Farmer wrote:
Takes the yanks to produce a rear-engined ute.
The Germans did it as well; in fact while they didn't invent the 1-box-type van (and associated utes) that is now ruled by the Japanese and Koreans, they certainly popularised it and made it less weird than the Ford Thames vans, Commers and other odd assortments from the UK. But then it took the Japanese to work out that you should stick the motor under the front seat so the rear is flat!
Interestingly, the Corvair range, like the original US Ford Falcon, was a 'compact' that was designed to take on the Beetle! While the Falcon was conventional, and even a large enough 'compact' to be described as a full-sized Australian family car, the Corvair was trying to take the Beetle on at it's own game by sticking an air-cooled flat motor (flat 6 in this case) in the rear of the car!
They offered a sedan, coupe and wagon, I'm pretty sure, with the engine in the bum, plus the van, a people mover and it seems, this pickup, all with the flat-6 engine in the rear.
It was also among the first cars ever to be offered with a factory turbocharger, however as many people know, it was also the reason why Ralph Nader wrote his book "Unsafe at Any Speed". In an extravaganza of penny pinching that would only be bettered by Ford's Pinto in the 1970s, the sway-bars recommended by the engineers were vetoed by the accountants and were either made too thin or not fitted (I can't remember), causing some swing-axle, monster oversteer issues that we, as Bellett owners, would know NOTHING about... I'm sure.
As a result, plenty of people stacked them and Ralph Nader hated them and that is why the Falcon lived on for many years (and still does here in Australia... for now) and the Corvair is now a footnote in Chevrolet's vast and varied history.
All this is from memory; if I've left out details sue me.
Regardless of oversteer issues, send me that van right now! (come on Ozlotto)
Cheers,
Dave
