Interesting tid-bit I found on the net
A friend of mine is having a birthday today, and someone mentioned on her journal that today the mustang was introduced, and linked to wikipedia. So I change the link address from Ford_Mustang, to "Chevrolet_Corvair". I check out the info, and this paragraph stands out.
"However, a young lawyer named Ralph Nader had written a book called Unsafe at Any Speed in which the Corvair (and its tendency to roll over) was used as a dramatic case study. Even though a 1972 safety commission ultimately exonerated the Corvair and declared it no more unsafe than any similar vehicle of its era, Nader's book, which was published in 1965, was a severe blow to the Corvair line. The sporty, inexpensive Ford Mustang, based on the conventionally designed Ford Falcon and introduced in late 1964 in response to the Corvair, ultimately finished off Chevrolet's bold experiment."
I've been saying this for years, but no one believed me. Nader picked the Corvair because it was a new car done by evil GM, and despite being wrong about it (at least, in the manner that the Corvair was unsafer than cars of that era (turns out they were actually safer)), he made a name for himself.
Thats not to say that what ended up happening BECAUSE of what he did wasn't good. Just that the choice of cars seemed to be counter productive. The Corvair was more fuel efficient and cleaner to run. They were economical cars before economical cars were an issue.
"However, a young lawyer named Ralph Nader had written a book called Unsafe at Any Speed in which the Corvair (and its tendency to roll over) was used as a dramatic case study. Even though a 1972 safety commission ultimately exonerated the Corvair and declared it no more unsafe than any similar vehicle of its era, Nader's book, which was published in 1965, was a severe blow to the Corvair line. The sporty, inexpensive Ford Mustang, based on the conventionally designed Ford Falcon and introduced in late 1964 in response to the Corvair, ultimately finished off Chevrolet's bold experiment."
I've been saying this for years, but no one believed me. Nader picked the Corvair because it was a new car done by evil GM, and despite being wrong about it (at least, in the manner that the Corvair was unsafer than cars of that era (turns out they were actually safer)), he made a name for himself.
Thats not to say that what ended up happening BECAUSE of what he did wasn't good. Just that the choice of cars seemed to be counter productive. The Corvair was more fuel efficient and cleaner to run. They were economical cars before economical cars were an issue.
posted by Hap (Dan) at 11:21 AM
1 Comments:
Heya Hap. Being raised and employed in the auto industry my whole life I feel like I can comment on this.
I do agree that Nader was wrong in demonizing the Corvair and agree with your analysis.
In 1963 Chevrolet brought out the Corvair Monza coupe. It was the fastest, best handling four seater built in the US until Ford put the 302's in the Mustang in 1965. Both products were aimed at a performance minded younger consumer.
BUT!!
The demise of the Corvair was a good thing for the American auto industry. Within a year Pontiac and Plymouth both challenged the Mustang with the GTO and the Barracuda. The muscle car era was born.
The Corvair may been a great car but I find it hard to imagine what kind of car we'd be driving now if that rear engine design would have become the norm. How different our lives would be.
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