1963 Chevrolet Corvair Monza

Engine: Horizontally-opposed, six-cylinder, air-cooled
Displacement: 2.4 L (145 ci)
Bore and Stroke: 89 x 66 mm (3.5 x 2.6 in)
Power: 59.7 kW (80 hp)
Transmission: 3-forward, 1-reverse, manual
Weight: 1095.4 kg (2,415 lb)
Capacity: 5 passengers
Original Cost: C $3135 (estimate)

Introduced in 1960, the Corvair Monza features a rear mounted, air-cooled, horizontally-opposed, six-cylinder engine.

Motor Trend magazine named it “Car of the Year”, but the public was unsure. The competition, like the 1964 Ford Mustang, outsold it by a wide margin.

In 1965, an all-new Corvair with new rear suspension was introduced to deal with the handling difficulties claimed in Ralph Nader’s book “Unsafe at Any Speed.” Bad publicity and the Mustang doomed the Corvair.

The Corvair, introduced in 1960, was a unique domestic model. It used an aluminum, air-cooled, horizontally-opposed engine that was rear mounted, similar to the popular German Volkswagen. It also had 4-wheel independent suspension. Corvair’s main competitors were the Plymouth Valiant and Ford Falcon; both were smaller than the Corvair, with front-mounted liquid-cooled engines and rear wheel drive.

Chronology:

1911 - Louis and Arthur Chevrolet and General Motors founder William C. Durant founded Chevrolet
1914 - First time Chevrolet uses the bowtie logo
1918 - Durant uses Chevrolet to gain a stake back in General Motors
1919 - GM president Alfred Sloan decides to mkae Chevrolet the volume leader for GM
1929 - Chevrolet International overtakes Ford as best-selling car in US
1929 - Introduces the Stovebolt overhead valve inline six-cylinder engine and giving them an edge over Ford
1933 - Chevrolet launches the Standard Six, advertised as the cheapest six-cylinder on the US market
1953 - Corvette introduced
1960s-early 1970s - Chevrolet is the best-selling US line of vehicles
1960 - Chevrolet introduces the Corvair, their entry into the compact car market
1967 - Camaro introduced
1971 - The sub-compact Chevy Vega is introduced
late 1970s - Chevrolet introduces a line of import cars that are badged as Chevrolet
1982 - Chevy Cavalier is introduced and becomes a huge success being produced until 1999
1989-1996 - Chevrolet creates the GEO line
2007-2010 - US economic crisis causes financial issues for all Big 3 car companies in US. GM requests a loan from US government to get them through the crisis
2007-2010 - Chevrolet launches new lines, including more fuel-efficient models and hybrids, to get them more market share and rebound financially
2007 - Vehicle donated to Reynolds-Alberta Museum
2016 - Chevrolet introduces the Volt, the first affordable mass market all electric-car