While the "Big Three" continued to introduce ever-larger cars during the 1950s, the new American Motors Corporation (AMC) focused its business strategy on smaller-sized and fuel-efficient automobiles, years before a real need for them existed. market for small cars, often as a second car or an alternative for budget-minded consumers. Growing sales of imports from Europe, such as Volkswagen, Renault, Fiat and others, showed that demand existed in the U.S. A successful modern " compact car" market segment was established in the U.S. īy the late 1950s, the physical size of the entry-level models offered by the Big Three American domestic auto manufacturers (General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler) had grown considerably effectively abandoning the market for the smaller vehicles that had been available in the past. The first time Chevrolet manufactured an air-cooled engine was briefly in 1923 with the Chevrolet Series M Copper-Cooled, which due to engineering challenges, was deemed a failure. He is also known as the "father" of the small-block Chevy V8, one of the most celebrated engines in American automotive history. As chief engineer, Cole was also heavily involved in the development of the Corvette sports car. The Corvair was a ground-breaking car in its day. He was completely involved in the development and production of the air-cooled rear-engine Corvair. At Chevrolet, Cole pushed for many of the major engineering and design advancements introduced in the Chevrolet car and truck lines between 19. Four years later, in July 1956, he was named general manager of Chevrolet (GM's largest automotive division) and became a vice president of General Motors. In 1952, Ed Cole was promoted to chief engineer of the Chevrolet Motor Division. The Corvair's air-cooled rear-mounted flat-six engine History The 1954 Chevrolet Corvair concept car was an early generation Corvette built as a fastback. Today the Corvair has a devoted following among owners and collectors as average prices for Corvairs from any year have reached an all-time high. Ĭhevrolet would more directly compete with imports the size of the Volkswagen Beetle with the subcompact Chevrolet Vega a year after Corvair production ended from 1970 to 1977. When applied to the production models, the "air" part referenced the engine's cooling system.Ī prominent aspect of the Corvair's legacy derives from controversy surrounding its handling, brought to light by Ralph Nader's Unsafe at Any Speed and tempered by a 1972 Texas A&M University safety commission report for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which found that the 1960–1963 Corvair possessed no greater potential for loss of control in extreme situations than its contemporaries. The name "Corvair" originated as a portmanteau of Corvette and Bel Air, a name first applied in 1954 to a Corvette-based concept with a hardtop fastback-styled roof, part of the Motorama traveling exhibition. The Corvair was manufactured and marketed in 4-door sedan, 2-door coupe, convertible, 4-door station wagon, passenger van, commercial van, and pickup truck body styles in its first generation (1960–1964) and as a 2-door coupe, convertible or 4-door hardtop in its second (1965–1969) – with a total production of approximately 1.8 million from 1960 until 1969. A response to the Volkswagen Beetle, it remains the only American-designed, mass-produced passenger car with a rear-mounted, air-cooled engine. The Chevrolet Corvair is a compact car manufactured by Chevrolet for model years 1960–1969 in two generations. US: Flint, Michigan ( Flint Truck Assembly).US: Oakland, California ( Oakland Assembly).US: Kansas City, Missouri ( Leeds Assembly).US: Ypsilanti, Michigan ( Willow Run Assembly).
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