0
The Corvair was the only American made automobile with an air-cooled rear engine. It was manufactured from 1960-1969 and was heavily criticized by Ralph Nader in his book Unsafe at Any Speed.
An air cooled, rear engine car that Chevrolet produced in the early 60's that Ralph Nader put an end to. When I see a "Smart Car"on the road these days, I wonder where is Ralph Nader now?
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
What did a 1965 Covair car cost?
The cost of a 1965 Covair car costs $5,850.00
What year was the covair introduced to the American car buyers?
I believe 1960
How much oil does a 1964 corvair take?
I used to own a 1964 Covair spyder and it used 5 quarts of oil on a oil change. Brewski
Troubleshoot Chevy covair timing?
i changed the insides of the dis. and now i got miss i took out the points and put elec. ing. so do you got any ideas. thanks
What websites offer body parts for my Corvair classic car?
Check out Covair Center online. This website can provide many tips and links for body parts for your car. Also look at nostalgiacarsusa.com for more information.
What actors and actresses appeared in Planet of the Vampire Women - 2011?
The cast of Planet of the Vampire Women - 2011 includes: John Douglas Ayers as Lonestar Burdett Jawara Duncan as Val Falco Paquita Estrada as Captain Richards Liesel Hanson as Ginger Maldonado Stephanie Hyden as Astrid Covair Keith Letl as Automatic Jones Mister Lobo as Future Mr. Lobo Ashley Marino as Pepper Vance Robert Michael Haley as Sparkle Bachelor - Casino Patron Miles Miniaci as Lucky Davenport Stephen Vargo as Doc Calaveras Emily Vernon as Vette VanVanderzander Roxana Vickerman as Penny Powers
What movie and television projects has Stephanie Hyden been in?
Stephanie Hyden has: Played Hot Mom in "Smosh" in 2006. Played Cave Girl in "Smosh" in 2006. Played Kali in "Sukeban: Octopus Pot" in 2008. Played Raquel Vanvanderzander in "Monster from Bikini Beach" in 2008. Played Amanda in "Pilgrimage to Becca" in 2009. Played Zombie in "Dead Exit" in 2009. Played Tiffany in "Nite Tales: The Series" in 2009. Played Emily Dickinson in "Interview with a Suicide" in 2010. Played Vanessa in "Reluctant" in 2011. Played Misty in "Lady M." in 2011. Played Kara in "Vacancy" in 2011. Played Astrid Covair in "Planet of the Vampire Women" in 2011. Played Stephanie in "Not My Kind" in 2012. Played Alice in "The Dark" in 2014.
How old is all the people on house of Anubis?
Victor is 54 years old Fabian is 18 years old Patrisha is 24 years old Trudy is 35 years old Mick is 17 years old Victors dad[covair black bird]is 67 years old The police man is 56 years old Joy is 21years old Mr.winkler is 45 years old Ms.andrews is 34 years old Alfie is 19 years old Jerome is 17 years old Nina is 17 years old Amber is 18 years old Sarah is 78 years
Why do stars not move?
Plasma an the physics behind it are the reason, those exact physics are still not clear to many exactly as we are lead fo believe. Master plasma in a safe way it would be reasonable to assume it would be a closely guarded secret as was the first a-bomb or super sonic flight or the first U2 dragon lady, SR-71 Black Bird, Covair Kinfish, F-117 Nighthawk, F-22 Raptor and other then YB, YF, X and YS programs. Example the X-15 program data was used for the space shuttle program that could not have existed of not for the X-15 . The folks running these programs like these are un rewarded jeros as wel as everyone that work for them
Why was the car Chevrolet covair was one of the worst car of the 1960's?
In the pantheon of unloved, some say infamous, cars, the Corvair surely must rank near the top of the list. The Corvair always seemed just a bit too odd-looking for me, but I have something of a late-developing affection for it for a number of reasons: the engineering was innovative in a lot of ways, it was a radical departure for an American manufacturer, and it got what is, in hindsight, an undeserved bad reputation in terms of safety. The Corvair's supposed safety concerns and the resulting bad publicity didn't kill it off, but they certainly didn't help.Like many, however, my first introduction to the Corvair was via Ralph Nader's book, Unsafe At Any Speed, which is probably the reason most people have heard of it. To get one myth out of the way, that book was not all about the Corvair; the first chapter was about the Corvair, however, and that pretty much sealed its place in history. Most reviewers checked out the first chapter and that was about it. Fairly or not, the Corvair's reputation as an unsafe car stuck, and these days if you mention "Corvair" that's probably what springs to most peoples' minds.Most observers nowadays will agree that the Corvair was not, in fact, particularly unsafe compared to many other cars of the time. And in fact, the Corvair had a wide variety of body styles--including a pickup!--to go along with the sedans and coupes that most people are aware of. It was a neat car with interesting engineering and deserves much more positive attention than it has received.Like the Nomad, the Corvair started life as a show car based on the Corvette platform and was specifically designed as competition for both economy imports such as the VW Beetle and domestics like the 1958 AMC American and the very successful Lark by Studebaker. GM had already had a go with its "captive import" Opel in 1958-59, but 1960 was to be the year of the Corvair. The car was to be modeled on the Beetle as an air-cooled rear-engine design, itself a remarkable distinction for an American car.Befitting its commercial aim as a small economy car, the first models for 1960 were fairly uninspiring: pretty basic four-door models in base 500 and deluxe 700 trim, followed mid-year by sportier two-door coupes in both 500 and 700 trim levels. These base models didn't sell very well, largely due to the success of much simpler designs from other manufacturers, such as the Ford Falcon. The game changed with the introduction of the Monza version in the spring of 1960. Bucket seats replaced the benches, and with a more powerful engine--95 horsepower compared to the 80 horsepower of the others--the Corvair touched on the nascent nerve of those wanting a sportier, but still relatively inexpensive, performance car, foreshadowing the pony car era that was about to break on the automotive shores.The engine, placed in the rear ("where an engine belongs"), was a complicated affair. It was an air-cooled 140-cubic inch flat-6 with an aluminum block, integrated intake manifolds and cylinder barrels. The lack of a liquid cooling system, aluminum construction, and flat design made it relatively light, coming in at 366 pounds altogether, though this was still above the target weight. The Monza added a turbocharger. Interestingly, light aircraft enthusiasts realized that this engine would be ideal for aircraft applications, and a cottage industry developed to modify them for aviation. Also, from what I understand, the cooling of the engine was assisted by maintaining a negative air pressure within the engine compartment (i.e., a slight vacuum) thus increasing air flow.The Corvair was one of the first American cars to have a fully independent suspension which, of course, brings us to the infamous swing-axle suspension. The swing-axle design was not uncommon at the time--the Beetle was its most famous application -- and it did have its advantages: light weight, compact, rugged on rough surfaces, and a smooth ride. Unfortunately, handling was the price to be paid. The design makes for a high roll center which, in hard cornering, transfers much of the weight of the vehicle to the rear outside wheel, which could cause either roll-over or failure of that wheel. This was never as big a problem as many made it out to be, but GM was not unaware of the issue.The big rap on GM executives was that they chose not to add a roll bar, which would have added between $4 and $6 to the cost. In their defense, they did take other measures to improve handling. They used very wide tires and also specified that the front tires be reduced in pressure by 11 psi relative to the rear. However, many either did not know about the tire pressure differential or didn't take it seriously. So while there was some justification for Nader's criticisms, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation eventually largely cleared the Corvair of its bad handling reputation. At any rate, the suspension was changed for the 1964 models, making the case moot.Because of the wild success of the Monza, the Corvair was generally seen as an enthusiast's sports car, but in reality the Corvair was truly envisioned as a whole platform of models. The Lakewood station wagon was introduced for 1961, along with a variety of more or less commercial vehicles. Both the Corvan and the Greenbrier van were small panel vans, very similar to the Volkswagen Transporter. The Greenbrier could be had as a conventional rear-loader or a side-loader with built-in ramps (Bell telephone used the latter a lot as the side entry and ramps provided easier loading and unloading of large cable drums).Perhaps the most interesting entry was the Corvair 95, a Corvair-based pickup truck. It was based on the Corvan and had a 105-inch bed, which was fairly spacious. Of course, because of the engine placement the entire bedwasn't level; there was a bulge in the back for the engine compartment. This wasn't that big of a problem, as the engine was already small, but it obviously compromised loading in the back. This is where the "rampside" side-loading feature came in handy (see photo). These never proved very popular and were dropped by 1965.By 1965 all of the utility vehicles had pretty much disappeared, and the Corvair was fully devoted to the luxury sports car market. The body was redesigned for 1965 with the "Coke bottle" styling; this model is generally considered the most attractive of the Corvairs. The look is still fresh today. The new fully independent suspension and more power (up to 180 horsepower) made for a formidable car. It was very well received in the motoring press and Car and Driver went so far as to call it "the most important new car of the entire crop of '65 models, and the most beautiful car to appear in this country since before World War II."There wasn't much change in the Corvair from 1965 until the end of the model run, but a lot of other changes were coming together to eventually drive it from the marketplace. The design changes negated the safety issues, but the criticism from Nader hurt sales. So did the competition from the pony cars that were starting to take over the performance market. These pony cars gave far more power for the buck and were not as finicky to work on as the Corvair.GM also helped kill the Corvair, of course. GM had decided that the Camaro would take over as Chevy's performance car in 1967, and Corvair development was pretty much halted at that point. Some have even argued that production of the Corvair was slated to end after the 1966 model year, but was kept going just to spite the Naderite crowd. This was probably not a smart move financially, as sales for 1969 only amounted to some 6,000 units. There were also plans for a 1970 model with entirely new skin, but it was never produced.The Corvair's bad reputation has lingered; the Corvair even made it onto Time Magazine's list of 50 Worst Cars. In some ways that is deserved; the Corvair's very innovative design made it difficult to fix, it had a lot of mechanical problems (at least early on), and although its handling problems were overblown, the early models were a handful. Many are certainly loved by their owners; one woman even tried to take it with her.Why did the Corvair "fail?" Certainly early on it didn't look like a failure; sales stayed well over 200,000 for its first 6 years of production, and only started to tank after 1965. Nader's work certainly had an impact, but I suspect that its main problem was competition from pony cars which gave more power for the moeny from a simpler design. Its looks are rather unconventional as well, which also probably limited its appeal. Most of the negatives decried by so-called "consumer advocates" were overstated, which should have served as a warning to take such over-the-top criticisms with a large grain of salt. Unfortunately, few heeded such lessons later in cases such as the Pinto and Audi controversies. The Corvair is a fascinating car and deserves a much better reputation.Photos courtesy of Cookie the Dog's Owner and John's Old Car and Truck Pictures.
