quote:

One could start a lively debate among historians about which car is the second most influential in American history. Perhaps the Chevy Corvair, which launched Ralph Nader, the consumer movement and the litigation explosion?

I know the Corvair was a ****** to drive! (From many accounts on the WWW) Any of the Older AP members have a try of one?Aand are there any still in use?
But Ralph Nader? How was he involved in this affair ?

I owned one for a while. I didn't find it hard to drive, but I did like the way it drove in the snow. All the weight over the rear wheels provided excellent traction. As to Nader, I believe he wrote a book entitled "Unsafe at Any Speed" about the Corvair.

I never drove the car, but I did read the book.

(From the above link - 'I have just a quick story that might amuse Nader fans. In the mid eighties I was working at Oberlin College in Ohio, where I believe Ralph Nader's son was going to school. At lunchtime when I arrived at my car (a '67 Corvair) 2 men in suits were standing in front of it and in a deep discussion concerning it. Mr. Nader introduced himself, which then took a minute to sink in, and we briefly discussed the demise of my car's production. He explained that the "fatal" flaws with the Corvair had been rectified for my updated model that was introduced in '65. The main faults, as the book clearly explains, were the one piece steering column which impaled the driver in head on collisions (today they are collapsable thanks to him), and the rear suspension swing arm arrangement which caused the rear wheel to tuck under the chassis in hard cornering which causes a catastrophic roll over. He told me that he really liked the later Corvairs. Then he joked that he wishes he had bought eight of them back when you couldn't give one away because now he could sell them for a fortune. I didn't burst his bubble...Corvairs are still a bargain collectable. And the early ones are STILL unsafe at any speed.')

What I don't understand is why the suspension system that worked so well for the VW Beetle was such a liability for the Corvair.

It just looked funny? Corvair Handling and Stability

It caused Corvairs - from the prototypes onwards - to flip over in corners? Swing Away, Eddie!