Repair-It

But was the unsafe, widowmaker reputation of the Corvair wholly deserved? No—or at least, not entirely.

For one, any early ‘60s American compact car shared economy-class road dynamics with the early Corvair. Nothing from the Big Three in 1960 that was both compact and economical was built to travel nimbly at any great velocity; in 1972, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study found that the Chevrolet was on par with its economy contemporaries in the handling department.

(This was as much an indictment of the era’s cars as it was an acquittal of the Corvair: With four-wheel drum brakes, bias ply tires and thrift-spec suspension damping, early 1960s compact-car handling could be described as downright frightening compared to even the most beat-up, last-pick, mismatched-tire economy-class car left standing in a modern airport rental-car-fleet pickup lot.)

Moreover, economy-oriented imports—to say nothing of the Porsche 356—shared the Corvair’s initial rear-engine, swing-axle configuration, and along with it, the same oversteer and fold-over potential.

Having experienced a swing-axle, rear-wheel fold-over behind the wheel of a Volkswagen Beetle shortly after getting a driver’s license, this writer can attest that the experience is a bit crazy—but certainly not isolated to the Corvair.

It’s true that swing-axle rear suspension-equipped import cars earned reputations as widowmakers for the same reasons as the Corvair—we’re looking in your direction, Renault Dauphine—but never to the extent of the much-maligned Chevrolet.

The VW Bug’s shortcomings (suspension and handling being just two of them) are even seen as endearing through the lens of nostalgia!

Tragically, and ironically, the Corvair’s greatest opportunity to turn a metaphorical corner (and to turn real-life corners safely and confidently) arrived just as Nader’s book debuted. A new-for-1965 redesign brought crisp, almost Italian styling to the Corvair formula, while the Corsa’s optional turbocharged—turbocharged!—engine now boasted peak output of 180 hp. A quad-car-bureted naturally aspirated version of the flat-six, meanwhile, was rated for 140 hp. The contentious swing-axle? Gone, in favor of a fully independent design.

Yet the fallout from bad press and muckraking lingered, and the Corvair’s reputation as an ill-handler stuck despite marked advancements. The Corvair offered more style, performance, refinement and, arguably, safety than ever before, but it was too late.

Chevrolet might have continued to develop the Corvair, perhaps as its own brand under the GM corporate umbrella, but orthodoxy combined with increasing production costs and public perception caused the demise of the Corvair more than any danger inherent in its design.