<VV> Corvair-Porsche

[James P. Rice]

Bill:  I understood you were quoting from the magazine.  I did not recognize
your comment after the quote as sarcasm.  I read it to mean you thought the
story that Dr. Porsche and company had contributed to the Corvair design was
true, and the story of their participation has yet to be fully disclosed and
reported.

Sorry I misunderstood your comment.  My only defense, if one is needed, is
that our friend Bob apparently took your comment the same way as I did.  So
apparently at least two "of the brightest minds posting on this list" failed
to live up to your expectations.  Please accept my apology.  I completely
misunderstood your comment.

My comment about "knowing who Karl Ludvigsen is" was uncalled for in
retrospect.

I am also sorry I did not recognize you name as being someone else who has
contributed to Corvair history in the Communique.  I think, having failed to
understand you comment as you intended, I also failed to cross reference
your name to previous Communique content.  For that I also apologize.  I
appreciate your work, and have enjoyed and profited by it.

Your defense is effective and you bona fides secure.

I am sorry for my failure(s) in this matter.

Historically Yours,
			James Rice



Message: 3
Date: Tue, 9 Nov 2010 13:02:55 EST
From: Wrsssatty at aol.com
Subject: <VV> Quotations & Sarcasm; Was:  Those Pesky Porsche Rumors
To: virtualvairs at corvair.org

I am shocked to see that, apparently two of the brightest minds posting on
this list have failed to realize that in my original post I was quoting
others and remarking sarcastically upon those quotes.  I now find  myself in
the uncomfortable position of having to defend myself.  I will  repeat my
original post at the bottom.  First I will address your comments and
questions one-by-one:

1.  <Bill:  There is no story to tell.  If you go and  check the V-V
archives
*snip* If you don't know who Karl Ludvigsen is...well, shame on  you.>

Well, all I can say is if you question whether I know who Karl Ludvigsen is
then you apparently don't know who I am!

2.  <I see that you have not heard Bob Benzinger say that the good Doctor
and his company had absolutely nothing to with the Corvair's design>

Au contraire!  I have a printed transcript of Bob Benzinger's  remarks
before CORSA conventioneers and have read the transcript many times.

Please note that I was quoting the author of a magazine article published in
December of 1959.  If you have a bone of contention, it is with one Howard
Harrison, the author of the article, not with me.  I did, in my  original
post, make clear that I was quoting a source other than myself.   BTW, in
December of 1959 I was still packing my diaper, not writing for any car
magazines.

Perhaps my subsequent comment that <Over half a century later and that story
still hasn't been told!> was a tad too subtle in its sarcasm for even our
brightest minds.  My point was that in the nearly 51 years since the
published suggestion that Dr. Porsche had a hand in engineering the Corvair
there had not been a scintilla of evidence to bolster that claim!

Perhaps it is understandable that my bona fides as a knowledgeable Corvair
guy might be called into question.  After all, I have only been a member of
CORSA since 1985 and my interest in Corvairs goes back only to that fateful
day  in 1963 when a brand new Monza coupe wormed its way into my family's
heart when I was of an impressionable age.  So, please allow me to introduce
myself.  I am the author of "Defending the Corvair:  Anderson vs. General
Motors" in the December 2000 communique; the author of "Defending the
Corvair: Kaplan vs. Goldstein vs. General Motors" in the June 2001
communique; the author of "Defending the Corvair:  Seymour Goldstein vs.
General Motors Corporation and Lexington Chevrolet" in the February 2002
communique and
the author of "The Eye of The Beholder" detailing accolades garnered by the
Corvair's design in the November 2004 communique.  Those are only the
articles I've written for the communique that treat of historic matters
concerning the Corvair.  I have also written for the communique regarding
my tracking down Corvairs in Havana, my taking my convertible on Amtrak's
AutoTrain
to and from the Daytona convention and my trip to the Lexington convention
where I reunited my Corvair with prior owners and visited the dealership
where it was sold when new.  I was also the videographer for the  history
presentation of David E. Davis at the Lexington convention in 2004 for which
I was given credit when the transcript thereof was published in the
communique in January 2005 and my video tape of the history presentation at
the Buffalo convention was the source for the transcript that appeared in
the communique as "Tonawanda Engine Plant Memories" in the November 2006
issue.  My credit appears on page 9.  I have video taped many other
historic presentations at CORSA conventions and CORSA sanctioned events such
as last year's
dedication of Corvair items donated to the Buffalo Transportation Museum.

So, while I certainly may defer to the experts on matters such as, say,
carburetor rebuild, I feel that, at least my interest in things historical
vis-a-vis the Corvair is, or should be, well-known.

Here's my original post that seemed to be so confusing:

<My latest eBay acquisition is a tiny magazine from December 1959  entitled
"FOREIGN CAR GUIDE."  I got it for the cover story comparing the  new Chevy
Corvair with the Volkswagen.  Despite the magazine's name it  appears
primarily to be about Volkswagens.  Although the writers give lip  service
to road testing other "foreign" cars, the articles inevitably end  up
comparing whatever car to the Volkswagen.  Nearly all the ads are for
aftermarket Volkswagen accessories.  They never miss an opportunity to
mention "the great Dr. Porsche, designer of the Volkswagen."  What caught
my eye was a comment at the end of an article entitled simply, "The  Tatra."
The writer closed by saying; "The next best choice for a bigger  replacement
for the Volkswagen might be Chovrolet's [sic] new Corvair.  The  great Dr.
Porsche might have had a minor hand in that design, too.  But,  that's
another story to be told at another time."

Over half a century later and that story still hasn't been told!

~Bill Stanley>

Thank you for letting me set the record straight.

~Bill Stanley