On October 2, 1959, General Motors' Chevrolet division introduced the 1960 Corvair.
It was a new and radically different design for an American manufacturer. During the mid-1950s. The Volkswagen Beetle had become popular with economy-minded drivers. This caused GM to create an economy car to compete with it.

This new car was powered by an air-cooled six-cylinder engine, first for Chevrolet, it was referred to as a "flat six," since the cylinders were horizontally opposed. It was also mounted in the rear like the VW. The 1960 model was offered in two body styles, a 2-door coupe and a 4-door sedan available in two trim models.

Later that model year the "Monza" was added as the line continued to expand. In 1961 Chevy added a pair of vans, a pickup truck and a station wagon, all with the engine mounted in the rear. In 1962 came the first Corvair convertible, along with the first mass-produced American turbo-charged car, the "Spyder."

While early sales were promising for a while, the other large American manufacturers quickly challenged the Corvair with compacts of their own. Chrysler introduced the Dodge Lancer and Plymouth Valiant, while Ford countered with the Falcon and Mercury Comet. Even Chevy itself introduced a car to compete in the same market, the Chevy II.
Chevrolet introduced another sporty car in 1964, the Chevelle, and Ford unveiled the legendary Mustang. The end was near for the Corvair.

Then to make matters worse Ralph Nader's book "Unsafe At Any Speed" portrayed the Corvair as unstable and prone to rollover accidents. While many would attribute the failure of the Corvair to the book, the handwriting was already on the wall in the form of declining sales.

Interestingly, 1966 would have been the last model year, had the Nader book not drawn so much negative publicity. Even the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration had opened an investigation into its handling. There was simply no way GM could halt the line without appearing to "cave in" to the charges, so production continued, albeit in limited numbers, through the '67, '68 and '69 model years. Ironically, the NHTSA report, released three years after Corvair's demise, would exonerate Chevrolet of all charges, concluding that the Corvair was no more prone to accidents and rollovers than any other comparable car of the period.

After ten years of production throughout the decade of the 1960s, the last Corvair was  built on May 14, 1969.
Was the Corvair a failure? It's a matter of opinion. General Motors produced nearly 1.8 million Corvairs over 10 model years. The Corvair pioneered such technological advances as turbo-charging, true four-wheel independent suspension and unit-body (or unibody) construction, and its independent suspension was adapted for later model Corvettes. Perhaps the Corvair was a car that just couldn't find it right place in the automotive world.

For a more complete history and details of the Corvair go to the web site of