Compared to the Renault Dauphine, Volkswagen Bug, and other little imported jobs in the late '50s and early '60s, the Corvair did have a lot of advantages. Back in 1958 when the Corvair was under development, its technology was completely different from the rest of what Detroit was building. Chevy kept improving the car over the years until, by 1966, it was a truly excellent product. Marketing is what our economy is all about.
283 i have 6 corvairs all my kids got to learn on them ..an i like the way my 62 drives over my late ones ..funny but all better in a curve than my 56 belair an most my fwd cars ,,,new radials were what they needed back then
actually it was the "camber compensater" that was optional on the 60-63 models and standard on the 64 that prevented swing axle jack, the 1965 models had full independent rear suspension, yes they became a decent handling car, or as good as you could get with a rear engine car.
I had a 1961. It was a super fun car, peppy, sporty. However it was absolutely prone to spin out and I had it happen twice. 2nd time it broke all the motor mounts and my motor fell out on the freeway. BUT it's totally true that VW bugs were hugely unsafe and I know friends who died in them. NO passenger protection anywhere,
In the late 1960's my step-dad and his brother and parents had about 5-6 Corvairs. A couple were just "junkers" to scavenge for parts. The oldest was a 1960 and they said it was a 'death trap'. However, the late model Corvair Monza was quite safe and actually quite sporty. Ralph Nader ruined the name so much that even when Chevrolet fixed the problems it was too late. Just another piece of US Automotive History...
Some of the problems were resolved in the 1965 model year but they still tended to leak oil, but than so did VWs, Harleys and anything with a Detroit Diesel in it.
I'll go with the Lark, thank you very much. The loan officer at he bank said it was the best in the industry based on the number of repos because the owners stop paying when the car stops running.
My mother had a '62 Corvair for many years and as a lead-footed teenager, I found its handling and brakes to be competent, but then again, I'm not an idiot. It was so light in the front you didn't need power steering but its failings were an underpowered 80 hp engine coupled to two-speed Powerglide which made for some pretty slow driving no matter what you did with your right foot, especially on freeway grades where the choice of first or second gear was pretty much a tossup, speed-wise. Mechanically, it had a serpentine fan belt, forced to twist and change direction twice per revolution via a generator pulley on the left and a simple pulley on the right. Both were supported by cheap aluminum castings that kept cracking, leaving you with no engine fan cooling. I got pretty good at replacing those castings and fan belts which failed often due to constant twisting which it was not designed to do. Reliability otherwise was just fine. One word on swing axles if you please: part of the rollover problem was due to those VERY skinny bias-ply tires with their inherent weak sidewalls. Radial tires (with wider, stiff treads and smaller sidewalls) would make it less likely for the rear tires to tuck under, though I can't imagine how you'd get a Corvair to go that fast in the first place.
Getting a replacement CD player/radio for my 2005 Ford Focus takes six weeks. Due to corporate globalization, there is no longer any such thing as an "American" car. Just an assemblage of parts made in 3rd world countries.
01:10 Can you imagine in today's world aiming a gun at a group of ordinary people and thinking it would improve sales? It's a different world today, for sure.
randy109 numbers aren't much my dad and uncle had beetles of the Corvair era constantly broke down hard to steer always uncomfortable. The Corvair is better in every sense take your mean comments elsewhere
Prima Auto mit gelungenem Styling, das in Europa mehrfach kopiert wurde. Z.B.: BMW, NSU-Prinz, VW Karmann-Ghia Typ 34, Fiat und in Russia Saporoshez. Jedenfalls habe ich jetzt auch einen Monza-Convertible.
@Otto VanHouten Ralph Nader wanted to bring down GM. In the test driving comparison with the Falcon, the Corvair driver purposely over corrected in the turns so as to cause the car to oversteer forcing the Corvair to spin out. This started the false narrative that the Corvair was a DANGEROUS car. The Volkswagen had the SAME handling characteristics, but Nader did not go after VW. Nader was playing politics!!!!!! Nader is with the GREEN party , NOT a Democrat!¡!
Maybe GM was to blame for the Corvair failing, they were trying to sell the car to potential Mustang buyers, in that market it didn't have a chance! The car should have been shoved on guys that bought VW or Renault. The VW bug proved there was a market there Gm just had to build a car that fit ! This is another Edsel The Manufacturer thinks it is perfect but the customer don`t want it. You need to meet the market and not try to tell the people what they want. The main problem the American Car manufacturers have is trying to run the costs up with options that imports don`t have!
This car is NOT another Edsel. GM should have built the suspension with the correct sway bar and it wouldn't have met such a quiet demise. Bean counters seem to always get their way, but we pay the ultimate price. The '65-'69 cars are some of the most beautiful cars GM ever built.
So if the foreign cars have to charge $430 for shipping and tariffs why does the corvair still cost more? Why of course as students of economics know Chevrolet raised its price to match the market!
it is to bad thea ford Chevy and Chrysler hadn't watched this and headed some of there own advice , instead of trying to shove Poo wagons down our throat! Even the Mustang by 1973 became a tank!
orion deschamps The engine is in the far back. The handling it's on of the worse in recorded history. Many people suffer accidents when they lost control of the car.
Nice blast from the past, thanks for posting!!
This film had me sold! The Corvair's design actually had an important influence on foreign cars.
The styling of the BMW 2002 is based on the early Corvair.
@@RobertPlattBell NSU Prinz
VW type 3 aswell
Finally, a comparison between the Corvair and the imports. This I've got to see.
Compared to the Renault Dauphine, Volkswagen Bug, and other little imported jobs in the late '50s and early '60s, the Corvair did have a lot of advantages. Back in 1958 when the Corvair was under development, its technology was completely different from the rest of what Detroit was building. Chevy kept improving the car over the years until, by 1966, it was a truly excellent product. Marketing is what our economy is all about.
283 i have 6 corvairs all my kids got to learn on them ..an i like the way my 62 drives over my late ones ..funny but all better in a curve than my 56 belair an most my fwd cars ,,,new radials were what they needed back then
My Dad had a Renault and he traded it in for a brand new 62 Falcon
I never buy the first model year but as soon as the '61 order books are open I'll take a four-door 700 in light green with four-on-the-floor.
the drop axle problem was fixed in 1964 and with radial tires the Corvair became a very nice handling car
actually it was the "camber compensater" that was optional on the 60-63 models and standard on the 64 that prevented swing axle jack, the 1965 models had full independent rear suspension, yes they became a decent handling car, or as good as you could get with a rear engine car.
I loved my 63 Corvair, would love to get a later model 68/69, love that body syle too
3/8 sheet of steel cut to fit under the trunk matt bolted thru 2 drilled holes added weight to make better weight balance and handling !
Interesting at 5:57 they are parking the Corvair between and Olds and a 59 Edsel.
1958 Olds......
Love the digitally created dude, hilarious!! ❤ And great video. Now I know my target buyer ✅
5:58 59 Edsel pictured😃😃
My "67 Corvair Monza. Most enjoyable , fun car to drive😊. Handles the road.... LIKE IT KNOWS HOW TO!!!!!!!🇺🇸💪👍❤
.
I had a 1961. It was a super fun car, peppy, sporty. However it was absolutely prone to spin out and I had it happen twice. 2nd time it broke all the motor mounts and my motor fell out on the freeway. BUT it's totally true that VW bugs were hugely unsafe and I know friends who died in them. NO passenger protection anywhere,
In the late 1960's my step-dad and his brother and parents had about 5-6 Corvairs. A couple were just "junkers" to scavenge for parts. The oldest was a 1960 and they said it was a 'death trap'. However, the late model Corvair Monza was quite safe and actually quite sporty. Ralph Nader ruined the name so much that even when Chevrolet fixed the problems it was too late. Just another piece of US Automotive History...
Some of the problems were resolved in the 1965 model year but they still tended to leak oil, but than so did VWs, Harleys and anything with a Detroit Diesel in it.
I'll go with the Lark, thank you very much. The loan officer at he bank said it was the best in the industry based on the number of repos because the owners stop paying when the car stops running.
Hogwash!!
Disappointing that they didn't show the corvair bursting into flames, just standing still........
"Deadly at any speed, even standing still."
The Corvair was a pretty big car compared to those foreign jobs. But it was a great design.
Yes animalcorvair. The early could have excellent handling with radial tires and a few upgrades to the suspension.
thanks for the video
My mother had a '62 Corvair for many years and as a lead-footed teenager, I found its handling and brakes to be competent, but then again, I'm not an idiot. It was so light in the front you didn't need power steering but its failings were an underpowered 80 hp engine coupled to two-speed Powerglide which made for some pretty slow driving no matter what you did with your right foot, especially on freeway grades where the choice of first or second gear was pretty much a tossup, speed-wise.
Mechanically, it had a serpentine fan belt, forced to twist and change direction twice per revolution via a generator pulley on the left and a simple pulley on the right. Both were supported by cheap aluminum castings that kept cracking, leaving you with no engine fan cooling. I got pretty good at replacing those castings and fan belts which failed often due to constant twisting which it was not designed to do. Reliability otherwise was just fine.
One word on swing axles if you please: part of the rollover problem was due to those VERY skinny bias-ply tires with their inherent weak sidewalls. Radial tires (with wider, stiff treads and smaller sidewalls) would make it less likely for the rear tires to tuck under, though I can't imagine how you'd get a Corvair to go that fast in the first place.
Getting a replacement CD player/radio for my 2005 Ford Focus takes six weeks. Due to corporate globalization, there is no longer any such thing as an "American" car. Just an assemblage of parts made in 3rd world countries.
Why would you want to replace your Cd Radio in a 2005 Focus with a brand new OEM part? Why do you want a "CD" in the first place?
I don't know about you guys but I insist that I be able to wear my Fedora when I drive my car. A well dressed man shouldn't be seen without one.
I like the cat, but can't help to suspect that alot of tech was "transfered" from the 48 tucker...
Hm, Larks and Ramblers, but no Ford falcon are mentioned? ;-)
01:10 Can you imagine in today's world aiming a gun at a group of ordinary people and thinking it would improve sales? It's a different world today, for sure.
"have become dissatisfied with their little imported jobs" ;-) Love it.
I was going to buy a Dauphine, but now, I don't know?
+MerleOberon Ever hear of the NSU? I am 60 and when I was a teen an older friend had an NSU
Volkswagen Beetle - 21.5 MILLION Produced
Chevrolet Corvair - 1.7 Million Produced
Numbers tell what the Consumer Wanted...
randy109 numbers aren't much my dad and uncle had beetles of the Corvair era constantly broke down hard to steer always uncomfortable. The Corvair is better in every sense take your mean comments elsewhere
The Beetle was also produced for far longer and sold worldwide.
The beetle was built for 63 years, the Corvair only for 9. Plus,1.8 million cars is nothing to laugh at.
Prima Auto mit gelungenem Styling, das in Europa mehrfach kopiert wurde. Z.B.: BMW, NSU-Prinz, VW Karmann-Ghia Typ 34, Fiat und in Russia Saporoshez. Jedenfalls habe ich jetzt auch einen Monza-Convertible.
HOLA. YO. TENGO. UN. CORVAIR. AÑO. 64. CONBERTIBLE. EN. PUERTO. RICO
Why exactly would car washes not accept foreign cars on weekends?
Corvairs were smaller than standard....and why only on weekends? Presumably foreign cars wouldn't fit during the week as well.
@@tomservo56954 That was just pure advertising propaganda by Chevrolet!!!!
And those magic Corvair words: CARRY FAN BELTS!
6:38 for cars like Bugatti Veryon etc.
When the foreign car owner buys a Corvair, he also has to pay for his own funeral...
are you nuts ??imports are beer cans
right on that ,, x frames were real bad
@Otto VanHouten Ralph Nader wanted to bring down GM. In the test driving comparison with the Falcon, the Corvair driver purposely over corrected in the turns so as to cause the car to oversteer forcing the Corvair to spin out. This started the false narrative that the Corvair was a DANGEROUS car. The Volkswagen had the SAME handling characteristics, but Nader did not go after VW. Nader was playing politics!!!!!! Nader is with the GREEN party , NOT a Democrat!¡!
@Otto VanHouten the corvair has very strong sides an doors an its very safe in a crash just wear your seat belts
A Dodge Dart slant-6 or a Ford Falcon are WAY BETTER choices.
Maybe GM was to blame for the Corvair failing, they were trying to sell the car to potential Mustang buyers, in that market it didn't have a chance! The car should have been shoved on guys that bought VW or Renault. The VW bug proved there was a market there Gm just had to build a car that fit ! This is another Edsel The Manufacturer thinks it is perfect but the customer don`t want it. You need to meet the market and not try to tell the people what they want. The main problem the American Car manufacturers have is trying to run the costs up with options that imports don`t have!
This car is NOT another Edsel. GM should have built the suspension with the correct sway bar and it wouldn't have met such a quiet demise. Bean counters seem to always get their way, but we pay the ultimate price. The '65-'69 cars are some of the most beautiful cars GM ever built.
So if the foreign cars have to charge $430 for shipping and tariffs why does the corvair still cost more? Why of course as students of economics know Chevrolet raised its price to match the market!
"No scrunch, no squinch"
Sounds like something from Rick and Morty
it is to bad thea ford Chevy and Chrysler hadn't watched this and headed some of there own advice , instead of trying to shove Poo wagons down our throat! Even the Mustang by 1973 became a tank!
At that local NAPA dealer
The guy on the click bait photo looks like a young Nicholas Cage
i needed a brake master cylinder for my 63 CORVAIR. NEXT day therre
Air cooled are always less efficient. They don't last either.
Good Handling !!!?? Ha !
They have great handling
orion deschamps especially when driving towards a wall.
mundotaku Excuse me please explain?
orion deschamps The engine is in the far back. The handling it's on of the worse in recorded history. Many people suffer accidents when they lost control of the car.
mundotaku so is the 911 no problem same with Corvair proved again and again the biggest problem with a Corvair is the tire pressure
Read out the narration ffs
Ditch the robot voice intro.
Thats not what Ralph Nader said.
+urbanleagen Ralph Nader is full of shit...
Nader couldn't find his tail with both hands. He had no idea what he was talking about, and had no mechanical aptitude.
He was a tired old queen who couldn't even drive
Lies all lies!!!!!!!!!!
Usual GM BS Our car is bigger and has more road-hugging weight ! LOL
More GM lies I was force fed as a kid.
I didnt like corvairs overheat no room they are dangerus scotty
One hundred percent lies!