<VV> Jerk who trashed Corvairs on PBS/Forbes
Taruffi57 at aol.com
Taruffi57 at aol.com
Wed Mar 27 07:42:12 EDT 2013
I have been having some back & forth with Larry Koltikoff and he admits
that both he and his Dad had approx zero car maint. capability when he managed
to spin an EM in the rain when he was probably a late teenager.
Anyway, he has become civil, and just sent me the email - below. He has
even owned a few foreign cars like Volvos and Triumph Herald. (I assumed he
drove a big Buick)
Joe Dunlap
Florida
____________________________________
From: kotlikoff at gmail.com
To: Taruffi57 at aol.com
Sent: 3/27/2013 12:49:30 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: Re: this may be of interest. It's from an MIT grad. He's
going to post it, I ...
Joe, Just posted this on Forbes.
To All Corvair Buffs,
Ok, I surrender. You have moved, on email, from castigating me to charming
me with your love of the Corvair. Since I love old cars and love old car
buffs, let me say that the Corvair surely deserves a reprieve after all
these years.
best, Larry
PS, You guys own me a ride in yours, but not in the rain!
On Tue, Mar 26, 2013 at 3:36 PM, <_Taruffi57 at aol.com_
(mailto:Taruffi57 at aol.com) > wrote:
We had our 2012 CORSA convention in Sturbridge but I wasn't able to go.
********************
In a message dated 3/25/2013 11:37:18 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
_kotlikoff at gmail.com_ (mailto:kotlikoff at gmail.com) writes:
Joe, I'll write something nice re the Covair! You won me over. I spent a
fair amount of time working (with no real knowledge) to get a Volvo 122
running for my brother. Lovely car. Great red leather interior. Can still
smell it. I will be down, eventually, to see your collection and meet you.
If you get to Boston, let me know. Larry
On Mon, Mar 25, 2013 at 10:59 PM, <_Taruffi57 at aol.com_
(mailto:Taruffi57 at aol.com) > wrote:
Larry,
I didn't want to rile you but I will admit to thinking that maybe you are
a Buick guy. :-)
Yeah, I would love to have had a go in the Herald. I had a Sunbeam Tiger,
Simca 1000, Renault R-10 with pushbutton automatic transmission, a couple
of Audis (lovely cars), never any BMWs, but I have a friend who had a bunch
of them. 2 really gorgeous M3's. In my early days, I too had a 1950
Dodge convertible (red). Had a sweet little baby blue 1960 MG Magnette. Can't
even find one now in America. After i traded it in on something in
Mobile, I heard that the next owner totaled it. I want a 1960's Volvo 122S 2
dr. Drummer friend in a band I played in (many bands - 25 yrs.) had one and
they are indestructible. Ok. I may as well tell you what I drive mostly.
A 2002 Ford F-150 pickup with 276,000 miles on it. My wife brought it
home from her brother - who bought it new, at 248,000 miles, Auto. trans. was
destroyed. I need to drive a pickup for some things I do. We went
full-time motorhome in '03 and I towed a Saturn but wife got homesick on Calif.
so we came back & bought another home. I also have an original Seafoam
Aqua/white first year (1962) Pontiac Grand Prix with TRIPOWER (3 carbs),
automatic and factory A/C. 4,000# of brute force. I also have a 1980 Triumph
TR8 (3.5 liter V8).
Is that Univ. you teach at (I am guessing here), one of those flaming
Liberal establishments we hear so much about down here in the backwoods South?
Oh, Mary I went to the big Amelia Island (north of Jax. Fl.) Concourse
D'Elegance a couple of weekends ago.
VERY classy and high-end at the Ritz-Carlton on the ocean. Lots of
multi-million dollar cars out on that lawn. The 1930's French cars are
incredibly gorgeous. Delahayes,, Bugattis, Delages. Cadillac had about a 12 car
ex-Motorama/Cocept display. You name it, it was there. Some stunning
stuff. I saw lots of famous race drivers and other car personalities walking
around. It is the second most prestigious collector car event - 2nd to
Pebble Beach, in the Country.
I am currently building a 6 car garage and will get back on my Corvair as
soon as it's enclosed and the car lift installed. It's destined to be a
classy and fast American Porsche 911S - with A/C. I had to partially
disassemble it to get it painted recently.
You really should recognize the flak you have taken from the Corvairisti
about your article with some kind of follow-up posting. We;'re not
completely disagreeing with you, Rather, saying we know something else was
involved in your spin escapade. Corvairs absolutely do not spin while going in a
straight line - even in heavy rain.
I lost a buddy under a guard rail in SW N.C. on a clear day. He had old
hard tires on his bike but was known for "knee-dragging". He was a
Mercedes mechanic and a great guy.
Joe
***********************************
In a message dated 3/25/2013 10:15:30 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
_kotlikoff at gmail.com_ (mailto:kotlikoff at gmail.com) writes:
Joe,
It looks like we are becoming buddies. Much better. I have a BMW. My
dad's Corvair was, I believe, one of the earliest models. But my dad had no
clue about cars. To him a car was a car. And at 19, I wasn't asking
questions. Just "give me the keys, please." I'm a bit of a car buff, but no
nothing about car mechanics. I have a 328i BMW. I've had a 1960 Alpha
Spider, a 1961 Volvo PT544, a 1951Doug Coronet Convertible, a 1976 MG Midget, a
1960s Triumph Herald, a bunch of more modern Volvos, a CRV, and a Jeep
Grand Cherokee. I liked the Herald the most. Lovely car. When I meet you in
North Carolina, you'll take me for a ride in your Corvair.
best, Larry
On Mon, Mar 25, 2013 at 9:49 PM, <_Taruffi57 at aol.com_
(mailto:Taruffi57 at aol.com) > wrote:
MIT grad info.
Yes, he is right as to the dynamics of basic car "handling". (polar moment
of inertia) Modern cars have had their rear suspensions tamed for years
now - since we don't all have equal driving ability. That has also
drastically reduced the "killer car" suits against manufacturers.. Do you know
that FIAT built millions of small economy cars for the masses in Italy -
most of which have ......drum roll... Swing Axles. I could name you many
other cars which have been built with swing axles.
I will differ with your MIT guy on one point though. The
engine/transmission of a Corvair is mostly aluminum and thus, weighs much less than V8s of
the era. In 1963, Corvette's went to an fully independent rear suspension.
Chevrolet changed the Corvair to that - in 1965. Yes, the Late Models
(LM) do handle much better, but one at least needs to be advised of the
difference in handling of a rear-engined car before getting out and doing
something abrupt with the steering inputs. I wouldn't send my Son out on a
rainy night on a curvy road w/o at least taking a minute to explain the
difference between his front drive Jap car and a rear-engined car. How about Ford
Pintos with fragile and exposed gas tanks right up under the rear bumper.
A few people died in fiery crashes with them. I can site a few more.
Cars have become boring in their sameness these days. You can see that I
find the oddities intriguing , and I don't worry that any of them will kill
me.
I suppose you drive a Mercedes? (so does my wife)
Meet me in SW North Carolina and I will take you for a ride on my sport
bike, but you have to lean the same direction I lean......
Joe
********************************************
In a message dated 3/24/2013 11:51:09 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
_kotlikoff at gmail.com_ (mailto:kotlikoff at gmail.com) writes:
I have a minor correction to your article titled "Cyprus: The Nightmare
Scenario and How to Avoid It in America" with PBS. You said:
The Corvair's engine was placed right in the middle of the automobile,
which made it flip from a nice forward path to a crazy spin that would kill
you if you hadn't said your prayers properly or were just damn lucky.
Actually, the engine in the Covair was placed squarely in the rear. By
placing the heavy engine in the back, the polar moment of inertia was
drastically increased. In combination with the phenomena of "lift off over-steer",
the weight shifts from the back to the front when going around a turn and
lifting off the throttle. This can cause the car to loose control in the
rear, and spin out of control. This is especially dangerous, because your
natural reaction when cornering at too great a speed is to slow down. But if
you slow down...
In fact, a mid-engine arrangement is the preferred placement for all
modern, high performance automobiles. For instance, the Porsche Cayman and
Boxster, as well as nearly all modern Ferraris and Lamborghinis use a
mid-engine setup. This minimizes the polar inertia and distributes the weight more
equally front and back, eliminating this effect. In a perfect world, the
engine would be exactly in the middle, not in the front. Of course, it needs
to be offset a bit to the rear to accommodate the driver (especially the
weight of your typical American).
--
Laurence J. Kotlikoff
A William Fairfield Warren Professor, Boston University
Professor of Economics, Boston University
270 Bay State Rd.
Boston, MA 02215
_www.kotlikoff.net_ (http://www.kotlikoff.net/)
President, Economic Security Planning, Inc.
_www.esplanner.com_ (http://www.esplanner.com/)
_kotlikoff at gmail.com_ (mailto:kotlikoff at gmail.com)
cell 617 834-2148
work 617 353-4002
--
Laurence J. Kotlikoff
A William Fairfield Warren Professor, Boston University
Professor of Economics, Boston University
270 Bay State Rd.
Boston, MA 02215
_www.kotlikoff.net_ (http://www.kotlikoff.net/)
President, Economic Security Planning, Inc.
_www.esplanner.com_ (http://www.esplanner.com/)
_kotlikoff at gmail.com_ (mailto:kotlikoff at gmail.com)
cell 617 834-2148
work 617 353-4002
--
Laurence J. Kotlikoff
A William Fairfield Warren Professor, Boston University
Professor of Economics, Boston University
270 Bay State Rd.
Boston, MA 02215
_www.kotlikoff.net_ (http://www.kotlikoff.net/)
President, Economic Security Planning, Inc.
_www.esplanner.com_ (http://www.esplanner.com/)
_kotlikoff at gmail.com_ (mailto:kotlikoff at gmail.com)
cell 617 834-2148
work 617 353-4002
--
Laurence J. Kotlikoff
A William Fairfield Warren Professor, Boston University
Professor of Economics, Boston University
270 Bay State Rd.
Boston, MA 02215
_www.kotlikoff.net_ (http://www.kotlikoff.net/)
President, Economic Security Planning, Inc.
_www.esplanner.com_ (http://www.esplanner.com/)
_kotlikoff at gmail.com_ (mailto:kotlikoff at gmail.com)
cell 617 834-2148
work 617 353-4002
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