It's a status symbol. My ex-girlfriend defines a middle-class Muscovite as "a Muscovite with a car." Practically nobody I know in Russia owns a car, and the ones that do make a point of carrying money with them at all times in case they have to pay a "fine" to the traffic cops.
BTW the quality of Russian-made automobiles has gone up considerably since Soviet days.
--- Wendy Lyon <wendy.lyon at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 9/16/05, Jordan Hayes <jmhayes at j-o-r-d-a-n.com>
> wrote:
> > Chris writes:
> > > Nobody in Moscow needs a car.
> > > [ ... ]
> > > the traffic jams are unbelievable.
> >
> > So uh, which is it? Do you need a car in Moscow
> or not?
>
> They don't. But lots of them think they do.
>
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