<VV> Historically Speaking - kind of long

[J R Read_HML]

This appeared in the New York Times a couple of years ago.  While it 
downplays GMs role in the botched investigation and subsequent $$$ paid to 
Mr. Nader because of that, it seems to be a fairly accurate history of 
developments at the time.  It also only makes only slight mention of the 
congressional "vindication".  I was doing some computer cleanup and decided 
that this one should be kept AND made available to some of the newer owners 
and VV members.

Enjoy!

Later, JR

See Below:

PASTE:

Registered as Independents, in Corvairs

By JEFF SABATINI

11/01/04





IF you are among the 1 or 2 percent of American voters who, polls indicate, 
plan to cast ballots for Ralph Nader tomorrow, you can thank Edward N. Cole 
for affording you the opportunity.



Neither an idealistic college student nor one of the canvassers who worked 
to secure Mr. Nader's access to the presidential ballot, Mr. Cole, the 
president of General Motors from 1967 to 1974, is widely regarded as the 
father of the Chevrolet Corvair.



As Chevrolet's general manager, Mr. Cole introduced the Corvair in 1959 as a 
1960 model. It was a compact car with an air-cooled engine mounted in the 
rear and an independent suspension at both ends. In retrospect, it would be 
one of the last truly daring designs G.M. would attempt; at a time when 
Cadillac's tailfins reached their preposterous zenith, the Corvair was as 
radical as the Cuban revolution.



That the magnum opus of Mr. Cole (who died in 1977) would give rise to Mr. 
Nader's prominence as a consumer advocate can be chalked up to the vagaries 
of timing and publicity. In 1965, Mr. Nader, a young legislative aide in 
Washington with a Harvard law degree, published a blistering critique of the 
auto industry's failure to address vehicle safety, "Unsafe at Any Speed." 
The book's first chapter was called "The sporty Corvair: the 'one car' 
accident," and charged that the car posed an unacceptable rollover risk.



Mr. Nader very likely selected the unconventional Chevy not only because of 
its reputation for dubious handling, but also because G.M. was the world's 
biggest car company. Though most of the book focused on issues other than 
the Corvair, it brought considerable attention to the car and even more to 
the author. Some of the attention was unwanted: G.M. later apologized for 
its overzealous scrutiny of Mr. Nader after the book's release. The National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration eventually concluded that the car's 
design was not defective, but only after Corvair production ended in 1969.



"Around here, people say that the Corvair made Ralph famous, and Ralph made 
the Corvair infamous," said Larry Claypool, proprietor of the Vair Shop, a 
garage in Frankfort, Ill., that specializes in the brand.



Mr. Claypool is also the technical editor of the national Corvair club 
magazine, Corsa Communiqué, and something of a legend in the Corvair world. 
He started his business in 1972, when he was just 18.



Many enthusiasts say they think the campaign against the Corvair actually 
caused its life to be extended. By the mid-1960's the sporty Camaro and 
compact Chevy II had made the Corvair redundant, so, fans say, the 
perception was that G.M. kept the car in production because it did not want 
to be seen as caving in to Mr. Nader.



The Corvair was initially developed as basic and inexpensive transportation 
for the masses, something akin to a Volkswagen Beetle. There were Corvair 
trucks, a van and a pickup, as well as sedan, coupe, station wagon and 
convertible body styles.



By 1965, the emphasis had switched from economy to sportiness and the 
redesigned Corvair was considered one of the most attractive shapes ever 
produced in Detroit, especially as a pillarless coupe. The rudimentary 
swing-axle rear suspension that served as Mr. Nader's cannon fodder was 
replaced by a more sophisticated design similar to one used in the Corvette.



Today, the Corvair is perhaps not as controversial, but no less of a 
contrarian than it was when new. Despite its engineering similarities with 
the VW Beetle and the Porsche 911, this innovative Chevy has not attained a 
similar status among collectors, at least outside the 5,500 members of the 
Corvair Society of America.



"Chevy people don't really want to admit that Corvairs are Chevrolets," said 
Jim Langdon, a member of the Capital City Corvair Club in Madison, Wis., a 
local chapter of the national organization.



Even if fans of Chevrolet muscle cars cannot get past the Corvair's up-front 
trunk, aficionados relish the car's distinctive engineering. Not only was 
the Corvair the only American-made car of its era to use an air-cooled 
engine, it also offered an optional turbocharger, an exotic feature in 1962.



In its most powerful configuration, the Corvair's horizontally opposed six 
cylinder displaced 164 cubic inches and made 180 horsepower, enough to push 
a 1965 model to 60 m.p.h. in under 11 seconds.



Though they are no more difficult to drive, own, repair or restore than 
other cars of that era, Corvairs are different and require some specialized 
knowledge. Even when they were new, Chevrolet dealers would have a "Corvair 
guy" in the service department, Mr. Claypool said.



"It's just like owning a Ferrari or a Maserati," he said. "You can't get it 
fixed at just any local garage."



If that is the downside, the upside is that you can buy an entire Corvair 
for what you'd pay for a valve job on one of those exotics. Even a perfect 
Corvair is unlikely to trade hands for more than $15,000, and many very nice 
cars can be found in the $6,000 to $8,000 range; a roadworthy car can 
usually be bought for $1,000 to $2,000.



"That's what attracted a lot of us to the Corvair in the first place," Mr. 
Langdon said.



The rarest production Corvair was the 1969 Monza convertible; only 521 were 
built. Also desirable is the Corsa model of 1965-66, which offered nicer 
instruments and more power than the standard car. Another Corvair of 
interest is the Yenko Stinger, a high-performance limited-edition built by a 
noted racecar driver, Don Yenko.



Not only do Corvair owners tend to be frugal, they can also have long 
memories. Mr. Nader is still a touchy subject with many owners, whose vanity 
license plates may read "N8R H8R" or "RALPHWHO." Other Corvair owners like 
Roger Gault of Austin, Tex., put Nader campaign bumper stickers on their 
cars upside down, on the theory that they would be easier to read if indeed 
the car rolled over.



But as Corvairs have largely disappeared from daily service and shifted into 
the realm of hobbyist toys, the animosity has begun to fade. Mr. Nader even 
accepted an invitation to speak at the Corsa national convention in 1991, 
and posed for a photo behind the wheel of a Corvair.

"He didn't drive it, though," Mr. Claypool said.



END PASTE