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ГАЗ-21 «Волга» — советский автомобиль среднего класса, серийно производившийся на Горьковском автомобильном заводе с 1956 (1957) по 1970 год. Заводской индекс модели — изначально ГАЗ-М-21, позднее (с 1965 года) — ГАЗ-21. Всего было выпущено 639 478 экземпляров всех модификаций. The GAZ M21 Volga, the first car to carry the Volga name, was developed in the early 1950s. Volgas were built with high ground clearance (what gives it a specific “high“ look, contrary to “low-long-sleek“ look of Western cars of similar design), rugged suspension, strong and forgiving engine, and rustproofing on a scale unheard of in the 1950s. The Volga was stylistically in line with the major United States manufacturers of the period, and incorporated such then-luxury features as the reclining front seat, cigarette lighter, heater, windshield washer and 3-wave radio. When in 1959 the 6-cylinder line of GAZ cars was discontinued, Volga M-21 became the biggest and most luxurious car officially sold to individual owners in the USSR in large quantities, though its price was very high and made it unavailable for most car buyers. Three series GAZ-21 were released, most easily distinguished by the grille. The First Series (1956–58), known as the Star, featured a lattice of three large horizontal bars in the centre of which was a medallion with a star. Vehicles of the Second Series (1958-1962), known as the Shark, featured a grille with 16 vertical slits. Finally, the Third Series (1962-1970), known as the Baleen, featured a grille with 34 thin vertical rods. In Russia, each generation of the “Volga“ received its own nicknames: for example, cars of the First Series were called “Stars“, the Second Series were “Shark mouths“, and the Third Series “Whalebones“ A GAZ 21 is the main car featured in Rammstein's music video for the song Du hast. In Soviet cult movie Beware of the Car (1966) Yuriy Detochkin, Russian Robin Hood, steals Volga cars from corrupt officials. The protagonist of the 2009 Russian superhero movie Black Lightning fights crime with his flying car, a black 1966 GAZ 21
