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101 Cars: Chevrolet Corvair
Maligned Brilliance, or Malignant Blunder?
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SPEED Staff  |  Posted July 03, 2008   Charlotte, North Carolina
1966 Chevy Corvair Twin Turbo V8 Built by General Motors/Oldsmobile Engineer "Craig Kemler" utilizing G.M/Oldsmobile facility in Lansing, Michigan. (Photo: Barrett-Jackson)

It was the birth of consumerism as we know it today. Advocate Ralph Nader decided that the Corvair was unsafe and set out to prove it. His 1964 book, Unsafe at Any Speed, accused the car of being a lethal-handling deathtrap. Whether it was or not is still a matter of debate. The main controversy centered around the Corvair's rear swing-axle design, which was prone to massive geometry changes during hard cornering that caused snap over-steer and could provoke a spin. This was nothing new: Porsche's vaunted 911, the early Triumph Spitfires, several Renaults, and by the way, every VW Beetle ever built, carried a similar design and could also be provoked into poor-handling traits if driven stupidly enough. Nonetheless, once Nader was on his bandwagon and the public began to believe, the Corvair - often called America's 911 because of its whirring, rear-mounted, horizontally opposed siz-cylinder engine - was dead on arrival. The less attractive first-generation cars aren't much fun, but the later Monza and turbocharged Corsa models were good-looking performers that still have a loyal following. And Ralph Nader will never be president.

Specifications
Engine: 164-ci turbocharged flat six (1965 Corsa)
Horsepower: 180
0–60 mph: 10.0 seconds
Top Speed: 110 miles per hour (Cosworth)
Price New: $3,677 (1965 Corsa coupe)
Value Now: A concours-quality coupe is around $12,000, perhaps $15,000 for the ragtop. Non-turbocharged second-gen cars are under $10,000, and basic first-gen cars can be bought all day long for less than five grand.
Chevrolet Corvair Photos



Claim to Fame

Famously brought down by a book


Soundtrack

The theme song from the movie Dazed and Confused, which starred a '65 Corvair and was certainly how General Motors felt after Unsafe was published


Perfect Passenger

Ralph - who else?


Behind the Wheel
Decent driver versions are easy to find; start on eBay, where we found 38 examples for sale at one time.


Did You Know?
During investigation into the safety allegations against the Corvair, British racing driver Stirling Moss was brought in to testify.


The Perfect Drive
Any road that leads to Nader's house



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The Corvair still has a loyal following. Are you one? We want to hear from you.

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