Check out this great Chevy promotional film that shows the all-new 1960 Corvair in action on the road, track, and swamp. It’s big fun.
We originally featured this video back in January of 2013. But since it happens to be one of our favorite Chevy promo films, when we came across a cleaner, brighter copy of the film, we had to share. Somehow, a few readers have decided that we’re anti-Corvair here at Mac’s Motor City Garage. On the contrary: We’re big fans of the air-cooled Chevrolet, but we do try to stay objective and maintain a big-picture view of automotive history. We admire the Corvair faults and all, and to that end, this film is a wonderful resource.
The six-minute short, produced by Jam Handy for Chevolet, is semi-famous in Corvair lore. It was intended to demonstrate that despite its oddball engineering, the Corvair rode and handled like a conventional car and could take a real beating. At one point (around 3:50) a Corvair is wheeled down a river bed with reckless abandon. Whee, looks like fun.
More interesting moments:
+ At around 0:45, a Corvair prototype disguised with special bodywork and Holden badges is tested at the GM Proving Grounds in Milford, Michigan.
+ At around 1:45, watch for great footage of the historic Lime Rock Park road course in an earlier, more rustic state of development.
+ At around 5:00, see a series of crash tests with full-sized ’59 Chevrolet models, including an Impala Sport Coupe, and some towing tests co-starring a ’58 Buick.
Also featured are a number of odd stunts designed to demonstrate the Corvair’s sound and stable road manners. Of course, Ralph Nader would come along a few years later with a book, Unsafe at any Speed, that offered a contrasting view. But that’s another story. Meantime, please enjoy the film.