The Fiat 126 was arguably the most popular car in Poland in the 1980s. The 2-door sedan (if it can be called that considering it was about half the length of the average American car) was manufactured in Poland under the Italian Fiat license for 27 years.
Its very small size gave it the nickname Maluch (pronounced "Mah-looh", which means "little kid" in Polish). The nickname became so popular that in 1997 it actually became the official name of the car. In some regions, it is also called Kaszlak (most likely derived from kaszel = cough) or Groszek (a pea).
In Hungarian, it is also known Eegˇrkamion - a mouse's truck.
Over 3 million models were produced in Poland between 1973 and 2000, and the Maluch has very special meaning for the Poles - especially those who lived in Poland prior to the fall of the Communist era in 1989. In a communist system, a private car was considered a luxury good, due to limited availability and low salaries. In 1971 there were only 556,000 passenger cars in Poland and it was difficult to buy a foreign car because the Polish zloty, like currencies in other communist states, was not convertible, and there was no free market. The Fiat 126 was supposed to be the first real popular car, to motorize ordinary families. Despite the fact that it was so small, it was the only choice for most families, so during holidays it was common to see four-person families driving Maluch's abroad with huge suitcases on a roof rack. Its production, however, was not sufficient and the Fiat 126 was distributed through a waiting list. Often families had to wait a couple of years to buy one. A coupon for a car could also be given by the authorities based on merit.
