<VV> Corvairs In the news. Myrtle Beach Show Mention/Coverage

[scott morehead]

To: scott

An article from Charleston.net has been sent to you from b. The link to this article is: http://www.charleston.net/stories/default.aspx?newsID=77706&section=automotive.

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News Article:

Much-maligned Chevrolet Corvair has rebirth as collectible Published: 3/25/2006

MYRTLE BEACH - The 1965 book "Unsafe at Any Speed," which launched Ralph Nader as consumer crusader, criticized the Chevrolet Corvair for models that required exacting tire pressures for the suspension to work properly. Chevy fixed the problem before the book came out, but General Motors' president had to apologize to Nader before a Senate subcommittee.

Such bad publicity seemingly would be a death knell, and indeed the Corvair survived just four more years, ending a relatively modest decade-long run.

Yet today, the Corvair has made a mild comeback in collectors' circles. Clubs dot the United States and gear heads are buying and restoring the brands. The Central Carolina CORSA (Corvairs Association) chapter held a show March 11 on the Grand Strand that attracted dozens of models from the Carolinas and Virginia.

The Lowcountry Corvair Association in Charleston participated in the show.

Such recent popularity, say aficionados, stems in part from the classic car market: People often collect what they drove in their younger days, and baby boomers overlap the Corvair era.

But observers cite other perks specific to the quirky Corvairs. They were compacts in a time of muscle cars, one of the very few, rear-engine, air-cooled vehicles. In later years, the 2.3-liter, six-cylinder engine was available with turbochargers that boosted horsepower to 180. Models featured four-wheel independent suspension and unitary construction of body and chassis.

While the compact two-door or four-door models were most common, Corvair rolled out a surprisingly varied product line: coupes, sedans, convertibles, pickup trucks and vans. The brand switched from a straight compact to a sportier design, including soft tops, in the mid-1960s.

Corvair fans acknowledge that Nader's book didn't help the car's reputation. But they believe it wasn't "Unsafe at Any Speed" as much as a competitor, the powerful, relatively small and immensely popular Ford Mustang. The Mustang debuted in 1964, and ultimately drove the Corvair out of business.





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