Chevrolet Corvair

The Corvair was a compact car marketed by Chevrolet in the sixties. It was noted for being mid-engined instead of the conventional front engine. The name had previously been used on a fastback concept version of the Chevrolet Corvette. The Corvair was entered in the Trans Am Series over two liter class under the name Yenko Stinger. Corvair sales collapsed after Ralph Nader released his book Unsafe at Any Speed, claiming that there were many dangerous flaws with several American cars. A major flaw was that the gas tank was right behind the rear bumper, making rear-enders a potential inferno. A Pontiac version of the Corvair known as the Polaris was planned, but was canceled after the Corvair was discontinued. A major issue people had with the Corvair was the unorthodox suspension. A sporty Monza package was offered, named after the famous racetrack in Italy. Chevrolet later used the name on a compact car.