Chevrolet · 1959–present

Chevrolet Corvair

The Chevrolet Corvair is a rear-engined, air-cooled compact car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet over two generations from the 1960 through 1969 model years. The Corvair was a response to the increasing popularity of small, fuel-efficient automobiles, particularly the imported Volkswagen Beetle and American-built compacts like the Rambler American and Studebaker Lark. The first generation (1960–1964) was offered in four-door sedan, two-door coupe, convertible, and four-door station wagon configurations. A two- and four-door hardtop, as well as a convertible, were available as second-generation variants (1965–1969). The Corvair platform was also offered as a subseries known as the Corvair 95 (1961–1965), which consisted of a passenger van, commercial van, and pickup truck variant. Total production was approximately 1.8 million vehicles from 1960 until 1969. The name "Corvair" was first applied in 1954 to a Corvette-based concept with a hardtop fastback-styled roof, part of the Motorama traveling exhibition. When applied to the production models, the "air" suffix referenced the engine's cooling system. A prominent aspect of the Corvair's legacy derived from controversy surrounding the handling of early models equipped with rear swing axles, which activist Ralph Nader argued was dangerous in his book Unsafe at Any Speed. Nader's claims earned significant publicity, but a 1972 report, by Texas A&M University on behalf of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), found that the 1960–1963 Corvair possessed no greater potential for loss of control in extreme situations than contemporary compacts. To better counter popular inexpensive subcompact competitors, especially the Beetle and Japanese imports such as the Datsun 510, GM replaced the Corvair with the more conventional Chevrolet Vega in 1970.

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Generations & variants