<VV> Corvair evolution

[AeroNed@aol.com]

This is my view of the Corvair evolution.
 
The Corvair began it's life as a GM experiment to do something different.  
Perhaps to compete with small, inexpensive, foreign cars. The Corvair was a  
rather large departure from the typical car being built at the time, independent  
suspension, rear air cooled, aluminum engine, made it very unique. This  
uniqueness made it expensive to produce because of the low number of common  parts 
with the rest of the production lines. At first the Corvair was a utility  
vehicle. The drivetrain was used for many different types of vehicles. This was  
done to increase the number of vehicles that used the parts thus lowering  
production costs. The sportiness of the design was also "discovered." Whether  
this discovery was made by GM or the customers, it was "exploited" by  GM in 
the form of the introduction of the turbocharged Spyder. So the Corvair  
development split, practical transportation and sportscar.
 
GM decided that the Corvair was not going to work economically in the mid  
sixties. This was obvious by the introduction of GM cars that competed directly  
with the Corvair, (Chevy II, Camaro). There are many stories about GM 
continuing  Corvair production into the late 60s to save face after Nader's charges. 
It took  GM to produce at least 2 vehicles to replace what the Corvair had 
evolved into  by the time it was replaced.
 
All of the car produced by GM since the birth of the Corvair have been very  
conventional with the possible exception of the Corvette. The only "big" 
change  has been the adoption of FWD in just about everything they build. The 
Corvair  was such a big change in the "way things were done."  This uniqueness is a 
 large part of the Corvair's popularity some 45 years since it's  
introduction.
 
Ned