<VV> Do you really want a Passenger-side Rear-view Mirror on your Corvair?

[Bill Hubbell]

Something that most of you probably don't know....

Since outside mirrors were not standard on cars until mid to late 1960s
(note - they became standard equipment on Corvairs in 1966) there were no
special provisions made for adding them.  However, on those Corvairs where
the LH mirror WAS ordered from the factory (RPO Z01 Convenience Group with
standard LH mirror or RPO Z13 Convenience Group with Remote LH mirror)Fisher
Body added a reinforcing plate of steel behind the door skin where the
mirror was to be attached.  This plate was NOT added on the RH door, and it
also won't be there on the LH door if the car was not originally equipped
with the mirror.  Therefore, realize that you have only the skin of the door
to hold the screws of that mirror.

Now, as to my earlier statement about not liking the RH mirror; it turns out
I may have an ally in science.  Here is a link http://tinyurl.com/33f7gx to
the following abstract:

Short paper 

Passenger-side rear-view mirrors: driver behavior and safety 


Abstract

Passenger-side rear-view mirrors (PRMs) have been standard equipment on
motor vehicles sold in the US for many years, although they are not required
by the federal motor vehicle safety standards. Numerous studies documented
both the apparent need for PRMs (to overcome visual obstructions) and their
apparent value (by increasing visual access to the passenger-side rear). In
addition, surveys of drivers have found a general appreciation of the
importance of sampling visual information from the rear. Very little can be
found, however, regarding the actual safety benefit of PRMs. A review of the
research literature and several initial studies (driver observation and
accident-data analysis), suggest that PRMs may not be associated with any
substantial accident prevention, perhaps because they are not consistently
used. Implications and research directions will be discussed.

Relevance to Industry

PRMs should have been a success story, having been carefully developed
through research to provide important information for safe driving. The
apparent failure of PRMs to reduce accident rates in practice illustrates a
potential problem with designing and deploying safety features or devices
without empirical assessment of normal user behavior. 


Bill Hubbell