YouTube serves up another cool video. Corvairs are hella cool, and they were tarred and feathered out of existence by zealots. They were no worse than other cars on the road at the time, but they were picked up as all that was wrong with motoring safety by Ralph Nader. Cars in in the late '50s when the Corvair was developed were all less safe than what we have now. 50 years of scientific study and applied engineering will do that for you. This video offers up some great scenes of a Corvair being herded around Lime Rock's track, as well as some off-road adventures. This is marketing propaganda, so of course the little chuffer comes off as unburstable. It also shows the infancy of the rigorous vetting processes cars must go through now. The handling test is especially hilarious, as the edit is made just as the tail of the rear-engined Corvair starts to come around. Showing a spin is not the best way to demonstrate platform stability. We get to see Corvairs rolled over, driven off slopes that are larger than would be wise, and fording streams. Hyperbolic advertising aside, it's pretty cool to see an early 'Vair abused in such a gratifying manner. Unsafe? pfft! Then as now, it's mainly the loose nut behind the wheel that causes problems.
Video after the jump
Video after the jump
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