CLASSIC CAR and DRIVER - Corvair Video

[bbodie52]

I had not seen this before, and don't think it has been posted on the Corvair Forum...

Suppose you are head man in a big time motor works, profitably building the most reasonable car on the market. For argument's sake, let's say you have this car that handles as well as anything on the road, has set the style for everyone else to follow, is an engineering tour de force that gives better gas mileage than a Rambler American, handles snow like a Saab, stops faster than a Stingray, and costs less than three grand optioned to the teeth. Then imagine that a half-qualified weirdo wanders onto the scene, telling everyone who'll listen that you are a bad guy, since you used to build a car that wasn't as good. Just suppose all this incredible stuff was true, what would you do? QUIT? Give up? Cop out? Open the memory tube and uninvent it? Let's face it, you wouldn't be the first to be castigated. If history offers any precedent, consider the now legendary Model T Ford. It was a rolling booby trap, dangerous indeed to the unwary. Steinbeck lovingly told of being put up against the wall by his Liz when he cranked it with the levers in the wrong places. And thousands of arms were broken by kicking cranks. Henry Ford fixed all that with the Model A, of course, and he was proud of it. But suppose Upton Sinclair had put the knock on the "T" in 1928, claiming that since the Lizzie had some faults, all Fords were menaces to the American Way. Would Ford have said, 'I'll just stop talking about my Model A and quit making it as soon as I can Mr. Sinclair?' Hardly. Then why is the Corvair dead? No guts, that's why.
Robert Cumberford, Car and Driver, August 1969

You might say that the Corvair changed our auto making process to such a degree that there will never be another Corvair. I don't think any other car in the last 25 years has been that significant.
Patrick Bedard, Car and Driver, July 1980

The styling speaks for itself; it is undoubtedly the sexiest-looking American car of the new crop and possibly one of the most handsome cars in the world...
Car and Driver

We personally ... feel that the hood is a trifle short.
Car and Driver

[Bruins_Fan]

Thanks for posting.

[66vairguy]

Interesting comments by Car and Driver.

Lambert implies that GM caved under pressure from Nader, but it was simple economics that killed the Corvair. The Mustang reduced Corvair sales to zip and the Corvair was no longer a money maker.

So blame Ford, first the Falcon prompted GM to make the (cheaper to build) Chevy II/Nova and the Corvair survived by becoming a profitable sporty car instead of an inexpensive marginally profitable compact. Then the Mustang forced GM to build the sporty Camaro. Between the Mustang and Camaro there was little in the way of demand for the Corvair. The Corvair last year was suppose to be 1967, but for reasons speculated about (probably pending litigation) GM kept the Corvair in production until new safety and emissions standards would have required a major re-design.

The Car and Driver comment that the Corvair hood was a little short was addressed with the Camaro. In fact I have a book with the LM Corvair silhouette imposed on the Camaro and the body shapes are similar, but the Camaro hood is longer and the rear is shorter.

Maybe not the best "business" case for a new car, but I'm glad the Corvair was made.

[bbodie52]

These two Wikipedia articles do a fairly good job of "setting the stage" and describing the sporty car market evolution in the 1960s. The development into the "Muscle Car" era was a natural growth and expansion of the market, but the Corvair was left in the dust by its own inherent horsepower limitations that could not follow the marketing trend. The Late Model Corvair style was on the right track, as seen in the Camaro, Firebird, etc. But the big V8 engine was also a critical component that simply could not be merged into the Corvair design concept, that had focused on the European economy and sports car classes.

Origins of the class

1965 Ford Mustang

PONY CAR
The pony car had its origins when domestic automakers began "noticing the rising interest in small, sporty cars, and the increasing importance of younger customers". Several concept cars were developed. Efforts to entice Ford Motor Company by the Budd Company, the producer of the bodies of the original 2-seater Thunderbird, was a new four-seat car utilizing refurbished tooling from the old model as well as a new two-seat roadster built early 1962 on a Ford Falcon chassis using a modified 4-seat 1957 Thunderbird body. Budd also created an fully operational proof of concept for American Motors Corporation (AMC), the XR-400, featuring a long hood, AMC's 327 cu in (5.4 L) V8, short rear deck, and the look "similar to many European sports cars." The automaker's "management expressed interest in a new car with a sports flair" and work on the Tarpon, a striking 2+2 with an elongated fastback roof, began in early 1963.


1964 Corvair Monza
Examples of production cars that included sporty and youthful appeal were the 1960 Chevrolet Corvair. Initially positioned as an economy car, the Corvair's plusher-trimmed and sportier Monza model sold around 144,000 units by 1961. The Monza's bucket seats and floor-mounted transmission shifter started a trend toward sportier cars equipped with both in all sizes from compacts to full-size cars. Ford initially responded with Futura and Futura Sprint versions of its Ford Falcon, Chrysler with the Plymouth Valiant Signet and Dodge Dart GT, American Motors with the 440-H and Rogue versions of the Rambler American, and Studebaker with the sporty Daytona version of its compact Lark. Other sporty bucket-seat compact cars that appeared during the early 1960s included the Mercury Comet S-22, Oldsmobile F-85 Cutlass, Buick Special Skylark, and Pontiac Tempest LeMans. Most of these sporty compacts came with the same economical six-cylinder engines as their more mundane counterparts, but in some cases more powerful V8 engines were at least optional along with four-speed manual transmissions and center consoles between the front bucket seats.

Some of the technical developments that debuted in early sporty compact cars in the U.S. (1961–63) included a turbocharged six-cylinder in the rear-engine Corvair Monza Spyder/Corsa (1962–66), turbocharged aluminum V8 on the 1962–63 Oldsmobile Cutlass Jetfire, and a standard 194 cu in (3.2 L) four-cylinder engine/rear transaxle combination on the 1961–63 Pontiac Tempest LeMans (available with an optional high-performance four-barrel carburetor). In 1963, the LeMans introduced a large-for-a-compact-car 326 cu in (5.3 L) V8 option producing up to 280 hp (209 kW).

Although these sporty versions of mundane compact cars were a commercial success for most automakers, some auto executives—led by Ford's Lee Iacocca—believed they only scratched the surface of the potential market. During this period there was a strong influx of young buyers with discretionary income and a taste for vehicles with a younger image than a standard sedan. Iacocca's marketing studies revealed that if a unique-looking sporty car could be offered at an affordable price, it would find many buyers. Ford's response was the Mustang, an enormous success from its April 17, 1964 launch. Year 1 sales forecasts of 100,000 units were shattered on the first day, when Ford dealers took orders for 22,000 vehicles, forcing the company to shift production mid-year. The extended model year sales totaled 618,812 Mustangs...

...Initially, General Motors believed that the restyled 1965 Corvair would be an adequate challenger for the Mustang. However, when it became clear that the Corvair itself was doomed, the more conventional Chevrolet Camaro was introduced...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_car

Continued reading...

MUSCLE CAR: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_car

To replace our 1961 Corvair Monza coupe in 1965, my parents looked seriously at a new Mustang Fastback vs. a new Corvair Corsa convertible. I remember liking them both at age 12, but the Corvair won out and set the stage for me and a lifetime of Corvairs. Besides, my father had his 327 V8 1962 Corvette engine-powered modified AC British sports car to keep him entertained, while the Corsa convertible was our "family grocery getter"!

Our Family Chose Corvair over Mustang!

[66vairguy]

Lee Iaccoca's book has a passage were he says something to the effect - When asked about the Mustang I tell folks that I did not design the Mustang. I told the designers we needed a small sporty car like the Corvair and they did the work.

So the Corvair is in many ways was the beginning of the affordable sporty car era. By the 60's the Ford Thunderbird evolved into a personal luxury car (another first started by Ford) and the Chevrolet Corvette was an expensive sports car and limited to holding only two people.