<VV> RE: Kent Sullivan's Article

Kent Sullivan kentsu at corvairkid.com
Sat Mar 5 19:20:27 EST 2005


Steven (and all who replied privately)

It's great that you have found the article interesting. I was fascinated by
many of the statistics too. Thanks for the kind words. I'll be sure to pass
on your notes to Dave Newell.
 
Enjoy!

--Kent
-----Original Message-----
From: Steven J. Serenska [mailto:sjs at banksurance.com] 
Sent: Saturday, March 05, 2005 8:46 AM
To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
Cc: Kent Sullivan
Subject: Kent Sullivan's Article

VVers:

I haven't been on this list for a while, but I just had to come back on to
publicly thank Kent Sullivan for his great article in the current
Communique.  His and Dave Newell's study of 65-67 options in the current
Communique is OUTSTANDING.  An excellent piece of scholarship.

I was intrigued and surprised by some of the results.  It certainly alters
my view of what is "rare" and what isn't.  A good example would be the
headrest seats option for '66s.  I had been led to believe that 200 sets of
headrest seats were produced.  It would seem that a better way to say it
would be that 200 sets might be left on the market at this point.  It's very
surprising, somehow, that this option is no more or less rare than an AM/FM
radio. 

Another surprise for me was the relatively low number of electric
convertible tops.  This wasn't a rare option, per se, but it is somehow
surprising that 90% of the ragtops produced had to be raised and lowered by
hand.

Part of the answers to Kent's question about why Chevrolet offered so many
options that didn't sell well can be answered by reading John DeLorean's "On
a Clear Day You Can See General Motors" and Ed Cray's "Chrome Collossus".
Well, maybe not "answered", but I do think some useful inferences can be
drawn.  DeLorean's book, while annoying to Corvair owners, is a good read
and paints an interesting picture of "big company" America in the '60s.  It
certainly explains a great deal about why the General's cars were so awful
in the 70's.

Anyway, Kent, thanks again for an excellent effort.  Please let Dave Newell
know as well.

Steven J. Serenska

'65 Monza 110/4spd, a/c, am/fm
'66 Corsa Coupe, 140/4spd, a/c, am/fm, headrests
http://www.serenska.com/IdealGarage




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