50 years of Lada: The Cold War-era car that has a special place in British hearts

This 1979 Lada 1200 saloon is part of Ed Hughes’ 20-strong collection of classic cars from the former Soviet Union (Picture: Ed Hughes)What do you call a Lada on top of a hill? A miracle, the joke goes.Although, as I found driving around the former Soviet Union where the car was born in 1973, a hill comes in handy when your engine fails.Half a century after the Russian-made cars were first introduced to the UK, in May 1974, the cars are seeing a resurgence in popularity, and soaring price