I get a lot of looks

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Middie65
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I get a lot of looks

Post by Middie65 »

When I'm out and about in my 65 Monza, I get a look of looks, smiles, thumbs up etc. but it drives me crazy when people tell me their Grandmothers had a Corvair. Does this happen to anyone?
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dagdal1967
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Re: I get a lot of looks

Post by dagdal1967 »

I get this all the time.

"My crazy uncle Charlie had a Corvair. Most unsafe thing on the road, but he was crazy so he didn't care".
"I remember my Grandfather used to have one in his barn. Bought it and drove it for a year till he heard about al the flippin' over that was goin' on. Then he parked it and never drove it again."
"A Corvair!?! Really? Do they even have seat belts. My aunt's friend knew someone that died in one."
"That's the car with the Push-Button Transmission, right?"

I just smile and say "Thanks, it's a '64 and you're an idiot" and then drive off.
Doug Gault
Fort Worth, Texas

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bbodie52
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Re: I get a lot of looks

Post by bbodie52 »

I wrote this back on October 17, 2013
I think you will find that driving a classic Corvair tends to attract more attention than driving a Subaru. Corvairs seem to draw interest at every gas station, movie theater, grocery store, rest stop and restaurant parking lot! I even receive comments and thumbs up at stop lights while waiting for the red light to change. I know it's not me — it has to be the Corvair! ::-):

There is a whole new generation of Corvair enthusiasts and owners developing out there. Even teen-agers are discovering Corvairs, and fathers are buying them as father/son and father/daughter restoration projects that turn into the teen's first car — and many of them love it! They often get more attention driving a classic Corvair than they would in a brand-new Corvette!

The kids at church are fascinated with the Corvair. If one asks to see the engine a whole crowd will develop around the car when I open the engine compartment! I even get attention and offers of assistance if I open the trunk. They think I have an engine problem! When I stopped at a base gas station in Germany with my 1965 Corsa convertible a young teen approached and wanted to know what kind of car it was (in 1982). He thought it was some kind of Italian sports car that he had never seen before.

Recently at a gas station in Georgia I was approached by a middle-aged woman, who asked me "...is that a Corvair???" She was very excited and pleased when I confirmed her suspicions. "I thought so!" she said. "My GRANDMOTHER used to drive one!" :whoa: :sad5: ...I just felt old.

:Love it:
I have been driving Corvairs since I took my first driver's test at age 16 in our 1965 Corsa convertible in December 1968. I dated my future wife in Corvairs, drove a Corvair on our wedding day and on our honeymoon, drove Corvairs while with the Air Force for 24 years all over the USA and in Germany, brought two kids home from the hospital after they were born in a 1965 Corsa, and we are still driving a 1966 Corsa convertible. But when I bought our current 1966 Corsa in June 2012 I had been away from Corvairs since 1995, and when I drove that Corvair back from Lakeland (near Orlando) Florida to our home in North Carolina (561 miles), I had never experienced such Corvair recognition and admiration before. I had one woman in a pickup truck admire the car at a stop light. She rolled her passenger window down and couldn't say enough about the car. The car seemed to gather a crowd at every rest stop, gas station, and restaurant that I paused at from Lakeland to Hayesville, North Carolina! Children were telling their parents that they should get one of those cars. Adults of all ages would strike up a conversation based on that Corvair. My other Corvairs in past decades had received similar comments and admiration... but not to the extent that it happens now! Just parking the Corvair in a movie theater or grocery store parking lot will often lead to the discovery of a note attached to the car with an offer to buy my Corvair when I return to the car.

:whoa: ::-):
Brad Bodie
Lake Chatuge, North Carolina
Image 1966 Corvair Corsa Convertible
Middie65
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Re: I get a lot of looks

Post by Middie65 »

I usually reply the cars a 65 but my wife's a 51.
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19corvair62
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Re: I get a lot of looks

Post by 19corvair62 »

I can definitely agree with you guys. I live down in Miami, FL and Corvairs are pretty hard to spot around here. Even though my car looks like a jalopy right now (restoring), It is incredible the amount of people I run into that say "Hey, that was my first car back in the day!" and "I used to have a 1960 4-door [last year American cars were imported into Cuba] back in Cuba!" . Its always nice to hear these older folks reminisce about their good times in their Corvairs and what great cars they are.

Many people ask me why I got a Corvair - any other 20 year old would have probably gotten a 60s Mustang or muscle car. My reason?, They're relatively rare, cheap , and have a cool history! :cool:
CAM00318.jpg
My car as of now - gets lots of looks with paint sanded and trim missing.
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Re: I get a lot of looks

Post by Melb-Mike »

You can also tell them that with a Corvair, you don't need to worry about a defective air bag going off and shredding your face off. You have to buy a Toyota to get that feature. :rolling:
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adding to 69 Corvette BB, 67 GTO,
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azdave
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Re: I get a lot of looks

Post by azdave »

Middie65 wrote:...but it drives me crazy when people tell me their Grandmothers had a Corvair.
But my grandmother did have a Corvair. A 65 140 Corsa to be exact.
Dave W. from Gilbert, AZ

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SfcColts
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Re: I get a lot of looks

Post by SfcColts »

I always love the "those cars are unsafe" comments. I always ask them if they read the book? I've never heard one person say yes.

I overheard a buy arrogantly tell his friends how "unsafe" they were and how they "roll over so easily". I asked him if he read the book to which he said no. I told him to please step away from my car before it flips over on him. I do believe I used a few descriptive adjectives.
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Pathfinder
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Re: I get a lot of looks

Post by Pathfinder »

I dropped off a bag of donations to the local hospital's thrift store, and all the old lady volunteers came running out to see the car and reminisce about their younger days and Corvairs. Mine's a convertible, so they were throwing their arms up in the air and shouting "wee". It was hysterical and I had a blast, surrounded by 5 ladies in their 70's and pink smocks. I was invited back anytime, as long as I made donations and take them for rides. Next time I'll take pics....
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Re: I get a lot of looks

Post by BIGTWIN »

One thing you can say about "old ladies", they know class when they see it.
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JasonC
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Re: I get a lot of looks

Post by JasonC »

I don't mind it when people say their grandparents had one. But I do like all comments that people come up with. From what type of VW is that? Or to a story of how someone learned to drive in a Corvair.
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bbodie52
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Re: I get a lot of looks

Post by bbodie52 »

Image
Pathfinder wrote:I dropped off a bag of donations to the local hospital's thrift store, and all the old lady volunteers came running out to see the car and reminisce about their younger days and Corvairs. Mine's a convertible, so they were throwing their arms up in the air and shouting "wee". It was hysterical and I had a blast, surrounded by 5 ladies in their 70's and pink smocks. I was invited back anytime, as long as I made donations and take them for rides. Next time I'll take pics....
I love this story! Older people often find themselves invigorated by the presence of children and young people, or things that make them feel young again. It is funny how a convertible car that is almost fifty years old can bring out such emotions — but with a Corvair it seems to happen time and time again. That convertible Corvair makes them feel like they were in their twenties again!

I hope you follow through and take them for a ride in your Corvair. Perhaps you can take them to a Dairy Queen or something like that so that they can revisit past memories... it would probably mean a lot to them!
:tu:
Brad Bodie
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freedo
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Re: I get a lot of looks

Post by freedo »

i usually get the "my friend/cousin/relative/friend of a friend, had one and crashed and died"
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cad-kid
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Re: I get a lot of looks

Post by cad-kid »

freedo wrote:i usually get the "my friend/cousin/relative/friend of a friend, had one and crashed and died"
Hoy do you reply to that :dontknow:
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paulcomi
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Re: I get a lot of looks

Post by paulcomi »

There are a few general reactions I get in the car.

One is the thumbs up and smile. Those are usually people who think the car is cute and nostalgic, they don't know what it is but they like it, or they probably had one or knew someone who had one and used to drive around in it in high school

Then there are the Prius driving folks who seem irritated by it. It confuses me but I suspect that they havent figured out that its good for the environment to save these cars rather than send them to a landfill. They seem to tailgate me and look miserable but pehaps thats how they look around everyone

And lastly there are those know it all's who always seem to corner me when I'm out with my family going to dinner and they feel entitled to come up and start giving their .02 about the corvair in general and how they are unsafe.

The people I gravitate toward are those with a smile on their face. Its fun having a car no one else has in my area. Theres a prius on every block but I'm the only one that has a shiny red corvair anywhere I go
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JasonC
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Re: I get a lot of looks

Post by JasonC »

freedo wrote:i usually get the "my friend/cousin/relative/friend of a friend, had one and crashed and died"
I've gotten some of these stories, but 9 times out for 10 they where usually acting stupid in the car. I just say sorry for your loss.
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