|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 1,660
Hard-core CEG\'er
|
Hard-core CEG\'er
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 1,660 |
Originally posted by contour_phoenix_when:
Great comedy BeachBoy
What's so funny? Everything he said is true about the Corvair. Sweet car.
Scott
Troll! '99 BMW 328i
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 678
Veteran CEG\'er
|
|
Veteran CEG\'er
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 678 |
Originally posted by Beachboy:
...most of us remember how much ol' Ralph loves cars! You know what he did to the Corvair, which was probably one of the nicest little cars GM ever built. I had a Corvair years ago, and it could have been considered a forerunner to the compact sport sedan genre, as its handling was far better than its competitors.
Nader didn't kill the Corvair but he was dead on about its poor safety features. The first generation Corvair had a rear swing axle which on hard cornering would tend to cause the rear wheels to tuck under and flip the car. This coupled with oversteer tendencies made the Corvair a pretty tricky and dangerous car to drive. (I think GM solved the tuck-under problem in '65 by adding a $5.00 part which they had originally chosen not to install as a cost-saving measure).
Nader must have been onto something because GM spent years illegally tailing him and trying to set him up with male and female prostitutes etc. in an effort to destroy him personally and professionally.
Nonethless, the Corvair was otherwise a great little car which received a deservedly bad reputation because of some penny pinching by GM.
Oh, and on early models in minor front end collisions, due to the lack of an engine to absorb the impact, the impact would often be absorbed by the front end of the steering box, propelling the steering column backwards by up to three feet. It was a few years before GM decided to install a collapsible stearing column.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
