<VV> Origin of Corvair name was Corvairs Again - This time its the beast of the vairs

[Dennis Nichols]

I think this is quite possible. To expand on Bill here, at the time the Corvair show car was conceived, the Bel Air was strictly a hardtop coupe (I'm guessing this design exercise was conceived in 1951-52).So, Corv(ette) +(Bel) Air= Corvair, would be a natural as the show car Corvair was a pillarless fixed-head coupe version of the Corvette roadster. The name was no doubt circulating when plans were laid for the production of our Corvair, so it was a natural there as well, with the air-cooled connection.
 
I doubt there's much documentation on the bull sessions that Markrting and Styling would have in giving names, but I think my above explanation is quite plausible.

Of course such logic could lead to the conclusion that the Lakewood should really be a Nomad! :)
See my (Bill Stanley's) comments, below.

> Quoting from this article:
>
> "He also knew that Corvair came from the name Corvette and Bel Air."
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No. Although it isn't known for certain where the name comes from, the name 
is not a contraction of Corvette and Belair.

Bill Hubbell>

I beg to differ. The name "Corvair" first appeared on a "show car" that GM 
trotted out for the Motorama in, I think, '53 at the Waldorf-Astoria in NYC. 
The car appeared with the two-seat convertible named the Corvette. The latter 
car, of course, went into production. GM also showed a fast-back based on the 
Corvette. I think the fast back also had a small back seat. Because it 
combined the sporty styling of the CORVette sports car with the more practical 
family car aspects of the Bel-AIR, the show car was christened with the 
contraction moniker of Corvair. This name was then usurped a few years later when the 
Corvair as we know it went into production.

Bill Stanley
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"Every time a man gets in his car it should be a vacation"- Harley Earl

Dennis Nichols    CORSA, CKC

1961 Lakewood 700 98/3 

Interested in wagons? lakewood700@yahoo.com

 





		
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