Chevrolet Corvair History and Information

The Chevrolet Corvair was built between 1960 and 1969, and was designed to compete with the new kids on the block, imported compacts from Volkswagen and Renault.  The Chevrolet Corvair was built in all kinds of styles, from four door sedans and hardtops, two door sedans and hardtops, a convertible, a station wagon, a pick up truck version, and oddly a version that resembled the Volkswagen Bus.  What made the Corvair an oddity is that the engine bay was in the back of the vehicle.  The engine itself was an aluminum air cooled (as opposed to water cooled) flat 6.  The first engines produced 80 horsepower, but near the end of it's life it was raised to 180 horsepower.

For 1962 the Monza Spyder option was available, adding turbocharge to the little engine. This bumped the horsepower up to 150.  By 1965, the Corvair had to be redesigned for a few reasons.  Firstly, Ralph nader wrote a book named "Unsafe at Any Speed", and was a big seller.  This book targeted the dangers of automobiles, and how manufacturers were cutting safety corners, making cars more dangerous.  The Corvair was used as a case study, and this hurt sales.  Secondly, the new Ford Mustang was released late in the 1964 model year, and it was quickly known that this was going to be a hot seller.  The 1965 Corvair styling mimicked the new Corvette Stingray, including a new fully independant suspension.  A new 180 horsepower turbo charged engine was also available for the 1965 Corvair.

Although these new changes made the Corvair look good, and raised it's performance a bit, sales fell like a rock.  From 1965 to 1969, Corvair sales fell 96 percent.  There were a multitude of reasons.  As mentioned above, Ralph Naders book took a big toll on Corvair sales.  The Corvair was looked at by many as a "faulty" vehicle.  The pony car market sprang up in the mid 1960's, and the smaller Corvair engine was just not up to speed compared to the Mustang.  Chevrolet halted advertising for the Corvair in 1967, and did not even send out literature for the 1969 model, unless specifically requested.

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