<VV>re: Corvair a should-be classic? - Milestone Car Society

[Russ Moorhouse]

I'm not sure I would want to belong to the Classic Car Club of America. 
They appear to be a very select, snobby group, intent on keeping anyone else 
out, who can't afford 100 grand plus cars of certain vintage, year, model 
and manufacturers.

However, we Corvair owners, are able to belong to the "Milestone Car 
Society", which is more open minded than CCCA.  They have 5 Criteria for 
acceptance of a car as a Certified Milestone Car. The model should be 
distinctive because of Styling, Engineering, Performance, Innovation, and/or 
Craftsmanship-relative to their contemporaries.  Corvair met all of these 
and is considered a Milestone car by the society.  To see what their 
thoughts are and what cars they consider milestone go to their website:
http://www.milestonecarsociety.org/

On another note for those of us who subscribe to Hemmings Classic Car, is 
anyone besides me getting tired of reading David Schultz's column?  He just 
goes on and on about the CCCA considers a classic. until I'm sick of hearing 
it.  It's as if nobody else is entitled to call their car a classic, because 
it hasn't been mandated a classic by CCCA.

I wrote the magazine a letter for them to consider for their Recap column, 
but it got canned.  My suggestion was that since Mr. Schultz refers to these 
classics as "automobiles" or "motor cars" more often than cars, then it 
might be more appropriate for CCCA to change their name from Classic Car 
Club of America to the Classic Automobile or Motor Car Club of America, and 
let the rest of call our more common cars, that the average person drove, 
rather than the wealthy, "Classics".  After all it was these mainstream 
cars, bought and owned by the average person, that made the automobile 
industry the giant it is today.


Russ Moorhouse
'65 Corsa coupe 140 HP
Group Corvair Member
Corsa Member
Kent Island, MD

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Subject: <VV> Corvair a should-be classic?
To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
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I continue to read the October 2007 Hemmings Classic Car that arrived in my
mailbox on Monday and I have spotted another Corvair mention--a really nice
one!  Jim Donnelly, in his monthly column, (page 39 this issue) takes 
exception
with the policy of the Classic Car Club of America (CCCA) to exclude any car
after 1948 from consideration as a classic.  He proposes seven post-'48 cars 
he
believes should be "Full Classics" and includes the 1960 Corvair!  He 
explains
his choice thusly:

"Bar none, the most radical, unconventionally packaged, breakaway American
car built since World War II.  The Corvair took themes that were ostensibly 
the
protected turf of outlanders and made them its own.  Where to start?
Rear-oriented powertrain, horizontally opposed engine, air cooling, fully 
independent
suspension:  It was light years ahead of every other American car.  Given 
the
committee-driven product planning at General Motors, it's remarkable that 
the
Corvair was produced at all."

~Bill Stanley