Ford corvair

Ford corvair all, the Corvair will always be remembered as being different — very different. Instead, the company charted a more radical design course that ultimately proved fatal for this most controversial of all automotive brands.

Carmakers have been comparing their products to competing products ever since there have been more than one car to buy. And, of course, no one expects one company to go out of their way to be sure that both cars get an equal and fair shake, because why the hell would they? Because why else would they make it? Parts of it are also enjoyably catty, too. The Falcon was an extremely conventional car design, essentially a scaled-down Ford Galaxie. It used an inline-six making about 95 horsepower driving the rear wheels, a unibody with coil spring suspension up front and old-school leaf springs on a live axle in back.

Ford corvair

Both were bedroom wall poster cars, and both grab a crowd wherever they go. This pair epitomise Lamborghini's mystique. How the General stuffed up the should have been brilliant Corvair. The Chevrolet Corvair began as a sweet dream and quickly turned into nightmare. Few modestly priced American cars were created with such imagination; few were so compromised by cost-cutting. And the paradox of the first compact Chevrolet is that its poor safety record arguably drove not only the beginning of serious legislation to force manufacturers to engineer more safety into their cars but perhaps started the process which led to our current nanny state. Misunderstanding and plain misinformation continues to dog the Chevy Corvair. Many automotive specialists, including the late, erudite LJK Setright, believe Nader overstated his case: "And it was not the cars which were too fast, it was the drivers who were too stupid — but what social animal under the impulsion of a cultural imperative, will stop to consider such an argument? In America things were much worse than in the UK : the combination of inept unschooled drivers in rear-engined cars with swing-axle rear suspension had proved lethal, and the Corvair was now being pilloried. The dangers inherent in the suspension design and weight distribution of the original Corvair were well understood not just by a cadre of leading Chevrolet engineers but also by their rivals at Ford. These included value for money, performance, space and that key attribute of American cars, ride comfort. Nader was perhaps not even the harshest critic. DeLorean remarks on how many senior GM executives and their family members were involved in serious crashes:.

Predictably, Corvair sales went into freefall and in Mayafter a total production run of a healthy 1.

The Ford Falcon and slightly more revolutionary Plymouth Valiant, for example, both tucked the engine up front with a solid rear axle driving the rear wheels—just like their full-size Fairlane and Dodge Dart big brothers yes, the Dart was a full-size car in The Chevrolet Corvair was something else entirely. Hitting the road in as a model, the Corvair represented a sharp departure from domestic-automaker convention: An hp, air-cooled aluminum flat-six engine ran behind a transaxle, way in the back, and the car featured unit-body construction and swing-axle rear suspension. The Corvair was the future, or at least it looked a lot like the future. Sure, cost factors—along with the gnashing of accounting and engineering—resulted in a car that could have been better, but the Corvair drove into the world as it was. Except for one little thing: The Corvair, like any rear-engine car, could, in fact, oversteer enough to get a driver not familiar with rear-engine driving dynamics in some rear-first trouble.

The Chevrolet Corvair was a compact car produced by General Motors from to It was designed to compete with the European imports that were becoming popular in the United States. The Corvair was notable for its innovative design, which included a rear-mounted air-cooled engine, four-wheel independent suspension, and a compact, lightweight uni-body. The first generation of the Corvair was introduced in and offered as a sedan or coupe. The car was well received, and sales were strong in its first year on the market. Station wagon and convertible body styles were added to the lineup, as was the Rampside and Loadside pickup trucks, and the Greenbrier and Corvan vans. In , the Corvair Monza Sypder debuted a turbocharged version of the flat-6 engine. In , the second generation Corvair was introduced, with sleeker styling and upgraded raar suspension. Chevrolet turned its focus to its new Mustang-fighter, the Camaro introduced in , and the Corvair was discountinued after the model year. Despite its troubled history, the Chevrolet Corvair remains an important part of automotive history and is remembered for its innovative design and engineering.

Ford corvair

Davis, Jr. Trouble, in the form of the Ford Mustang, was brewing, and Corvair sales began a slide in from which they'd never recover. Today, the second-generation Corvairs, model years '69, represent a relatively affordable point of entry into the classic car hobby. Is the time right to shop for one? The Corvair differed from its predecessor in more than just bodywork. Underneath, a new articulated-link rear suspension replaced the swing-axle setup used on first-generation models, while softer front springs improved ride quality. Four engine choices were available, all based upon the cu. Depending upon the engine selected, buyers could opt for three- or four-speed manual transmissions available with all engines or the two-speed Powerglide automatic with all but the turbocharged six.

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Combine unexpected oversteer with a swing-axle independent rear suspension, and things could get … surprising. A quad-car-bureted naturally aspirated version of the flat-six, meanwhile, was rated for hp. I seem to recall, in another bit of foreshadowing, that Ford had trouble resulting from tire pressure as well as gas tanks. Search by image. All engines got some of the heavy-duty internal parts from the Turbocharged engine for better durability. DeLorean remarks on how many senior GM executives and their family members were involved in serious crashes:. The Corvair engine received its first size increase to cu in 2. While the "Big Three" continued to introduce ever-larger cars during the s, the new American Motors Corporation AMC focused its business strategy on smaller-sized and fuel-efficient automobiles, years before a real need for them existed. I always find them interesting to watch. The Monza wagon was available in and is not really a Lakewood. By , production fell to 14, A station wagon body also exacerbates the tendency because it increases the weight at the rear and raises the center of gravity.

In the US, the Corvair was unprecedented for its rear-engine, the first American mass-production car to adopt a configuration common in Europe since the s and even earlier. Its very low height suggested a sporty car, even though the initial sedan had no real sporting aspirations; that would come a bit later, in the Monza coupe. And undoubtedly, its clean lines were attractive to many American import car buyers, which explains why it sold so well to that contingent.

Yenko decided to race modified Corvairs, beginning with the model. Always came with rubber mats, bench seats, and very little trim. Significant engineering changes were introduced for , while the model lineup and styling remained relatively unchanged. The Monza series contributed to about half of the Corvair sales in The SCCA, on the other hand, had relaxed its ruling regarding color, and the cars were available in red or blue. You talking about the Falcon vs Corvair talking points, the online-work spam or both? The Corvair's combination of power and light weight introduced European manufacturers to an American market niche for small popular-priced sedans with more power and driveability than the contemporary European economy sedans and a more versatile and practical design than European sports cars. Grus Farley's tipped everything he has into his Aussie-delivered Chev. John Fitch , chose the Corvair as the basis for "Sprint" models. Monza" styling concept cars at the Chicago Auto Show , management approved the neatly appointed bucket-seat DeLuxe trim of the series Monza as a two-door club coupe only.