Ode To Corvair

On page 3 of this week’s Automotive News there was a short article about Ralph Nader and the Chevrolet Corvair. In 1965 he wrote a book called Unsafe At Any Speed that took particular aim at the Corvair and was probably the catalyst for the demise of the car.

The reason for the article was mainly to tout A.N.’s GM 100th anniversary edition. For me it triggered a flood of memories that I had about the Corvair. The first car I ever drove (legally) was my Mom’s 1961 Corvair coupe. It was black with a red interior , had bucket seats, and a 3-speed manual trans mounted on the floor. It wasn’t a tire burner, but it was fun to drive. After I had sufficiently broken (literally) it in, she traded that one in for a 1965 Corvair Monza that had a bit more pep to it. I bought that from her the next year after my Falcon died. Coincidently, when I got married, my wife was driving a ’64 Corvair.

The Corvair was unique among Detroit’s offerings at that time. The engine was in the rear and the trunk was in the front, similar to the VW cars. The engine was a flat, air-cooled, six-cylinder power plant. Corvair’s main competitor was likely Ford’s Falcon.

One thing that particularly stood out about the Corvair was the sound it made. The sound would be difficult to describe, maybe sort of a whirring noise. It just sounded sporty. It was fun to drive, was good on gas, and it was cute. It was cool to drive a Corvair. I miss them.