The automotive Cold War

Russia's luxury gain

    It seems like it was just yesterday when we heard the news come in.  Russia wants to build their own luxury manufacture.  Sure we all had a good laugh as it was hard to believe that in the land of Lada and GAZ we could ever see a true contender to Mercedes and Bentley. ​ But here we are today and this is no laughing matter.  Russia was true to their word and today we have a few new models and a brand new motorcade for Putin.

   Seems like the times are changing within the world of automobiles, as it wasn't that long ago that China only made poor domestic models and Russia only really had the good old Niva.  Sure both countries had a few companies, but none of which could stand on a global scale and match the top dogs of the automotive world.  But today it seems that a cold war within the automotive world is brewing as both China and Russia are set on world domination.

    No that does not mean that we're about to have another arms race, but we are about to have another shift to the automotive production scale.  Whereas now most vehicles are built within North America and Europe.  This shift may move that scale to Asia, Eurasia and South America.  Sure we will still have automotive production in North America and Europe, but not to the scale of today.

   But getting back to the Russian marketplace and how one mans dream changed our perception.  As a few years ago Putin put a task force together to bring the best minds together to create an top tier Russian automotive brand.  And with that thought they set to work on what would become the Aurus brand.

   Sure it may not seem to be on par with today's luxury brands, but the craftsmanship behind them may make you rethink your Benz purchase. 
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   For the 2020 model year Aurus is only set on releasing the Senat sedan model.  And with the first years production already sold out, they are off to a great start.  Of course that  could be because most of the first years production was set aside for Russian government officials.  This is so that they can drop their Benz Pullmans and move on over to a home grown luxury brand. 
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   Moving into 2021 model year, Aurus will be set to release their new van and SUV onto the world stage.  And lets hope they bring us a few more Senat's as we may want to try one out before we make a final decision on its luxury capabilities.  As you can see below the Arsenal van and Komendant SUV are nearing their completion and looking very ready for the world stage, but like the Senat their first batch too is set aside for the government.

   Now why would you ask that Putin would have ushered this company into existence.  Well for that you have to look at what he drove before.  And like we said before the government officials will be trading in their Benz's for the Senat.  That was one of their vehicles, but the true reasoning behind this company was to showcase their technology and manufacturing capabilities to the world.  This is hard to do when your driving around in another countries vehicle.  So Putin put forth the invitation and a few companies answered the call.  And we were glad they did.
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   So let's hope that Aurus makes it in the world today and helps usher in a new wave of country built vehicles for the rest of the world.  As we would love to see our home country follow in the footsteps of Russia.

Everett J.
#AutoLooks, @AutoLooks, AutoLooks.net
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Rated: 2020 Aurus Senat