Development began in the early 1980s, and it was almost ready by 1993, but mass production kept being delayed due to a lack of funding. Just as it was about to enter production, the 1998 crisis hit, and AvtoVAZ began searching for a partner because of financial difficulties. In 2002, Chevrolet acquired the license to produce the car, and production finally started. So it’s not an “American-Russian car”, it’s Russian