If any index tracks economic health, it seems to be new car sales. By that measure, Ukraine is clearly on the mend.
New car sales in Ukraine in January-May 2017 increased by 34 percent compared to the same period in 2016, to nearly 30,000 units, according to the AUTO-Consulting information and analytical group.
Toyota retained the first position in sales in May (market share of 13.6 percent), Renault ranked second with 11.7 percent, while Skoda was third with 49 percent, according to AUTO-consulting and Ukrautoprom Association.
The trend exceeds the expectations of Petro Rondiak, the general manager of Winner Group Ukraine, who told me in March that he expects Winner to sell 7,324 cars this year — mainly Fords, but also Volvos, Jaguars, Land Rovers, Porsches and Bentleys. He could move 20,000 or more each year and is poised for expansion again.
Responding to the trends, Rondiak called the growth “steady and incremental. The market responds well to a stable exchange rate and an improving GDP. We see improvements not only in retail sales, but in corporate and commercial sales as the economy improves and vehicle parks age.”
Rondiak said that Winner has revised is 2017 forecast for registrations upward, to 95,000 from 85,000. That is still, however, a far cry from the peak year of 2008, when 623,000 new passenger cars in Ukraine were sold.
I’m happy for all the car owners and dealers. Now with summer here, I wish that I had a car in Ukraine.
It’s very strange for an American not to have a car. I got my first one on my 16th birthday. It was a Chevy Caprice station wagon hand-me-down from my parents, and I drove that one into the ground. I sold my last car in 2008, a Buick, also a hand-me-down from my parents, when I moved to Ukraine. In between were a succession of beauties and lemons, with my grandmother’s American Motors Company Rebel and two red Mustangs as favorites.
It’s hard to explain the automobile’s hold on the American psyche, but judging from the car sales reports and routine traffic jams in Kyiv, more in Ukraine are being seduced by the lure.
It’s not just that cars are associated with freedom, comfort and luxury in America. They are. But for many Americans, they are associated with the first sexual experience and with liberation from parents. Those of a certain age will appreciate. I grew up in a house with four brothers and no privacy. I’ve even used my car as a hotel room, sleeping overnight in it many times.
Cars are also a downright necessity in my vast homeland. You’d never get anywhere without one. Your choices would be to either walk for miles or, if in a big enough city, hope that there’s rudimentary public transportation available. But neither option is a good one in most of America, so the car culture triumphs to the chagrin of those who would like to see more metros, buses, trains and light-rail transit. America has paid a big price for its habits, becoming dangerously dependent on Saudi dictators to fuel its economy. But now the situation is better.
In Ukraine, it’s hard to understand why someone would really need a car. In Kyiv, most taxi drivers will take you from one end of the other for $5 or less. Walk a few blocks and wait a few minutes and you’ll be able to catch the metro, a trolleybus or tram. Trains and planes will take you out of the country at frequent intervals. It’s a great set-up. It seems the Soviet legacy in this area was a good one — and worth investing in still.
But still Ukrainians crave cars. They buy them. They drive them on Ukraine’s bumpy roads. They park them on the sidewalks. The Premier Palace hotel next door doubles as a Mercedes Benz parking lot.
I’m not sure if Ukrainian-language musicians have penned odes to the automobile, but in America, so many love songs about cars and making love in cars have been written, there are too many to count.
Some were incredibly sad. Many teenagers lost their lives to accidents, drinking & driving and generally poor safety practices of decades gone by. So a teen tragedy genre grew, exemplified by:
“Last Kiss” (Pearl Jam) “I lifted her head, she looked at me and said, hold me darling just a little while, I held her close, I kissed her our last kiss. I found the love that I knew I would miss. But now she’s gone, even though I hold her tight. I lost my love, my life that night.”
But most are happy. Here’s six of my favorites and the key refrains of their lyrics:
“Sleeping in my car” (Roxettes) — “Sleeping in my car — I will undress you, sleeping in my car — I will caress you, staying in the back seat of my car making love to you.”
“American Pie” (Don McLean) — “Bye, bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry, and them good ole’ boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singin’ this’ll be the day that I die.”
“Paradise by the Dashboard Light” (Meat Loaf) — “Though it’s cold and lonely in the deep dark night, I can see paradise by the dashboard light. Ain’t no doubt about it, we were doubly blessed because we were barely 17 and we were barely dressed.”
“On the road again” (Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson) — “On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again, the life I love is making music with my friends, And I can’t wait to get on the road again.”
“Mercedes-Benz” (Janis Joplin) — “Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes-Benz? My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends. Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends, so Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?”
“Pink Cadillac” (Bruce Springsteen) — “I love you for your pink Cadillac, crushed velvet seats, riding in the back, oozing down the street, waving to the girls, feeling out of sight, spending all my money, on a Saturday night, honey I just wonder what you do there in back, of your pink Cadillac, pink Cadillac.”
