A look back at the 1950s in color. This video runs about eight minutes with pictures, background music, and some narration. We have seen some of the pictures already in this thread, and some are new - at least new to me.
You guys really need to get over your fear of Corvairs. I don't know what trauma you experienced as a youth that made you feel this way but it had to be something bad. The Corvair was and is part of American automotive history and I'm sure Nader didn't kill the Corvair, the Mustang did. As for an engine mount causing the engine to drop out, you would have to shear 4 mounting bolts on the rear mount, poor maintenance on your part. Oil leaking, again poor maintenance on your part. Late-model rolling over, hard to do, you just screwed up. Over one million sold so I don't think we have seen every picture yet so just use the scroll button and stop whining. (disclaimer: I took drivers ed in a 1960 Corvair and am the current owner of a 65' Corsa)
When guys drive by on their electric carts when I'm at work it's always customary for them to wave like the queen as they pass you.
I have no fear of Corvairs. Just don’t like them. It’s not a requirement. I would not own one. I’m glad you do. They are just another econobox for the time. Probably brought into production to fast, all the manufacturers did it. Pintos sold by the millions also and the best thing they ever did was on dirt circle tracks in the mini stock series all over the country.
According to John DeLorean in his book "On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors" Chevrolet engineering knew of the issues early on in design, but Ed Cole thought it cost too much to fix and not many would drive it hard enough to find the flaw. Pontiac refused to have a version of the Corvair because of this flaw and the oil leakage issue, and was allowed a version of the Special/F85. Other manufacturers, including Mercedes, examined the swing arm design and gave it a hard pass. Chevrolet's arrogance bit them in the ass again in the late 60's with bad motor mount failures causing crashes due to binding accelerator linkage.
Hey I'm sure not complaining! I nevr had one, but a couple of brothers I went to school with had one. A fun car. They used to change it up a bit by giving it rake..."Yup, four concrete blocks in the trunk oughta do it". I like looking at the 'Where's Waldo' type posts!
Pontiac did have a version of sorts... the Tempest. I had a '63 LeMans with independent rear suspension that was very similar to the Corvair, with a 326 in it that more potential for over-the-edge driving. Never felt unsafe in it. And... this was during DeLorean's reign! In GM's defense, one of the most successful cars in history (Volkswagen) had the same set-up, so given the widespread acceptance of the Bug, why wouldn't they be willing to make a domestic counterpart? Nader was just a self-promoter that wanted recognition and got to the media before GM could defend themselves.
The Jalopy Journal
