wrote in message
...
On Sat, 05 Dec 2009 20:49:33 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

On Sat, 05 Dec 2009 12:59:08 -0500, wrote:

On Sat, 05 Dec 2009 11:37:56 -0600, thunder
wrote:

On Sat, 05 Dec 2009 12:01:36 -0500, gfretwell wrote:


I never understood how the VW escaped the wrath of Nader when he was
trashing the Corvair. They both had the same problem. (tucking the
real
axle and flipping over).

It's interesting to note, only one chapter in Nader's book was about the
Corvair. Nader was trashing the entire automotive industry, and
rightfully so.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsafe_at_Any_Speed

That still doesn't address the question about why Nader singled out
the Corvair when he talked about the dangers of swing axle suspension.
The VW was famous for flipping

The Corvair had some other problem with the rear suspension geometry,
as I recall. It would break loose and switch ends easily if I recall.
Bugs didn't do that.
I think they called it trailing oversteer, at a certain point the
understeer they build into most cars switches to oversteer as the rear
tires lose traction and they both had the problem.

Think they fixed the Corvair by the 2nd or 3rd
model year, but it's hazy.
GM has always been a good target. Still is.
The big boy.
Whatever the faults of the Bug, I never felt it was a bad driver.
Tracked well, braked decently. I never got aggressive with it.
How could you? Did feel it was a little top-heavy in cornering,
so I never pushed it hard cornering.
That is why you never saw the problem. Most beetle drivers in those
days were more conservative. I did know a guy in high school who
rolled one but he thought he had an MG ;-)

Found mine on the lawn one morning. Hit and run. Fender was bent,
but that was it. Just got knocked over the curb and deposited on the
lawn. Didn't see it happen, so maybe it rolled a few times. hehe.
Somebody mentioned bringing back the original Bug, but I don't know if
it could pass emission standards now.

... crash tests, interior passenger protection, handling problems and
a bunch of other issues
They were still selling them in Mexico until pretty recently tho.
You just couldn't import one.

--Vic


Actually I think the VW rolled before it could switch ends. The Corvair was
a lot less top heavy than a bug.