MYTH BUSTER
Debunking the most common old wives’ tales 1 IT WAS AMERICA’S FIRST ‘COMPACT’ PRODUCTION CAR
The USA didn’t really do small cars during the 1950s, unless they were imported. But when the trickle became a flood, it was felt that a line had to be drawn. The Chevrolet Corvair was General Motors’ first attempt to meet the invaders head-on, but it wasn’t the first US ‘compact’ – the 1950 Nash Rambler was the first true small American car, with Nash’s American Motors Corporation successor focusing on tiddlier machines throughout the decade.
2 IT WAS THE FIRST-EVER TURBOCHARGED CAR
Almost… but not quite. The Chevrolet Corvair Monza Spyder of 1962 was just pipped to the post for the title of the world’s first turbocharged passenger car by the Oldsmobile F-85 Jetfire a few months earlier; it used a forced induction derivative of the Buick 215, later Anglicised as the 3.5-litre Rover V8. However, it was unreliable, and fewer than 4000 were sold. The Chevy sold significantly better and helped to popularise the idea of turbocharging.
3 THEY WERE ‘UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED’
Ralph Nader’s 1965 book Unsafe At Any Speed vilified the Corvair for its poor handling and resultant accidents. However, a 1972 Texas A&M University report found that it was no worse than its contemporaries. Early (1960-1963) Corvairs were the tricky ones, but Chevrolet improved on the swing axle suspension with a camber compensator after 1963, which eliminated most issues. Tyre pressures were critical for reducing oversteer and many owners were unfamiliar with rear-engined vehicles’ different road manners. So it wasn’t nearly as bad as Ralph Nader made out. Richard Gunn