The Trabant is an automobile produced from 1957 to 1990 by former East German car manufacturer VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. It is often seen as symbolic of the former East Germany and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in general. The Trabant had a duroplast body mounted on a one-piece steel chassis, front-wheel drive, a transverse engine, and independent suspension – unusual features in 1957 but it remained much the same until 1989 when it acquired a (licensed) Volkswagen engine; its discontinuation followed in 1991. The 1980s model had no tachometer, no indicator for either the headlights or turn signals, no fuel gauge, no rear seat belts, no external fuel door, and drivers had to pour a mix of gasoline and oil directly under the bonnet/hood.
