<VV> Modern Corvair vs. mundane FWDs

[airvair at earthlink.net]

Actually, I consider FWD to be MORE dangerous than rear drive. Consider
this: on slippery pavement with rear drive, if you break the traction
wheels loose, you still have some semblence of steering control. With front
drive, you lose ALL steering control. The car simply slides off whereever
it's headed. That difference may mean the difference between missing a
bridge abutment and hitting one.

People praise front drive for the wrong reasons. If the "conventional" car
was rear engine/front drive, they'd KNOW why front drive is a bad idea. The
reason people praise front drive is because the engine (the weight) is over
the drive wheels, and NOT because it's driving the front wheels. Having
driven Corvairs since they were still being built, I can attest to that
fact.

Also consider that in racing, if you go too hot into a corner in a rear
driver, you simply add gas and go thru in a four-wheel drift. In a front
driver, all you can do is back off the gas to hang the tail out. And as one
pundit put it, when you back off the gas in racing, you get slower. And
when you get slower, you lose the race. It's why front drivers generally
make for lousy race cars, and that most all purebred race cars are rear
drive.

On the flip side, in autocrossing the Mini was the holy terror of its
class. My brother ran a BMW 2002 and hated seeing one show up. The Mini
drivers would put the pedal to the metal and simply steer and pull up on
the handbrake, walking the inner front tire around the edge of the cones.
This was especially true on a dirt/gravel track, as the year I won the
club's year-end award in autocrossing for campaigning my '67 Monza 4door
(required Corvair content) I saw a Mini do just that. It was enjoyable
seeing my older brother get a shellacking. LOL

Bottom line is as I've always said: a rear driver is a REAL car, while a
front driver is a major appliance.

And as far as modern cars being mundane, like Gordon Buhrig (the stylist of
the coffin-nose Cord) said about it, "aerodynamics makes for lousy styling."

BTW, the reason the Corvair still has a "stygma" from Nader about it is
because we can't get the media off mentioning him every time there is a
story about US and./or the Corvair. I've said it before, and I'll say it
again, we HAVE to emphasize to the media that he's old news (about 35 years
too stale, BTW), that the REAL story is about the Corvair and us in the
here and now. Refuse to talk to reporters if they are going to mention him,
write scathing letters to the editor every time such a mention happens,
etc.  Let's all band together and make THAT happen!

-Mark


> [Original Message]
> From: Charles Lee <Chaz at ProperProPer.com>
> Subject: Re: <VV> Modern Corvair vs. mundane FWDs
>
> Good point about the FWD domination today !
>
> The Corvair's problem was that was alone and distinct which made it an
easy target.
>
> When FWDs started in the US, it was the expensive Eldorado and Toronado,
but they didn't really succeed because they were different with no real
advantage.
>
> So-o-o-o, "they" decided to inundate us with FWDs so (a) we wouldn't have
a choice, and (b) we'd eventually get used to them and (c) most people
don't know the difference anyway.
>
> >From a handling perspective, FWD is "safer" due to its understeer, which
means people don't get in trouble as fast.  (Sure now they go off the
outside of a curved road instead, but even that is less startling since
FWDs are hard to spin out, which is what makes driving so much fun.
>
> (By "spin out" I mean 180s and 360s, not STOP : "Squeal Tires On
Pavement")
>
> Corvairs are harder to spin out that FE/RWD cars, but FWDs are nearly
impossible, which I think makes them "safer" 
>
> Mechanics love them too, because all the expensive stuff is up front
taking the impact of pot holes, etc with complex CVJs and steering ear in a
very vulnerable position, so lots of $$ to be made fixing them !
>
> I think FWD is what makes all new cars so mundane, IMHO.
>
> Charlie;
>
>   -----Original Message-----
>   From: Charles Lee <Chaz at ProperProPer.com>
>   Subject: Re: <VV> Modern Corvair
>
> Maybe if the Chevy "Volt" was rear-engined with advanced suspension and
low
> center of gravity, plus the styling of the Corvair, now THAT would be a
> winner !
>
> However, I think GM proved they are NOT up to the challenge of a "new
> Corvair" as advanced as the Corvair was then, by the actions they took
then.
>
> Unfortunately, the Corvair, as great a car as it was (and is), still has a
> stigma as a result of GM's inability to take a stance against Nadir
(sic), 
> as VW
> did when Nadir went after them !
>
> Still it would be a cool idea to have a contest of some kind, to see what
> the Corvair might have been ?
>
> Charlie