrial and social spheres", but the fact remains: after the start of production in 1972, the UAZ-469, the first new development, and this was the UAZ-3160 passenger SUV, the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant put on the conveyor belt only 25 years later, in 1997, that is, in the years, as they say today, "rampant wild capitalism."

Production of the Patriot model began in August 2005

Simultaneously with the launch of a new comfortable passenger model in the series, Ulyanovsk residents also thought about the long-overdue renewal of the model range of rapidly aging small-tonnage trucks. They were to be replaced by a fundamentally new family, which received the official name "Simba". These cars, for which they chose a semi-hood layout typical for European analogues, by 1999 were developed in the variants of a minibus and a truck. A year later, Severstal, which bought the shares of the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant, weighed their market prospects for several years, while experimental samples of new products wandered at various auto exhibitions ... on the development of more modern, reliable and technical advanced light off-road vehicles UAZ Patriot based on the UAZ-3160/3162. But traditional commercial "UAZs", the era of which, with the start of production of "Gazelles" and the arrival of small-tonnage cars of foreign production in the country, it would seem, should come to its logical conclusion, contrary to all expectations and forecasts, they managed to survive, due to their all-terrain qualities and simplicity of design. indispensable in rural and remote areas of the country.

The cargo version of UAZ Patriot, produced since 2008, received the unpretentious name Pickup

2008 to 2010 in Ulyanovsk, a one-color UAZ Cargo was manufactured with a front part from UAZ-Patriot, and now its place in the production program of the enterprise is taken by the UAZ Pickup with a two-row cab. In 2009, the plant started small-scale production of special off-road vehicles UAZ T-Rex from vehicle kits supplied by the Italian company Bremach. And yet all these novelties are not yet able to replace simple and reliable "loaves" and "tadpoles".

It is known that in 2020 UAZ, aka the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant, is preparing for release a promising and largely long-awaited novelty, this is new, it will have so many updates that have not been there since the start of production of this model, that is, since 2005. Yes, yes, do not be surprised, the Ulyanovsk SUV has been in production for 12 years already. During this time, the engineers of the automobile plant who worked on the project have something to remember, both good and bad. Auto Patriot has always been pursued by both high ups and annoying falls.

Since this utilitarian UAZ is important for domestic jeepers, we decided to collect all the information available in Runet about the upcoming changes in the new product, which we will see already in 2020.

UAZ is preparing a large-scale improvement of the model.

Safety of the new UAZ Patriot (frame)

Many people know the parable in tongues that the archaic design of an SUV for its safety practically does not stand up to criticism. Previous crash tests of the latest version of this model (with an improved frame) clearly showed this:

The new generation should finally receive a frame modeled using modern technologies with an energy-absorbing "accordion", which will fold properly upon impact, and not as before, when pieces of the floor in the cabin were broken.

Suspension UAZ Patriot

Following the frame, the suspension should also improve. The changes, as the engineers from Ulyanovsk threaten, should be significant and practically repeat everything that the auto designers have done, who put an independent suspension on the Gelendvagen of the new generation. In front, presumably, there will be a double wishbone suspension with MacPherson struts, and at the rear, instead of springs, the axle of the car will be suspended on springs.

By 2020, the model is rumored to have rack and pinion steering. Now the UAZ is used as a thousand years ago, the same obsolete worm gearbox. All of this should somehow improve the handling of this true SUV.

The engines of the new Patriot will be more powerful

Soon, under the hood of the new UAZ, an old acquaintance will appear, a modernized gasoline atmospheric engine ZMZ-409, redesigned in a new way. The power unit will become more powerful (presumably by changing the compression ratio and valve timing) and increase the output to 150 hp. (now it develops 135 horses at 217 Nm of torque).

Presumably, by 2020, these SUVs will be equipped with several new gasoline turbo engines, the volume of which will be 2.3 and 2.5 liters, and their power will rise to 150 and 170 hp. respectively.

Automatic transmission for UAZ Patriot

Another innovation for the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant is an automatic gearbox. Most likely it will be a classic six-speed hydromechanical transmission from China.

Mechanical gearbox

However, on the cheaper versions of the Russian all-terrain vehicle, a manual transmission made in Korea will still be installed, only this time it is planned to increase the number of speed steps to six.

The brakes will be disc around

Another logical car improvement that we will finally see on the Patriot is the disc brakes on the rear wheels. However, as suggested by the Russian automotive media, they will be installed only on the top versions of the Patriot car.

From the upcoming car improvements on the little things: the spare wheel from the fifth door will move to another place, most likely it will be hidden under the floor so that the door does not sag, the fifth door seals will be specifically improved, now a lot of dust flies into the rear of the passenger compartment under them.

The on-board computer will also be improved, perhaps it will say goodbye to the hard-connected bridge (a very important change, but it has not yet been officially confirmed), and instead a security system that monitors markings and road signs will be installed.

As for the appearance of the car, then in three years it should also change. How radical is it? Now, nothing is known about this yet, but the fact that changes will take place specifically is established for sure.

For many years now they have been produced at affordable prices, but at the same time, when creating a car, the manufacturer uses only new technologies.

UAZ production history

The production of cars began almost immediately after the start of the Great Patriotic War. In July 1941, the State Defense Committee demanded the evacuation of all large companies and enterprises, including the Stalin plant.

While the fighting was going on, the work of the UAZ did not stop; a department was organized to create ammunition, in particular, for aircraft. The first truck appeared in 1942 and was called ZIS-5.

The modernization of the plant took place in 1943. At the same time, a new UAZ model appeared - UlZIS-353. The unit installed on the truck ran on diesel fuel. The weight of the car was 3.5 tons.

At that time, this car could easily compete with the American Studebaker. The truck was highly appreciated by experts, but for some reason the production was stopped.

The next task of the plant was the development of GAZ-AA. In 1947, a truck weighing 1.5 tons rolled off the assembly line. The release of the car was supposed to push the factory to create more powerful SUVs.

Creation and improvement of the UAZ car

The official specialization in the creation of powerful cars has been assigned to the plant since 1955. A year before that, the release of GAZ-69 and GAZ 69A took place. They differed in that they were able to pass on any off-road. Due to their reliability, safety and unpretentiousness, these machines easily bypassed their foreign counterparts in the domestic market. The export of the new UAZ model was established by 1956. In just 3 years, more than 20 retail outlets were opened for it.

The UAZ-469 machine was created in 1972. The history of the development and production of this car is very sad. The design of the model began in 1959, but the manufacturer was able to present the finished samples only by 1962. It took 10 years to finalize the car due to lack of money.

Domestic car UAZ-450 was popularly nicknamed "loaf" and "magpie". The last name was invented by the developers themselves because of the two-tone color and the extraordinary grille. By 1958, the production of UAZ ("loaf") was launched. The model immediately gained popularity among drivers. It was decided to alter it somewhat by 1959. It was decided to make this car the base for the UAZ-450V. The latter eventually served as the basis for a mini-bus of the same line.

Most of the cars of the plant had a gasoline unit, manual transmission and front-wheel drive. Four-wheel drive is installed on the rural version of the UAZ-450D machine.

The UAZ-451 modification appeared in 1961. The difference between the old and new variants was that the latest version had a side door, a 4-speed gearbox. The modified car was named UAZ-452D.

New UAZ models

The new UAZ model (photo of which is below) coded 3303 had increased cross-country ability. The car's cab is designed for 2 passengers, has single-leaf doors on both sides, the bonnet is equipped with a removable mechanism. If we consider all modifications, then some were equipped with a wooden platform.

The model is developed in 4 versions:

1. "Patriot".
2. Hunter.
3. "Pickup".
4. UAZ-390995 (van).

The special Trophy version has an exclusive metallic color. The wall is tinted, steering rods, etc. In the "Hunter" the rear door is made of 2 leaves, there is also a function of fixing the cable and a loop for towing.

Many motorists call the UAZ-31512 model an analogue of the 469th version. However, it is not. For a long time the car had side bridges; their installation ceased in 2001. "Torpedo" has lost the plastic cover, doors - upholstery.

The most distinctive car model is the UAZ-31514. Among its external differences can be noted overlay on the "torpedo", upholstery on the doors, made of high-quality material, luxury seats with adjustment levers. Another car is similar to this model - UAZ-31519. The difference between them is in the volume of the engine.

Car lineup

The process of creating the UAZ-3153 model turned out to be very difficult. The wheelbase has been slightly lengthened (by 400 mm). Bumpers were created from protected plastic, new mirrors and moldings appeared. The suspension is combined. If you compare the interior of the car with the design of model 31519, you will notice that they are very similar. The key difference in the number of seats - in a newer version of them 9. The modification "Bars" has a new unit and a gearbox with five steps.

A small number of UAZ-31510 are produced to this day. The model has an electronic ignition system. Buyers are pleased with the new versions of this car, so even today it is one of the best-selling cars.

The Patriot line has undergone changes in 2013. Improved technical characteristics, significantly increased comfort.

New UAZ: "Pickup" and "Hunter"

The new model is most in demand among hunters and fishermen. She is able to compete with many SUVs. The trunk of the car is roomy, so there will be no problems with the transportation of equipment. According to customer reviews, there are no analogues of the "Pickup". None of the foreign and domestic SUVs can compare with this monster.

No less popular model is the "Hunter". The production of this model was launched in 2003. It is equipped with new lighting equipment, plastic bumpers, headlights for foggy weather, a redesigned radiator grille. The salon has also changed a bit. Coziness and comfort are his close friends. The instrument panel also succumbed to changes. Its forms have become more in line with modern standards.

The cars of the Ulyanovsk plant are time-tested; they have proven themselves to be reliable and comfortable cars, for which they are appreciated by the domestic buyer.

UAZ Hunter

Buyers paid special attention to the model, which has already been written a little above.

Thanks to the military bearing, the car acquired a more aesthetic and safe look. The wheels are 16-inch, and the fenders that go into the fenders are a great addition. The doors are installed using new technology, due to which noise and moisture ingress have been reduced, the climate in the cabin is maintained. In order to access the trunk, just open the tailgate.

UAZ Patriot

The UAZ "Patriot" model is an all-wheel drive SUV. The manufacturer clearly loves this car, since it undergoes restyling and minor updates every year. The changes are minor, sometimes imperceptible, but the car gets better and better every time. In 2014, a modification was carried out - new devices (sensors and panels) were added, the rear seats received head restraints. The chairs have a reclining function, when activated, sleeping places are formed.

UAZ Patriot 3163

UAZ "Patriot" (new model) differs from the previous version, which has not been produced since 2005. The connection between them can be traced in some design elements. The car is equipped with a 5-speed manual gearbox.

The cabin has 5 passenger seats, including the driver's one. There are 4 additional places, so 9 people can fit in the car. The rear landing seats fold down, which greatly simplifies the transport of bulky items.

UAZ Pickup

Models of UAZ vehicles are constantly updated, and the Pickup is no exception. The last restyled version was presented in 2014. The new car received a lot of modifications. Among them, we can note a new design of the outer part of the body, an improved interior, a dashboard with on-board intelligence, multimedia in the form of a touch screen on which you can watch HD video.

The body, if necessary, is covered with an awning or a lid. Thanks to this, you can protect the transported cargo from bad weather.

UAZ Cargo

"Cargo" was created for the transportation of passengers and cargo; the basis for the car was an SUV of the same plant. This light truck will become the best friend for those who maintain commercial and rural enterprises, farms, etc. Among the advantages of this model are a powerful engine (almost 130 HP), increased ground clearance. The steering gear is equipped with a hydraulic booster.

"Loaf"

UAZ "loaf" - a model designed, like all cars of the Ulyanovsk plant, for the carriage of goods, has been produced since 1957. Among the main advantages are versatility and high cross-country ability. She carries about 10 passengers and no more than 1 ton of cargo. It is possible to install a table, a heater, etc. in the cabin. This makes the car the main friend in nature, outside the city, in the village.

Main technical characteristics:

• Manual Transmission;
• front-wheel drive;
• gasoline engine.