Russian people nowadays find a car not to be the symbol of richness, but to be a necessary thing; Yakutia as well. However, the car market in Yakutia differs a lot from that of West Russia. Yakutian people mostly choose the Japanese models as they are considered to be lighter, more comfortable, and, finally, more attractive. While in West Russia the local models - VAZ, UAZ, PAZ, etc - are popular. Those from upper class choose the German models: Folskwagen, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, etc.

Toyota Landcruiser in winter time in Yakutsk. Yakutians like Americans prefer big sizes.

In Yakutia the most popular car models are Toyota and Mitsubishi. Frankly speaking, the drivers prefer Toyota as this brand is thought to be safer.

And this fact is very important for the car owners in our republic. It is not a secret that winters are very severe in Yakutia. Sometimes temperature achieves 60° C below zero.

Those drivers, who try to preserve their imported “pets”, change them to the Russian models that can stand firmly the local climate. But anyway, irrespective of a model, every autumn the drivers prepare for winter. They cover the car engine with the felt, set double glass on the car windows, set the tenon tyres, and, finally, heat their garages with the central heating.

In winter they leave their cars always working in the streets. In order to avoid the breakdown, a driver crank up a car and wait for a minute or so until the car gets warm enough to start.

But some who don't want to wait, in the moment they crank engine, they start to move. After some such actions the cylinder heads crack, and a car breaks. So you see that the breakdown happens not because of the extremely low temperature, as somebody likes to think, but because of the drivers' carelessness.

Written by Yulia Rodina.
Photo by YakutiaToday.Com.