A couple of years ago I was slamming Nader and the book Unsafe at any speed
when a friend asked if I'd actually read the book. A few months ago I
found a copy at a used book sale and bought it.
I was not terribly cognizant in 1965 (at 4 years old I was still reading
Dr. Suess) but in the intervening 34 years I've heard lots of stories
about how this book killed the Corvair. What I find interesting is that
only 40 pages out of about 350 are about the Corvair and its swing axle
suspension. He even mentions how much better the '65 handled than previous
years.
For the most part, Nader slams the auto industry for blatantly ignoring
all sorts of safety design issues just to save a few dollars. While I
haven't read the book cover to cover, most of the points that he raises
do seem quite valid.
I suspect that there was a major media blitz that went on concurrent with
the release of the book. Knowing the way that "the media" will hype
things these days, I would not be surprised if it was the side effects of
the book, rather than the book itself that killed the Corvair.
On the other hand, I've heard other of Nader's pronouncements and feel
that his goal is "way over the top". Yes there are some critical safety
issues that need to be addressed, but a lot of times the cure is worse than
the disease (passive restraints). I also suspect that Nader himself honestly
believes that he is doing a good thing by trying to make life safer for
everyone, whether they want it or not.
On Thu, Jan 20, 2000 at 12:34:56PM -0700, Lind, Jon wrote:
> I agree--this event made Nader's career. It was a bald faced power
> grab, one that destroyed one of the first economical, unique and
> efficient cars ever to come out of Detroit, and set the US auto industry
> back atleast a decade.
>
> > You touched a sore spot.
> > The only thing unsafe at any speed was Ralph Nader's mouth.
> > I loved the way those early Corvairs handled, and they were
> > also great snow
> > cars.
--
Computer guru: Someone who read the manual.
lrc@red4est.com http://www.red4est.com/lrc
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