<VV> Pete Koehler weighs in; Was: Why Caveman?

[ebittman at tampabay.rr.com]

Yes I do indeed still own the Canadian '60 as Pete said. It is still un-restored. Ed Bittman  Dade City,Fl
---- wrsssatty--- via VirtualVairs <virtualvairs at corvair.org> wrote: 
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> With his permission, I pass along Pete Koehler's take on my question:  
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> <Bill, I'll send this message to you rather than comment on VV or CCF or Facebook or whatever else is the communication flavor-of-the-month.
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> I've known Larry Claypool since around 1976. I've known Dave Binnie of Carlisle, Ontario, Canada since around 1981. Dave and Larry are acquaintances as well. I started seriously collecting 1960 Corvairs in 1977. Both Larry and CCE member Paul Dehnert were influential in my decision. Since then I have owned well over a hundred 1960  Corvairs and currently count an even dozen in my stable.
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> Larry always joked that the 1960 Corvairs were perhaps the prototype version as in unrefined, etc. Then GM re-engineered a brand new and more modern 1961 Corvair. This left the poor, forlorn 1960 model to be yesterday's news and perhaps only suitable for "Cavemen". Everyone else would prefer a more modern design which got better (matter of opinion) every model year. I heard the caveman term first from Larry.
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> I bought a 1960 Corvair from Dave Binnie around 1981. It was the oldest Canadian-built Corvair known to survive. It still is and is currently owned by Ed Bittman of Dade City, FL. Many times at various Corvair events Dave and I would spar back and forth about the relative merits of the Late Model crowd versus the Early guys. It was Dave who first called me a Caveman. Somehow that has morphed into me being "the" Caveman. Sort of.
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> In my mind the term Caveman refers to the fact that the 1960 Corvair was the inaugural year. It is very different from any other model year Corvair. "Improvements" were made in subsequent years but I prefer the most pure iteration of Ed Cole's vision of a smaller, economical grocery-getting second car for the emerging middle class of the late 20th century.
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> One final thought that may have had some bearing on my decision to become a Caveman; one of the Corvair collecting myths is that everyone wants a red late model convertible. How can I be a rugged individualist in the Corvair Hobby if I want to drive a car just like everyone else?
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> Hope this info was helpful, informative and/or not a waste of your time to read. - Caveman Pete
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> As I thought.
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> ~Bill Stanley
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> <Anyone know who coined the term "caveman" to refer to owners of 1960 Corvairs and why?  I just always assumed that it was because the '60s were the first, like cavemen were the first humans, and '60s were rather primitive compared to later Corvairs.  Today, however, I was speaking to someone who said it was because the '60s had conCAVE front ends.  What's the consensus out there?  Can we go straight to the source and confirm?  Who first said it?  Pete Koehler, perhaps?
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> ~Bill Stanley>
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