<VV> Ventura Newspaper Coverage - SOrry if a repeat

Mon Jul 7 17:44:17 EDT 2008

I missed this if it was posted earlier, check out some of the comments at the end of the article.  Thanks to whomever prompted the media coverage of the event.

We have a new survey, was the corvair ended because of the Mustang or Nadar, I'm guessing neither based on an article out of Cornering Cars, written by the a GM and FORD Exec.

'Poor man's Porsche' convention brings 1,000 to Ventura

                    By 
                        Kevin Clerici
                             (Contact)

                            Wednesday, June 25, 2008

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		Photos
by Dana Rene Bowler / Star staff Corvair enthusiasts vote on their pick
for the "early model convertibles" during Tuesday's show at the Ventura
County Fairgrounds. 

		"I
want to keep the spirit alive by continuing to come with my son like my
dad did with me," said Daniel Morsk of Stanwood, Wash., left, with son
Trent, 9. 

		Photos
by Dana Rene Bowler / Star staff
Vance Peters, left, an official judge for the Corvair Convention and
Rally, checks every detail of a 1964 Corvair Monza at the event
Tuesday. The convention and rally continue through Friday. 

		Humorous
signs and Corvair memorabilia from the 1960s can be seen throughout the
event. Many participants can recite Corvair history. 

		Corvairs of all models are lined up at the rally. Chevrolet introduced the car in 1959 and stopped production 10 years later. 

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It's been ridiculed as the "poor man's Porsche." Ralph Nader ignited
the car-safety movement by calling it "Unsafe at Any Speed." Auto snobs
bemoan it as the Yugo of its day.

But to Ronnie MacLeod, the Chevy Corvair simply is the sweetest little ride she knows.

"The first person I met in college who owned one, I married," said
MacLeod, a 56-year-old cancer researcher from Little Rock, Ark., and
proud owner of 10 Corvairs, nine of which are still running.

MacLeod is not alone. Nearly 1,000 Corvair enthusiasts motored
Tuesday to the Ventura County Fairgrounds for the second day of a
weeklong convention and rally established to "protect and preserve
historic Corvairs and memorabilia."

It's a diverse group of gear-heads and purists bonded to a car they
call smart-looking, a joy to drive and pioneering. With a little luck,
the Corvair would have been one of the all-time greats, they believe.

Owners like to work on cars

"It's different, but that's what makes it so special," said John
Medley, an aerospace engineer from Thousand Oaks who helped organize
the international Corvair convention, which is drawing folks to Ventura
from as far as the Netherlands.

Corvair owners seem to relish their underdog status, like to work on
the car and can impressively recite the car line's history. Greg
Schupfer gets a kick when people stop and ask about his wheels. To him,
it seems like everybody used to have one.

"They are not the most powerful car, but they are a blast to drive," said Schupfer, of Mesa, Ariz. "They handle real well."

The Chevrolet Corvair debuted in 1959 to rave reviews and was chosen
Motor Trend Car of the Year in 1960, said Ward Bourgondien of
Summerfield, Fla.

Bourgondien, who owns five Corvairs, is past director of the Corvair
Society of America, which claims to be the top Corvair group in the
world, boasting more than 5,500 members and 130 local chapters.

It offered several firsts

The car was intended to be a mass-produced economy vehicle, but it
was relatively small and sporty. It was the first American car with an
aluminum air-cooled engine mounted in the rear and a swing-axle
independent rear suspension.

The Corvair 500 and 700 series sedans were introduced in October
1959. In May 1960, the sportier Monza, with bucket seats and a stick
shift, became the signature Corvair and the most popular.

Chevrolet subsequently rolled out a variety of body styles,
including a van (called a Corvan, of course), a station wagon, and a
pickup truck with a side ramp. The top-of-the-line, turbocharged Spyder
later became known as the Corsa.

"People call the Corvair the poor man's Porsche,'" said Michael
Ogletree, 53, of Monrovia, who like others was introduced to the
Corvair in his youth during TV commercials for "Bonanza." Chevy was the
show's exclusive sponsor and wisely contracted young Bonanza star
Michael Landon (Little Joe) to appear in a commercial for the Corvair
Monza Spyder.

Although some claim Nader killed the Corvair, Ogletree doesn't buy
it. Nader's 1965 book, "Unsafe at Any Speed," spotlighted the Corvair
as the prime example of "designed-in dangers of the American
automobile."

Nader, then 31, reported that the Corvair's rear wheels tended to
"tuck under" during turns, causing skids and roll-overs. The book
became a best-seller and prompted the birth of car-safety laws,
boosting Nader's profile.

Mustang, not Nader, killed it

The Corvair didn't truly die until 1969, when, after making 1.8
million of them in the United States, Chevy stopped production. Just
6,000 Corvairs came off the line that year.

"Ralph Nader didn't kill the Corvair. The introduction of the Ford
Mustang killed the Corvair," Ogletree said. The Mustang featured a more
powerful engine and hip design. For about $3,000 — the same price as
the Corvair — "you could buy a killer Mustang," he said. "It was a
no-brainer."

Daniel Morsk doesn't think much of Nader's opinion. In fact, he doesn't think about it at all.

Morsk brought a modified 1965 Corvair Corsa 1,200 miles from
Stanwood, Wash., to Ventura in memory of his father, Ken, who passed
away last year and willed his prized possession to his son. The Corsa
is racetrack worthy, he said.

"I started wrenching on cars when I was a teenager with my dad on his Corvair," Morsk said.

Standing nearby was Morsk's son, Trent, 9. "This will be his car one day," Morsk said.

The Corvair's relatively low cost, ease of driving and availability
of parts are big reasons it has become such a popular collector car,
enthusiasts said. While collectors of other cars can be snobbish,
Corvair people don't have ego problems, and all are welcome,
Bourgondien said.

Fixer-uppers can be cheap

A fixer-upper fetches just a few hundred dollars today. Schupfer said he bought a used one for $5 at an auction.

Frank Bastardo can thank his wife, Rosie, for his Corvair
attraction. He restored her two-door coupe after they married in 1981.
"It was a basket case. Her ex tore it apart," said the retiree from San
Juan Bautista.

The couple still have it. They bought another one, a red-and-white
convertible with white leather interior that they love to parade in
public.

"Everybody comes up to see it. It's a real head-turner," said Rosie. "They all want to know what kind of car it is."

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					Discussions

								Posted by CatInAHat
									 on 
									June 25, 2008 at 1:13 a.m.

										(Suggest removal)

								A lovely lady that I knew in high school had a Spider.  She was fast, the car was faster.  They were a pair.

								Posted by isisreptiles
									 on 
									June 25, 2008 at 1:34 a.m.

										(Suggest removal)

								I
had a '65 Corvair Monza in high school. I've always regretted that I
didn't keep it. Who knew it would become a collector's item.

								Posted by lsmith
									 on 
									June 25, 2008 at 4:34 a.m.

										(Suggest removal)

								I loved my Corvair...not the Ex that sold it so much!  I hope that she is still running osmeplace in Ventura County!

								Posted by ecarson1958
									 on 
									June 25, 2008 at 6:03 a.m.

										(Suggest removal)

								In
high school my friend bought one. We had a blast driving through
canyons because it handled so well. The big problem was the rear
mounted engine with the air cooled system. Not enough air flow would
keep it cool in traffic jams on the freeway. That was the main reason
it lost it's appeal to most people.

								Posted by hemlock1262
									 on 
									June 25, 2008 at 6:40 a.m.

										(Suggest removal)

								This
is a really cool story! Exactly the kind of thing you want to see in a
local newspaper. Wish the Star would do more of it.

								Posted by prophet
									 on 
									June 25, 2008 at 10:23 a.m.

										(Suggest removal)

								I
guess we all wish in some way that we could keep our first car or your
high school car. Mine was a 1976 Firebird Espirit, loved that car!

								Posted by CatInAHat
									 on 
									June 25, 2008 at 12:53 p.m.

										(Suggest removal)

								I
spoke with a guy who owns 5 of them. They are runners and beautiful. He
has about 12-others for parts! Everytime he sees a junker, he buys it
for the parts. His is a hobby that has taken on a life of its own. LOL!

								Posted by raticalls6
									 on 
									June 25, 2008 at 1:46 p.m.

										(Suggest removal)

								Make mine a 66 Yenko Stinger

								Posted by del
									 on 
									June 25, 2008 at 2:33 p.m.

										(Suggest removal)

								My high school car was a 59 Sunbeam Alpine.  My future ex-wife had a 66 Corvair Monza.

								Posted by sparks240
									 on 
									June 25, 2008 at 5:44 p.m.

										(Suggest removal)

								I thought that the Karmann Ghia was the poor man's Porsche.

								Posted by 1958boss
									 on 
									June 25, 2008 at 6:15 p.m.

										(Suggest removal)

								I have a convertible, love it and so do most people, always geting the thumbs up.

								Posted by corvairjack
									 on 
									June 25, 2008 at 9:25 p.m.

										(Suggest removal)

								The
excellent coverage by Kevin Clerici on Wednesday about the Corvair
Society of American International Convention at Ventura County
Fairgrounds contained a minor error in the caption for the page one
photo.
Voting was held for all models of Corvairs not only 1960-64 "early model" convertibles. 
Pictured with American flags fluttering is a "late model" blue 1965 Corsa convertible owned by Jack Pinard of Port Hueneme.
It
may be the most photographed Corvair in Ventura County due to the many
parade appearances for the past six years in Ventura, Ojai, Oxnard,
Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, Fillmore, Thousand Oaks and at the Reagan
Presidential Library in Simi Valley. 
Pinard, a Korean War era
fighter pilot and life member of Disabled Veterans of America, says the
Corvair is the "All-American Car". 
It was recently honored by
Hemmings Classic Car Magazine as "GM's Mechanical Marvel" for the many
innovative engineering concepts it incorporated.
For information about local Corvair events or questions contact Jack directly at corvairjack at verizon.net

								Posted by THX1138
									 on 
									June 27, 2008 at 12:24 p.m.

										(Suggest removal)

								Hmm, I thought the Porsche 924 was the "poor man's Porsche" [??].

Other small cars GM discontinued was the Vega & Monza. Sure
there was room for development/improvement, but both were light, fun to
drive and got fair mpg.