What is a Chevrolet Corvair concept car?
The 1954 Chevrolet Corvair concept car was an early generation Corvette built as a fastback. In 1952, Ed Cole was promoted to chief engineer of the Chevrolet Motor Division. Four years later, in July 1956, he was named General Manager of Chevrolet (GM's largest automotive division) and became a vice president of General Motors.
Was the Chevrolet Corvair the most foolhardy car ever?
Depending on your point of view, the Chevrolet Corvair was either one of the most creative or most foolhardy steps in the history of the U.S. auto industry. It was designed to combat the Volkswagen Beetle and adapted the air-cooled, rear-engine concept to American scale and style.
When did the first GM Corvair come out?
The first-generation Corvair (1960–1964) has been credited with influencing car design worldwide. Styled in GM's advanced styling studio in 1957, under the leadership of then director Ned Nickels, the compact design was made using cues from earlier Oldsmobile and Chevrolet models.
Why was the Toyota Corvair made with a six cylinder engine?
The initial plan for the Corvair had been for a four cylinder boxer engine with high-silicon aluminum cylinders. This design would have kept the weight down, but it was decided that the four cylinder was not as smooth as a six and so the car’s engine was made to be a six cylinder, projecting more weight behind the rear axle line.
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What is the Corvair known for?
The Corvair was intended to provide a comfortable ride despite its smaller size. Americans were used to cars with very soft suspension, cars that gave you a feeling that you were floating along the road. To this end the Corvair was designed with fully independent suspension front and rear.
Why Corvair was an unsafe car?
The Corvair's alleged problems stemmed from its unusual rear-engined lay-out and the suspension that held it up. That design led to unstable emergency handling, according to Nader. It's hard to say whether the Corvair was much more dangerous than other cars of its time.
How much is a Corvair worth now?
According to Hagerty, the average price of a mid-level Corvair in satisfactory and drivable condition today is $6,600, with later models of the 500 line averaging closer to $9,700. Examples in mint condition can run to $20,000 or even, very rarely, $30,000.
Why did they stop making the Corvair?
In April 1965, General Motors decided to stop development of the Corvair and to do only what was necessary to keep it legal to sell. That decision was made due to the strong sales of the Mustang, and the Corvair was not considered capable of competing with it without a major redesign.
What was the downfall of the Corvair?
The rear engine placement in the Corvair caused a weight imbalance that resulted in poor handling. As a performance vehicle, many people enjoyed driving the Corvair at high speeds. When combined with poor handling, high speeds can lead to an accident when the driver attempts to correct a steering error.
Are Corvair engines reliable?
Still, with 1,839,439 sold over 10 years, including 130,362 trucks, the Corvair was hardly a failure. It's among the least expensive ways into the U.S. collector car world and the best convertibles seldom surpass $25,000. Corvairs are relatively easy to fix, with a reliable parts supply.
What year Corvair is best?
So I'll try hard to restrain myself (as usual): The 1965 Corvair was the best European car ever made in America. And if that alone doesn't explain the Corvair's inevitable failure, let's just say that in 1965, Americans were eating a lot more Wonder Bread than baguettes.
What kind of engine does a Corvair have?
The Corvair's engine was an overhead-valve aluminum, air-cooled 140 cu in (2.3 L) flat-six (later enlarged, first to 145 and then to 164 cubic inches). The first Corvair engine produced 80 hp (60 kW; 81 PS).
Why did Ralph Nader dislike the Corvair?
Nader's main argument against the Corvair dealt with the combination of a rear-engine layout and a rear swing-axle suspension that had the tendency to "tuck under" during certain maneuvers at certain speeds.
Who ruined the Corvair?
On January 13, 1962, Ernie Kovacs, a comedian who hosted his own television shows during the 1950s and is said to have influenced such TV hosts as Johnny Carson and David Letterman, dies at the age of 42 after crashing his Chevrolet Corvair into a telephone pole in Los Angeles, California, while driving in a rainstorm.
How much is a 1964 Corvair worth?
I know this because last year I plunked down $5300 for a white 1964 Corvair convertible....When Sporty Cars Reached Their Nader.PRICE GUIDE1964 Chevy Corvair ConvertibleExcellent$12,000Good$5,400Fair$3,0001 more row•Jun 14, 2013
How much is a 1965 Corvair worth?
The average #3 value of a 1965 Corvair 500 two-door hardtop coupe is $4600, while a 1966–67 Corvair 500 Sport Coupe is $4800, a '68 Sport Coupe is $6400, and a final-year '69 Sport Coupe is $9200.
Why was the Corvair considered unsafe at any speed?
The Corvair relied on an unusually high front to rear pressure differential (15psi front, 26psi rear, when cold; 18 psi and 30psi hot), and if one inflated the tires equally, as was standard practice for all other cars at the time, the result was a dangerous oversteer.
Was the Corvair really unsafe at any speed?
In his 1965 book, Unsafe at Any Speed, Nader called the Corvair “the one-car accident.” He wrote that a design flaw in the rear suspension made the car likely to flip over when driven in abrupt maneuvers, like, say, avoiding a ball that suddenly rolled into the street.
Who killed the Chevy Corvair?
1960 Chevrolet Corvair Deluxe 700 Series 4-Door Sedan. It's a standard misconception among the general public that Ralph Nader killed the Corvair, but the reality is that Ralph simply kicked a dead horse.
When did Chevy stop making the Corvair?
1969The year 1969 marked the last year that Corvair models were assembled and as could be expected the Corvair name plate was dropped from General Motors. A special thanks to Robert Tate, Automotive Historian and Researcher, for contributing this story to the MotorCities Story of the Week Program.
What is the Corvair?
The Corvair was intended to provide a comfortable ride despite its smaller size. Americans were used to cars with very soft suspension, cars that gave you a feeling that you were floating along the road. To this end the Corvair was designed with fully independent suspension front and rear. At the front were conventional anti-dive wishbones with coil springs, while at the rear were semi-trailing arms with coil springs. Brakes were servo assisted hydraulic drums all around and steering was by worm and roller.
Why was the Corvair designed?
The Corvair was intended to provide a comfortable ride despite its smaller size. Americans were used to cars with very soft suspension, cars that gave you a feeling that you were floating along the road. To this end the Corvair was designed with fully independent suspension front and rear.
How many horsepower does a Corvair have?
The engines for the new generation Corvair still carried forward the 95hp and 110hp from the previous years first generation for buyers wanting economy, but the Corsa model had a new 140hp version equipped with four single barrel downdraft carburetors, larger valves, and a dual exhaust system.
What chapter did Nader put the Corvair in?
Nader put the Chevrolet Corvair in the first chapter of his book and that first chapter was possibly the only one read by journalists putting together a story with a deadline to meet.
What was the result of the Chevrolet Corvair?
The result for the Chevrolet Corvair was its being plastered with negative publicity that ultimately helped seal its demise, despite the fact that at the time of the publication of Nader’s book, 1965, the criticisms he had levelled at the Corvair had been remedied in the new Second Generation models released that same year.
What was the first car made by Fisher?
The Corvair used a unibody and was the first such car made by Fisher. The styling was intentionally quite European in style with no pronounced fins or similar such stylistic devices. The car was made in four body styles; first produced was the four door sedan, followed by the two door Monza coupé, the Lakewood station wagon, and later in 1962 the convertible.
When was the second generation Corvair released?
Second Generation Chevrolet Corvair (1965-1969) The Second Generation Chevrolet Corvair was released in 1965, the same year as Ralph Nader’s book, and it addressed the weaknesses of the first generation Corvairs decisively.
When did GM retire the Corvair?
In response to all that bad press, GM redesigned the suspension of the Corvair but sales continued to spiral down, enough for GM to retire the Corvair nameplate in 1969. The NHTSA denounced Nader’s findings of the Corvair in 1972, calling it a fairly stable and safe car.
Who was the person who took down the Corvair?
The Takedown Of The Corvair. In 1965, consumer advocate and political activist Ralph Nader published his take on the ditzy world of American automobiles, "Unsafe at any Speed". He claimed that the Corvair was "the most dangerous automobile on the road" in the ‘60s and dubbed it a "one-car accident ".
What was the first unibody car made with the US?
The Corvair was a step-forward from the cars made by the Detroit three. This was GM’s first unibody vehicle made with the US for mass production and actually beat the Corvette by being the first American post-war car to have independent front and rear suspensions.
Why did Corvair have a swing axle?
The reasoning behind his declaration was that the Corvair had a swing-axle suspension that needed different front and rear tire pressures for perfect functioning, something Corvair owners often did not heed. The rear engine meant the Corvair could spin-out at high speeds and it came minus a roll bar, thus putting passengers at risk in case of a rollover. The single-piece steering column was considered to be another impact hazard.
When did Corvair Monza come out?
The Corvair Monza began life in 1960 itself as a two-door club coupe with bucket seats and the fast uptake of the car made Chevy realize its true potential. By 1961, the Monza trim was added to the four-door sedans as well. The coolness of the car with its imitable style led fans to call it the “Poor Man’s Porsche”, and by 1961, ...
What car came with the Barracuda?
By 1964, Plymouth came with the Barracuda, and on its heels came the Corvair killer, the Ford Mustang. Sales dropped and adding to the spinning loss was the book "Unsafe At Any Speed".
Was the Corvair Monza wrapped up?
Sadly, the bad press that the Corvair got sealed the Corvair Monza’s fate as well, and despite a keen interest in it, by 1969 it too had wrapped up. Here’s a look back at all that the Chevrolet Corvair Monza was, and wasn’t.
What was the Corvair project?
When it launched the Corvair project, it wanted to create an entry-level model that rolled value , practicality and performance into a package that looked like nothing else on the road. It was Chevrolet’s first rear-engined car, though many believed it wouldn’t be its last, and it received an air-cooled flat-six engine that no other mass-produced American car could brag about. The Corvair bridged the automotive gap between Europe and the United States.
When did Corvair go on sale?
The Corvair went on sale across America in the fall of 1959 as a 1960 model. The line-up quickly grew to include three basic trim levels named 500, 700 and 900, respectively, numbers that corresponded to Standard, Deluxe and Monza (essentially entry-level, mid-range and performance) models. Buyers could choose between two- and four-door body styles. The four-door 700-Series (pictured) outsold its peers by a wide margin; it accounted for about 139,000 of the 250,000 units sold during the 1960 model year.
What was the name of the car that Chevrolet made in 1964?
As Chevrolet’s legal department tried to keep the Corvair scandal from spinning out of control, its engineering department fine-tuned a battery-powered prototype named Electrovair that they built as a rolling display of technology. The original Electrovair made in 1964 suffered from many shortcomings but the Electrovair II (pictured) released in 1965 was much closer to car Chevrolet could sell to the general public. It was never seriously considered for mass production, however.
How much does a Corvair 500 cost?
The two-door 500-Series model represented the entry point into the Corvair range. It cost $1984 (about $17,000 today) during its inaugural model year. At the other end of the spectrum, the 900-series Corvair Monza started at $2238 (roughly $19,000 today).
What year did Kai Hansen make the Corvair?
Kai Hansen’s vision of a full line of Corvair-badged models became a reality during the 1961 model year. Chevrolet released a station wagon called Lakewood (pictured) with a spacious cargo compartment above the engine and a second one up front. The firm also launched a pair of commercial, cab-over models not unlike the Volkswagen Bus named Corvair 95 in reference to the 95in wheelbase.
How many Corvairs were made in 1965?
It irreparably damaged the car’s reputation and sales never recovered. Nonetheless, nearly 1.8 million Corvairs were produced. Was it unsafe or misunderstood? Let's take a look at the car and the real story:
When did the Spyder come out?
Sensing a growing demand for performance, Chevrolet made an optional equipment package named Spyder available on the Corvair Monza in 1962. It brought an high-performance evolution of the six daringly turbocharged to 150hp. The Corvair Monza Spyder arrived in showrooms more than a decade before BMW, Porsche and Saab released their own turbocharged sports cars.
What generation was the Corvair?
Look out world, 1965–69 Chevy Corvairs are rising fast. It’s hard to tell what Ralph Nader thinks about the second-generation 1965–69 Chevrolet Corvair. (We know what buyers have been thinking lately, but we’ll get to that in a bit.)
What is the second generation Corvair called?
Alas, the second generation—commonly called a late-model Corvair —naturally follows the first, and the early Corvair drew Nader’s ire. Contending that the car possessed a rear-suspension design flaw that made it prone to flipping if forced to make a severe, sudden turn, Nader called the Corvair “the one-car accident.”.
What year was the Corvair 69?
Smith isn’t alone in his appreciation of the 1965–69 Chevrolet Corvair. After the car’s Hagerty Vehicle Rating hit an all-time low of 15 in July 2018 and was sitting at a sickly 27 in January 2019, it began a steady rise to its current 81.
How much is a 1965 Corvair 500 worth?
The average #3 value of a 1965 Corvair 500 two-door hardtop coupe is $4600, while a 1966–67 Corvair 500 Sport Coupe is $4800, a ’68 Sport Coupe is $6400, and a final-year ’69 Sport Coupe is $9200.
How much horsepower does a 1965 Corvair have?
The majority of 1965–69 models carried a 2.7-liter powerplant that produced 90–140 horsepower, mated to a three-speed or four-speed manual transmission or Powerglide automatic. A 180-hp turbo engine was available on the 1965–66 Corsa.
When were Corvairs moving up?
Clearly, 1965–69 Corvairs are quickly moving up in the collector car market. Wonder if Ralph Nader knows.
Is the Corvair safe?
Oh, sure, in 1971 the National Highway Safety Transportation Board declared that the Corvair was as safe as any car of its era (and our own Larry Webster tried his best to flip one in 2017), but the model was long dead by then.
What was the Corvair accident?
In his 1965 book, Unsafe at Any Speed, Nader called the Corvair “the one-car accident.”. He wrote that a design flaw in the rear suspension made the car likely to flip over when driven in abrupt maneuvers, like, say, avoiding a ball that suddenly rolled into the street.
Who changed the tire on the 1962 Corvair Monza?
Larry Webster changing the tire on Ralph Nader's 1962 Corvair Monza Richard Pardon. Richard Pardon. The pity of it all is the black eye on what was and is an interesting car. To me — and undoubtedly to Corvair enthusiasts — the history is part of the appeal.
Is the Corvair a drift machine?
The manual steering is slow by today’s standards so catching the thing requires huge movements of the wheel. The Corvair is a drift machine.
Was the 1960 Corvair a compact car?
In short, the 1960 Corvair was a complete rethink of the automobile and three years ahead of the Porsche 911.
Was the Corvair dangerous?
In 1971, the U.S. Department of Transportation tested the original Corvair alongside competitive cars and determined that it was not especially dangerous. By then the Corvair had been out of production for two years and the affair was mostly over. And it had not been pretty. In addition to the rash of product liability lawsuits, Nader successfully sued GM for invasion of privacy in 1966, after the company had him followed. This had the effect of further publicizing Unsafe at Any Speed.
Did the Corvair have rear suspension?
The curious thing is that by the time Nader’s book came out, Chevrolet had already evolved the Corvair with a second-generation that featured a redesigned rear suspension. By then, however, the writing about the car’s fate was already on the wall, independent of Nader’s book.
Is there power steering in a Corvair?
There’s no power steering yet the wheel doesn’t require much more effort than a modern car, even at parking-lot speeds. The same goes for the brakes. The suspension is soft, but compared to my 1955 Ford Country Squire, the oldest car in my fleet, the Corvair is a Ferrari. It’s fun.
What was the Corvair designed to do?
auto industry. It was designed to combat the Volkswagen Beetle and adapted the air-cooled, rear-engine concept to American scale and style. Its handling was no worse than the Beetle, ...
When was the Corvair made?
Corvair production began on July 7, 1959 and it was Motor Trend’ s 1960 Car Of The Year. Initial models were 500 and 700 4-door sedans, followed by a Monza coupe in April 1960, a four-speed option for 1961, and turbocharging in 1962.
How many Corvairs were sold in 10 years?
Still, with 1,839,439 sold over 10 years, including 130,362 trucks, the Corvair was hardly a failure. It’s among the least expensive ways into the U.S. collector car world and the best convertibles seldom surpass $25,000. Corvairs are relatively easy to fix, with a reliable parts supply.
What year was the Corvair 500?
1960 Chevrolet Corvair 500 GM. First a compact history: Chief engineer Ed Cole aimed the Corvair (combining Corvette and Bel Air) at the Beetle in 1956. During development, the sedan was camouflaged as a 15-foot, six-passenger Australian Holden, with a rear-mounted, 140-cubic-inch, air-cooled flat-six-cylinder engine, ...
Is the Corvair safe?
Its handling was no worse than the Beetle, but ambitious politician Ralph Nader exploited it for his own ends. In 1971 the National Highway Safety Transportation Board declared the Corvair as safe as any car in the early 1960s, but it was too late to matter.
Can Corvair be repaired?
“In most places it’s easier to get a Ferrari correctly repaired,” he said.
Was the 1960 Corvair Deluxe 700 an orphan?
1960 Chevrolet Corvair Deluxe 700 GM. Claypool noted that once Cole was gone, the Corvair was an orphan. “Most dealers might have one junior mechanic who worked on them. If he was off, they’d tell you to schedule an appointment later. ” As an economy car, many were not well-maintained, he said.
What is a Corvair?
The Chevrolet Corvair is a unique collectible for fans of the American motoring genre. It was the only mass-produced US. car with a rear-mounted-air cooled engine, and GM produced close to 1.8 mill... More Info ›. Streetside Classics - Dallas-Ft Worth.
When was the Corvair convertible made?
Gateway Classic Cars Milwaukee is excited to present this 1968 Chevrolet Corvair convertible. The Corvair was manufactured from 1960-1969. It takes the distinction of being the only American mass-p... More Info ›
What car was a 1966 Corvair Monza 110?
1966 Chevrolet Corvair Monza 110 Coupe. Super solid metal car with great integrity that would be a great addition to any collection. Iowa car that was very well cared for over its life and gave the... More Info ›
How much horsepower does a Corvair Monza Spyder have?
A beautifully restored Corvair Monza Spyder powered by a 150-horsepower air-cooled flat-six some fifteen years ahead of the Porsche 930 turbo! This original California car was sold new by Felix C... More Info ›
What color is the 1963 Corvair Spyder?
This Corvair Spyder Turbo is finished in gorgeous Silver Blue with a Blac... More Info ›
What engine is in the 1965 Corvair Monza?
Gateway Classic Cars of St. Louis is proud to present this 1965 Chevrolet Corvair Monza. With a peppy 2.7L H-6 engine bolted to a 2 Speed Powerglide, this Corvair is an invigorating drive. By 1964... More Info ›
How many miles does a 1966 Corvair 500 Sport Coupe have?
57,377 miles. 1966 Chevrolet Corvair 500 Sport Coupe finished in Ermine White, as it would have been originally. This car is believed to have 57,377 original miles, we cannot confirm the miles to be actual. 739 ... More Info ›.
