Production of the Wartburg 311 was already underway at Eisenach by the end of 1955. The car was a development of the existing EMW 309. This was the car previously identified as the IFA F9, which, in turn, had been based on the 1940 DKW F9 scheduled for launch in 1940 until the Second World War intervened.

The basic architecture of the pre-war design, forcibly acquired from Zwickau-based Auto Union, was retained, albeit with the chassis lengthened by 10 cm, which combined with long overhangs to create a larger car with a relatively spacious four-door sedan/saloon body.

The name "Wartburg" came from the very first model (Wartburgwagen) produced in 1898 at the Automobilwerk Eisenach factory, three decades before that company was acquired by BMW, and nearly five decades before the plant's location, following the defeat of Third Reich, in the Soviet occupation zone placed it under state control. The "311" designation followed the tradition of the plant's previous owner, BMW, whose Eisenach-produced passenger cars had all been identified by a three-digit number starting with a "3".

Almost 109.000 311 models with the 1000cc engine were built until in september 1965 the new 312-1 appeared with the chassis and other features of the new 353 (independent wheel suspension, 13 inch in stead of 15 inch wheels, two spoke steering wheel). The body and the engine stayed the same. The raodster (now called 312-300 HT) also got the 353-chassis. The majority of these 4000 cars were placed on this new chassis. They included a full sunken hood with stitched inn rear window. The square appearance of the front (new grill and lengthened bonnet) and the more streched back formed the stylistic transformation to the 353 model.

Until the end in 1966 33.759 exemplamples of this in-between model were built.

The Wartburg 353 was produced from 1966 to 1988, becoming the Wartburg with the longest production run. During its lifetime it saw several changes and improvements, the most recognizable of these coming in 1985 with a front facelift (as pictured here), slightly different layout around the engine block and a new carburettor.

First introduced in June 1966, the Wartburg 353 was the creation of the former German BMW production facilities (called EMW under Soviet occupation). Its origins were ultimately derived from a 1938 DKW design, and powered by a two-stroke engine with only seven major moving parts: three pistons, three connecting rods and a crankshaft. This led to a common aphorism among Wartburg owners that "one drives a car, but only has to maintain a motorcycle."

Domestically, it was used for all types of government transportation, sometimes as a Volkspolizei police car. However, due to the nature of the planned economy, deliveries to private owners could take ten to fifteen years.

Like other Eastern European cars, it was known for its low price. Because of its forward centre of gravity and front-wheel drive, the car had typical front-wheel-drive road handling, usually displaying significant understeer, especially in wet conditions.

Wartburgs were exported to most European markets and South Africa.

The Wartburg 353 was powered by a 1-litre displacement, 3-cylinder unit that took almost two decades to refine. While developing about 50 to 55 PS. The original design called for critical speed of 150–155 km/h and 12 seconds to accelerate to 100 km/h, which was dealt with in second gear due to the high-revving engine. It was available both with four- and five-speed transmissions, although the latter was very rare.

The 353 was a reasonable success throughout the Eastern bloc, with front-wheel drive. Its negatives were all due to its outmoded two-stroke engine. However, in the Western European markets, the Wartburg was quite competitive especially because of its high maximum power of 58 hp at 5400rpm and top speed of 170km/h which is uncommon for passenger cars in the West, despite the two-stroke engine design.

The last modernization of Wartburg took place in 1988 when the car got the new designation "1.3" and a four-stroke VW designed engine with a 1.3 litre displacement. In 1991 Opel bought the plant.

Over a million Wartburg 353s were produced overall.

Trabant is a series of small cars produced from 1957 until 1991 by former East German car manufacturer VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. Four models were made: the Trabant 500, Trabant 600, Trabant 601, and the Trabant 1.1. The first model, the 500, was a modern car when it was introduced. It featured a duroplast body on a one-piece steel chassis (a so-called unibody), front-wheel drive, a transverse two-stroke engine, and independent suspension. Because this 1950s design remained largely unchanged until the introduction of the last model, the Trabant 1.1 in 1990, the Trabant became symbolic of the former East Germany's stagnant economy and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in general. Called "a spark plug with a roof", 3,096,999 Trabants were produced. Older models have been sought by collectors in the United States due to their low cost and fewer restrictions on the importation of antique cars. The Trabant also gained a following among car tuning and rally racing enthusiasts.

The German word Trabant, derived from the Middle High German drabant, means "satellite" or "companion". The car's name was inspired by the Soviet Sputnik satellite.

Since its manufacturer was a state monopoly, acquiring a Trabant took about ten years. East German buyers were placed on a waiting-list of up to thirteen years. The Trabant's build quality was poor, reliability was terrible, and it was loud, slow, and poorly designed.

The engine for the 500, 600 and the original 601 was a small two-stroke engine with two cylinders, accounting for the vehicle's modest performance. Its curb weight was about 600 kg. When it ceased production in 1989, the Trabant delivered 26 PS from 594 cc displacement. It took 21 seconds to accelerate from zero to its top speed of 100 km/h.

The engine produced a very smoky exhaust and was a significant source of air pollution: nine times the hydrocarbons and five times the carbon-monoxide emissions of the average 2007 European car. 

Earlier models had no fuel gauge, and a dipstick was inserted into the tank to determine how much fuel remained.

Known for its dull colour scheme and cramped, uncomfortable ride, the Trabant is an object of ridicule for many Germans and is regarded as symbolic of the fall of the Eastern Bloc. Known as a "spark plug with a roof" because of its small size, the car did gain public affection.

The Barkas B 1000 is a forward control panel van made by the East German manufacturer VEB Barkas-Werke in Chemnitz (formerly known as Karl-Marx-Stadt). It was made in several different body styles.

Production of the four-door panel van commenced in June 1961, with the minibus following in spring 1964, and the pickup truck in spring 1965.

With its payload of 1000 kg, and its spacious interior, the Barkas B 1000 proved to be very durable and reliable. During its 27-year production period, it received some minor updates in 1963 and 1972, but all efforts to develop a successor failed, and there were no major design alterations for the remainder of its production.

The engine is a one liter, three-cylinder, liquid-cooled, carburetted, two-stroke engine, mounted between driver seat and passenger seat in front of the front axle; it is paired with a synchromesh four-speed gearbox. Depending on the vehicle configuration, the Barkas can reach a top speed of either 95 km/h or 100 km/h.

The succeeding Barkas B 1000-1, introduced in autumn 1989, carried over the B 1000's underlying design, but was fitted with a different engine.

In 1990, manufacture was sold to a Russian company, but production never was restarted.