<VV> The Corvair that inspired the Mustang - A BriefEvolutionary Tale

[airvair at earthlink.net]

But remember that the Monza debuted in mid '60, while it took them until
the '61 model year to get the 4speed fully production-ready. And the Monza
had buckets, a nicely upholstered interior, and carpet as standard
equipment.

And don't forget that Chrysler put the Barracuda into production sooner
than did Ford's Mustang.

-Mark


> [Original Message]
> From: Charles Lee <Chaz at ProperProPer.com>
> Subject: Re: <VV> The Corvair that inspired the Mustang - A
BriefEvolutionary Tale
>
> Evolution of the "Pony Car" ?
>
> The Corvair was fun to drive right out of the box in 1960.
> Unfortunately it was marketed as "cheap" and they made it look cheap.
> They couldn't hide those classic lines though.
>
> The Corvair 4-speed made the Corvair even more fun to drive and intrigued 
> car buyers in the early years.
>
> The 4-speed made the "economy" car fun to drive and may be what caused 
> GM/Chevy to add bucket seats.
>
> Previously buyers were "upgraded" to more expensive models that had more 
> profit-making options.
>
> Then GM realized that if they added expensive options to the smaller cars 
> that were people were now buying (Surprise ! Surprise !), they could turn 
> more of a profit on them too.
>
> So, along came carpeting instead of linoleum flooring, better seat
covering 
> and interior appointments, etc.
>
> ... and Voila !  You have the Monza igniting the fire that made people 
> realize how much fun "little cars" are !
>
> So, the image shift continued with dropping the wagon and adding a 
> convertible, with a Turbo putting out more than 1 HP per cubic inch !!!
>
> In 1962 the Corvair morphed from an econo-box to a true sporty car.
> It took Ford (and others) by surprise, and they scrambled to catch up
with 
> the new kid on the block.
>
> Two and a half years later, Ford took it one step further and completely 
> revamped their Falcon, adding everything the Corvair had innovated in a 
> small car.
>
> Ford stretched the Falcon's nose, shortened the tail, and added a V8 and 
> people thought it was a new car, not knowing it was a Falcon.
>
> The Mustang had a V-8 which was something GM may have tried to do, but
never 
> accomplished.
> Although some of us have done it, it was considered viable, I suppose ?
>
> Chevy came out with one of the most beautiful designs ever with the 1965 
> models (not even limited to economy cars) and buyers fell in love all
over 
> again !
>
> Ford fought back and Nader took advantage of the public's ignorance, and
the 
> middle part is history.
>
> Unfortunately, Chevy tried to de-tune Corvair's image from "sporty" to 
> "mundane" and came full circle in 1967 advertizing it once gain as 
> "America's Cheapest Hardtop" !
> (Probably to defuse court battles claiming Chevy encouraged people to
drive 
> it too enthusiastically because of its sporty image ?)
>
> OK, not so short, but the public probably will never know that it was the 
> Corvair that started it all.
>
> I probably left a lot out, but I wanted to write it all down, and figured 
> I'd tell you stuff you already knew !
>
> I'm in Toastmasters, and I just may do this as one of my "Technical Talk
to 
> a Non-Technical Audience" speeches.
>
> Thanks for listening (and letting me practice on you !)
> Charlie'
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: <wrsssatty at aol.com>
> Subject: <VV> The Corvair that inspired the Mustang
>
> > <If you read the book Lee Iacocca: An autobiography, which I  strongly
> > recommend, you will realize the extent to which the Corvair's  success
> > spawned the Mustang,>
> >
> > Make that the Corvair MONZA's success!  And remember, the Mustang was 
> > just
> > a tarted up Falcon.
> >
> > ~Bill Stanley
> >