<VV> Cadet

[Dave Newell]

Hi Bruce,
I've interviewed Peter about the Cadet. He was in love with the concept and it was something that we car nuts could have really embraced. But I think it's easy to infer from the article that Peter feels it led to the Corvair. I never got that impression from him and I've heard no one who was at Styling at the time express that thought.

The Cadet was project XP-79 which was initiated in July of 1957, two months after the XP-76 project for Chevrolet was started in May. The photo dates in the article and on Peter's sight are wrong...they were actually shot in 1957. XP-79 had nothing to do with Chevrolet...it was started by Earl as a Styling project without any  divisional backing, as was typical of Earl's (and Mitchell's) foresight. The XP-76 package for what became the Corvair was laid down by Cole and Harry Barr and given to Ned Nickles in May.

Yes, you can see some Corvairish lines in tail light panel, rear pan and in the body crease line along the side. There could have been some crossbreeding done with those by Earl, but you could also say that they began with the Chevy Biscayne Motorama car, which was close to the Corvair's size. That tail treatment was in the air at the time. Note that the Cadet coupe's rear window and C pillar treatment resemble the '58 Impala production car, but also date at least back to the '55 Biscayne and the LaSalle II sedan.

I love the Cadet and have always collected whatever I could find on it, mostly because of the rear engine. It was one of several small car projects at Styling in '57 that unfortunately never stood a chance for production in the US.

Dace Newell

---------- Original Message ----------
From: "Gary Swiatowy" <gswiatowy at rochester.rr.com>
To: "Joe Darinsig" <joedarinsig at yahoo.com>, "Dave Newell" <chevrobilia at juno.com>, <ed.thompson at quarles.com>
Subject: Corvair in print from virtual vairs
Date: Thu, 6 May 2010 05:06:22 -0400



From: Bruce Schug <bwschug at att.net>
Subject: <VV> Cadet=Corvair?

The new June issue of "Automobile" has an article about Peter Brock.

In the article, is says that he joined the Design department of GM  
when he was 19. It continues: "An after-hours conversation with design  
legend Harley Earl led to Brock conceptualizing and styling a tiny,  
rear-engine commuter car that would later take larger shape as the  
1960 Corvair."  In a picture it identifies the car as the Cadet and  
says: "Cadet: This GM exercise -- a rear-engine, two-seat 1956 design  
on a 67 inch wheelbase--was green-lighted by design czar Harley Earl  
and later took larger form as the 1960 Corvair."

I am aware of the Cadet.  It does resemble a Corvair with a small  
Corvette-type top.  I did not remember that this turned into the  
Corvair.  Is this generally recognized as being true?

Googleing "1956 gm cadet" brings up a couple of articles, including  
this one that has a picture: http://tinyurl.com/2fyhkvq

None of these articles say the Cadet became the Corvair.  I think the  
truth was that the Corvair was GM's next small car but it didn't  
really evolve from the Cadet.  What do you think?


Bruce