Our special Olga Erashova tells about the first day of work of the 6th Russian International Motor show in Moscow:

“That’s the future as it looks like” - this slogan could be the motto of the main motor show of the year in Russia, if the advertisement department of one of the famous foreign companies didn’t take this slogan ahead of the organizers of the Motor show. Traditional organizers of all Moscow motor shows - “Autoselhozmash” Inc. and “ITE Group” British Company, supported by “Expocentre” Ltd. and under the aegis of Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Government of Russia and Moscow, could gather more than 800 companies - exhibitors out of 31 countries of the world on the record exhibition area of 50 thousand square meters.

The automobiles and busses had to share their “living area” with the components, spare parts and materials for their production – approximately 50/ 50. Notwithstanding the skeptical talks about the death of Russian automobile industry in the near future, the quantity of domestic producers today has grown noticeably, and they are eager to show themselves and to look at the others at the exhibition complex at Krasnaya Presnya. To speak about quality of their production, now it doesn’t look so waning against a background of numerous foreign vehicle and their assemblies as during previous years.

Traditionally KAMAZ took its favorite place - to the left from the main entrance in the central exhibition hall. Early in the morning, hardly had the stand been ready, the first visitors of the Motor Show occupied the exposition. KAMAZ noticeably differs from its main opponents of the domestic market of trucks due to the thought out and unordinary selection of the exhibits. “ If we’re going to amaze, let’s amaze”, - perhaps decided the organizers from Chelny. “ I’d never seen such before at the exhibitions of our automobile plants”, - this is the first reaction of the Muscovites and the guests of the capital, who were getting acquainted with our dump truck of 53605 model, low-bed of low carrying capacity 4307, the first cowl KAMAZ (4355) and other exhibits. The live legend - the race truck KamAZ-4911, the multi Dakar triumpher and the winner of just finished rally around Turkey - became the real fetish of auto fans. There is no analogy of this off-road super truck at the exhibition. Amazement was on visitors’ faces when they saw the touring bus NefAZ–52991, the product of joint work of KAMAZ and its subsidiary in Neftekamsk (Bashkortostan). “ Isn’t it our production, it can’t be!” – cried Moscow designer Aleksei Kuklin, who was engaged to work at Honda, Japan. The representatives of the Swedish SKANIA in Russia couldn’t believe for a long time that the seats of this bus were maid in Naberezhniye Chelny by the masters of RIAT company, which is the old partner of KAMAZ and the companion of Kamaz automobile plant in the world of science- and technical and technological progress. The touring bus NefAZ, as the engineers from Neftekamsk declared, could be produced at the advance order during three months, including delivery and the assembly of foreign sets, which are not produced by domestic industry yet. By the way, there is a lot of busses of various classes and capacity. The majority of plants, which have produced them, decided, if to judge by the orders fixed on the exhibits, to claim to victory at the special contest for this kind of vehicle, the results of which will be on the 29th of August.

As the designers and the specialists of marketing and sales, who work at the exhibition, think, KAMAZ made the right choice of engines and power units for their trucks and busses. All vehicle is equipped with ecological engines Euro – 2, which the domestic customer just began to use and which will absolutely win the Russian automobile industry from the beginning of the next year. A customer is not ready yet to “swallow” the model samples of Euro – 3 engines, with which other plants of Russia and CIS are trying to surprise them. In Russia neither service, nor the level of development of computer equipment and diagnosis are not high enough to provide such ecological rank. Kamaz pill – a knock -out dose of Euro-2 engines – it is exactly what the Russians are to cope with during nearest years, going ahead of its opponents, if necessary. Thus, there’s no analogy of gas engine of KamAZ – 820.53 – 260.

To resume all expressions of automobile fans and specialists, it is possible to affirm that KAMAZ exposition at the Motor Show is quite able to compete against a background of the best auto producers of the world.

Motor Show 2003 is painted mainly in “ silver metallic” color of various tints. Most cars wear exactly this dress. Honorable silver came firmly into fashion. Kamaz OKA with the engine from Daewoo is not an exception. The visitors look with interest under the cowl of this and other small-size car – with injector engine of AutoVAZ, the first author of the most economical car in Russia. By the way, the “parents” of yet the only domestic car of A- class presented the next generation of their creation, constructed and produced by the order of KAMAZ and the Serpuhovski autoplant - the show model of “luxe” – class car with the conditional name OKA –2. The chief designer of the project Alexander Kolpakov said: “It is what we’d like to see as the Russian minicar of the future.” OKA – 2 is 150 mm longer and 100 mm wider than the one the customers know. It is equipped with the engine of VAZ of the tenth model with the total cylinders’ volume 1,5 liter. As A. Kolpakov thinks, the car will aspire to be the most high-speed, dynamic and at the same time maneuverable vehicle of Russian production. Today it can be said to be inestimable, as it is the only produced sample. But the approximate price of “luxe” car for a customer is just at the level of the present fifth model - about 3 thousand USD.

So, that’s how the future not only of OKA looks like, but of all promising KAMAZ vehicle with modern quality, technical equipment, assemblies, comfort and other customers characteristics as well, which at the same time has the acceptable price for a customer.