Schnell!

I really like the Trabant 601. I think the body styling is perfect for a utilitarian vehicle but easily crosses over into a sports car (these vehicles have a long history of modification for rally racing). This phenomenon is also apparent in my friend, the Volvo 240. It is at once unassuming and enticing. I came upon a commercial (shown below) for the Trabant from the 60’s which shows just how schnell and robust the car is. My favorite part is the scene where luggage is teleported from the street into the trunk. Every article of luggage is just fantastic (except for maybe the rucksack and the bowling balls or whatever they are).

Check out the commercial for the Wartburg 1000. It’s another German car from the same era. The body styling is very similar with only a couple tweaks (horizontal vs. vertical tail lights and raised headlamps). To me, it is essentially a slightly uglier, four door version of the immaculate Trabant. These advertisements are also exceedingly similar. There is an identical shot of the back, except here, we see a pyramid of “footballs” magically transposed into the trunk.