One way auto history websites can squeeze more profits from their content is to endlessly repost stories. That’s not a bad thing if the information is accurate, but it strikes me as journalistic malpractice when editors knowingly republish things which are untrue.
A case in point is Consumer Guide Automotive, which has kept online an article that unfairly blamed Ralph Nader for the demise of the 1965-66 Corvair Corsa. What’s particularly curious is that the story perpetuates myths that other Consumer Guide writers have debunked.
“The 5 Grooviest Vehicles of 1965: Senior-Year Lust” was originally bylined to Chris Poole (2013, 2019), but John Biel and the editors of Consumer Guide are now listed as the authors. However, Poole’s anti-Nader screed does not appear to have been changed.
For 1965 Chevrolet added a new top-of-line Corvair called the Corsa, which was available as two-door hardtop and convertible. The series was priced similarly to the Ford Mustang and Plymouth Barracuda (Old Car Brochures).
As we have previously suggested, Poole is entitled to his own opinions but not his own facts. For example, he wrote that Nader was “starting to crucify” the Corvair just as a better-handling 1965 model came out. “But what did he know?” Poole asked.
The better question is, “What does Poole know?” If he had read Nader’s book, Unsafe at Any Speed, Poole would have seen an image from Car Life magazine that showed the superiority of the 1965 Corvair’s independent rear suspension compared to the earlier version’s swing axle (1966, p. 13).
Nader quoted Car Life magazine, which wrote, “We approached this new [1965] Corvair with caution, as we have always had to approach Corvairs because of their somewhat unusual handling characteristics” (1965, p. 14).
Poole went on to blame Nader for weak 1965 sales of the high-end Corsa model. This is problematic for two reasons.
First, Corsa output was 65 percent higher than the previous year’s equivalent model, the Monza Spyder. Second, Unsafe at Any Speed was not published until November 30, 1965 (Wikipedia, 2014). This was too late to impact 1965 model-year sales.
The Ford Mustang soared in sales well before Nader’s book was published (Old Car Brochures).
Poole ignored Mustang’s impact on Corvair
Poole was correct to suggest that Nader’s critique helped fuel a 61 percent drop in total Corvair output for 1966. However, since he focused on the Corsa, Poole might have noted that its 1966 output was less than 7 percent lower than that of the 1964 Monza Spyder’s.
More importantly, Poole did not point to the Ford Mustang’s impact on the Corvair. For 1965 Mustang output almost reached 560,000. Then, in 1966 production hit 608,000. This was remarkably high for a two-door hardtop.
The auto editors of Consumer Guide state in The Encyclopedia of American Cars (2006) that General Motors had already decided in April 1965 — well before Nader’s book was published — to stop the Corvair’s development. Meanwhile, How Stuff Works, another website that includes Consumer Guide content, states point blank:
“Contrary to myth, the Corvair was not scrubbed because of Ralph Nader’s attacks. Chevrolet documents examined by several writers prove that the word had been passed to start development of a front-engine, rear-drive car in 1964, before the new Corvairs hit the streets. This was likely prompted by the phenomenal success of the Mustang. . . . ” (auto editors of Consumer Guide,2014)
In 1965 the Pontiac GTO sales topped 75,000 units, which was remarkably good for a niche model (Old Car Brochures).
1964-65 Pontiac GTO outsold the Corvair Spyder/Corsa
One might also add that the Mustang’s success happened at the same time that sales took off for GM’s mid-sized sporty coupes. For example, once the Pontiac Tempest was upsized from a compact in 1964, output almost doubled for its LeMans model. In addition, a high-performance GTO variant generated almost 33,000 units. This was three times as many as the Monza Spyder. In 1965 GTO production rocketed to 75,000 units and in 1966 hit 96,000.
The graph below compares Corvair production with that of the LeMans and GTO. The GTO started as an optional package in 1964 and become a separate nameplate in 1965. At that point Pontiac added a four-door body style to the LeMans line, but it averaged less than 6 percent of output from 1965-68.
In 1965 Corvair production rose 19 percent but was less than half that of the Mustang. In contrast, the sporty versions of Pontiac’s Tempest saw production double between 1964-68.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen’s sales were also booming in the mid-60s, but they wouldn’t hit a half-million until 1968. This is why GM could logically conclude that more cars could be sold by ditching its early-60s experiments in exotic engineering in favor of V8-powered American iron.
The Corvair’s future was shaky even without Nader
Poole did make one good point — the 1965 Corsa was quite beautiful and roadworthy. But in the end he blamed the wrong party for the car’s demise.
The sad truth is that, even in better circumstances, the Corvair’s days were numbered. If the car never had safety issues that drew Nader’s ire, its rear engine would still have limited its long-term viability as anything but a sports car along the lines of a Porsche 911 (go here for further discussion).
Chevrolet responded indirectly to Nader’s criticisms. Click on image to enlarge (AACA).
Poole’s factually-challenged rant would be more understandable if he had been a newbie writer posting on some obscure blog. However, he was a veteran automotive historian with a long association with Consumer Guide Automotive, which is one of the biggest publishers of auto histories in the US. For example, Poole was the lead writer of The Complete Book of Porsche (1988).
When writing his story, you would think that Poole would have had access to Consumer Guide’s vast amount of historical information — and that his editors would be diligent fact checkers.
By the same token, you would think that before Biel agreed to attach his byline to the story that he would have drawn upon his extraordinary level of experience as the editor-in-chief of Collectible Automobile and editor of Consumer Guide Automotive for 28 years (Biel, 2025).
You would also think that when readers raised questions about the story’s accuracy — as some initially did — that editors would either fix the problem or pull the story. Neither of those things happened. Instead, the piece has been reposted and all comments have been flushed down the memory hole.
Might sloppy history like this drive readers toother car-buff websites such as Curbside Classic and Ate Up With Motor? Both have long offered a more nuanced discussion about the Corvair’s fall (Niedermeyer, 2012; Severson, 2010).
NOTES:
This story was originally posted on September 6, 2014 and updated on Nov. 1, 2019 and Feb. 4, 2025. Production figures are from Gunnell (2002, 2004).
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