<VV> New to site

[Norman C. Witte]

Mark, welcome to the list!  I'm 43 and we have members of the list in their
teens and 20's, so don't get feeling too young on us.  ggggg

I'll probably get flamed for saying it, but I can't imagine that a Corvair
would compare favorably with a modern car from a crashworthiness standpoint:

	No side impact beams
	No computer-designed crumple zones
	No shoulder belts
	No self-adjusting seat belts with inertial cinching
	No collapsible steering column
	No airbags
	No ABS
	No radial tires (originally)

I am sure there's more that could be added to this list.

I agree with you that the Corvair is an amazing car, but I wouldn't fall
into the trap of thinking that there was progress in automotive engineering
up until the day the Corvair was designed, at which point there were no
further advancements.  A lot of improvements have been made in the area of
safety.

I would say that I have heard of nothing that would lead me to believe the
Corvair is any more unsafe than its contemporaries.  From a handling
standpoint, in my experience Corvairs were better than their contemporaries,
not worse.  I believe it's true that the rear axles can come out on earlies
if signs of extreme bearing wear are ignored and the rear wheel bearings are
not replaced as required.  (Someone will correct me if I am wrong on that.)
Of course, any car is subject to catastrophic failure if proper maintenance
is not performed.

Norm Witte

> -----Original Message-----
> From: virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org
> [mailto:virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org]On Behalf Of mark bashara
> Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 6:21 PM
> To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
> Subject: <VV> New to site
>
>
> I have been reading virtualvairs for several months now and
> find it very
> interesting. I purchased my first Corvair, a 64 convertable,
> over 2 years
> ago and found it to be an amazing car. I have immersed myself
> in the entire
> history of the Corvair and am now reading the book "Unsafe at
> any speed" ( I
> got it at the library so Nadar doesn't get any royalties) I
> have what many
> of my friends call the "Corvair Museum" in my family room
> downstairs. It
> consists of original ads and other Corvair memrobilia. Like I
> have heard
> many times, owning a Corvair can become addictive. When I go
> to car shows
> the muscle cars are a dime a dozen, but I always have a large
> crowd looking
> at my Corvair due to its uniqueness. I am in my late forties
> so I appear to
> be on the young side of ownership of a Corvair but I wouldn't
> own any other
> car now. Well, that's enough of my introduction. My question
> is regarding
> how the "early" Corvairs hold up in accidents. I know the Corvair was
> exonerated by the National Highway Institute but I can't help
> but wonder
> about what I've read and heard about the steering shaft and
> also the axle
> coming off. Obviously any car accident can be deadly but like so many
> stories about the Corvair that aren't true, I would like to
> hear from those
> involved longer than me on what they know about the Corvair
> in accidents. I
> would think it would hold up better then the tin cans on the
> road today. Any
> feedback would be appreciated and I look forward to getting
> more involved in
> these discussions. Oh, by the way I live in the western MA
> region so my car
> is away for the winter. For those of you who took the time to
> read this and
> respond, thanks!
>
>
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