We are going to be talking about one of the most radical cars that has ever left General Motor’s production line! A car of international styling, that which Ralph Nader had a personal vendetta against…
Chevy Corvair 1960-1969 which enjoyed Two generations and would have likely continued on if it weren’t for the Mustang and Ol’ Ralph Nader
It remains the only American-designed, mass-produced passenger car with a rear-mounted, air-cooled engine. The Covair was groundbreaking in that respect.
(1960-1964) First generation body styles: he Corvair was manufactured and marketed in 4-door sedan, 2-door coupe, convertible, 4-door station wagon, passenger van, commercial van, and pickup truck body styles in its first generation
(1965 – 1969) Second generation body styles: 2-door coupe, convertible or 4-door
A total of 1.8 million units produced form 1960-1969
Now, where did the name Corvair come from? It is a combination, aportmanteau of Corvette and Bel Air… Now that name was initially first used on a Corvette based concept in 1954.. Fun fact
Bel Air, Corvair? What’s the air signify? It is in reference to the engine’s cooling system.
Let’s talk about Ed Cole… The man behind the Chevy small block V8, an engine design that remained in production for decades. The man that worked with Zora Arkus-Duntov to take the meak early corvette into a mighty production success.
Any of the design and engineering advancements that Chevy made in 1955-1962, Ed Cole was behind.. and Basically, we could devote a whole show to Ed Cole but that can be another day.. 1956 Ed was promoted to general manager of Chevy.. They lead in GM sales year after year.. However Ed noticed that they were missing out on a crucial market segment… the compact car!
Side note, the AMC Rambler paved the way for the compact car market segment
So Ed directed the development of the Corvair to chase the compact car market.. And at this time you had Volkswagen, Renault, and Fiat showing that demand in the US existed for smaller cars
With a market to target Chevy designed a groundbreaking vehicle, a car unlike traditional American cars… That is always a bold move! With unconventional styling and air-cooled rear mounted six-cylinder engine?!
The design was pretty European for the time and for Chevy to make.. Pretty timeless if you ask me.
-Designed by Bill Mitchell, now that guy had quite a career! The tri-five Bel Air, the 63 Split window Corvette
Time magazine put Ed Cole and the Corvair on the cover, and Motor Trend named the Corvair as the 1960 "Car of the Year"
Things that killed the Corvair.. The Mustang and Ralph Nader’s “Unsafe at Any Speed” The book highlighted crashes related to the Corvair's suspension.

свернуть