Corvair

THE CHEVROLET CORVAIR was manufactured by General Motors (GM) beginning in 1959 with the release of a 1960 model. The Corvair was unique for its time in that it was small and lightweight, with an air-cooled and rear-mounted engine and a swing-axle independent rear suspension. The design of the car led some to state that the Chevrolet Corvair was an unsafe vehicle that was prone to over-steering and flipping.

At one point, Chevrolet was facing well over 100 lawsuits dealing with damages or injuries to owners of Corvairs. It was these court papers and depositions that would become the bulk of the research[Page 223] for a young, unknown attorney named Ralph Nader. In 1965, Nader released his research on automotive safety in the form of a book entitled Unsafe at Any Speed. Nader claimed that the Chevrolet Corvair was the epitome of automotive disregard for safety.

The Chevrolet Corvair, produced by General Motors, drew public attention to automotive safety.

It is worth noting that the Corvair was not the only car that Nader criticized in his book. In fact, the Ford Mustang and all models of Cadillac were also criticized. It was the Corvair, however, that Nader devoted the majority of his book to, as evidence of the design flaw in the Corvair pointed to the large number of lawsuits pending against General Motors. These arguments was furthered when the 1964 and 1965 Corvairs were released with improved designs.

Still unsatisfied with General Motors' handling of the situation, Nader criticized the company for not recalling the more than 1 million automobiles that had been sold prior to the redesign of the car. Due to Nader's statements, many consumers developed the perception that GM was greedy and that its only concern was for profits.

Using the fame generated by his book and by his testimony before Congress on automotive safety, Nader became a well-known advocate for change in automotive safety and the Chevrolet Corvair became known as the car that was unsafe at any speed. Today, there are still Corvair-owner clubs and many who believe that the criticism generated by Nader was ridiculous, and that the car is as safe as any other car manufactured during the same time period. Nader has apparently softened his stance, as he has even spoken at annual Corvair-owners meetings in recent years.