Who Killed the Corvair?
As for who killed the Corvair, ol’ Ralph Nader really can’t take the blame for that as much as people would like. The myth that Nader killed the Corvair still pervades the U.S. today, even more than 25 years since the last Corvair rolled off the production line. In fact, Nader was probably responsible for keeping the Corvair *alive* from 1967 to 1969! The most likely cause of the Corvair going out of production was Ford’s introduction of the Mustang in mid-1964. The second generation Corvair, while it had more power than before, was not enough to offset the popularity of the V-8 (although only the Shelby and HiPo versions had any real performance advantage). The fact that the Mustang used a “normal” engine layout certainly made it a more comfortable choice for many buyers as well. Shortly after the introduction of the Mustang, Corvair development was internally stopped by GM (in early 1965), and development of its replacement (the Camaro) began. Corvair production continued all the way
