Sixty-six years ago, the Corvair became Chevrolet’s most controversial model in history
This page is translated from the original post "Il y a 66 ans, la Corvair devenait la Chevrolet la plus controversée de l’histoire" in French.
- 02/10/2025 9:16
On October 2, 1959, Chevrolet unveils the Corvair, a model that would profoundly impact American automotive history.
In a country dominated by large front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sedans, the Corvair was revolutionary: for the first time, a mass-market American car adopted a rear-mounted, air-cooled engine—a mechanical solution then embodied by its European rival Porsche and, in another segment, by Volkswagen with its Beetle.
General Motors thus threw a stone into the pond. With its more compact size, sleek design, and its flat-six aluminum engine placed at the rear, the Corvair broke completely with Detroit’s conventions. It targeted a more modern clientele, sensitive to efficiency and European style. This bold gamble was unprecedented at the time: never before had an American manufacturer dared such a large-scale mechanical architecture.
The Corvair under criticism
But this originality would quickly turn against Chevrolet. While the Corvair initially appealed because of its distinctive character, its road handling, considered delicate in early versions, was heavily criticized. The controversy gained national attention in 1965 with the publication of the book Unsafe at Any Speed, authored by Ralph Nader. This lawyer and consumer advocate directly accused General Motors of prioritizing style and production savings over safety.
The force of his indictment, widely amplified by the media and public opinion, turned the Corvair into a symbol of an irresponsible automotive industry. Nader, already highly influential in Washington, used his influence to demand stricter safety standards. His fight directly contributed to the creation of the first federal automobile safety laws in the United States, cementing his enduring reputation as a “car safety advocate”.
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Produced until 1969, the Corvair remained for a long time the only Chevrolet with a rear-engine model. Although it did not survive commercially, it remains a historical milestone: an atypical American car inspired by Europe, and unwittingly the trigger for a nationwide awareness of automotive safety.
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