Carl F. Thelin

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

         Well, then, why did Chevrolet put the car on the market in the fall of 1959 as a revolutionary all new car? That was the year when Detroit first responded to George Romney’s criticism of gas guzzling dinosaurs. GM, Ford and Plymouth planned to introduce small six-cylinder cars: the Corvair, the Ford Falcon and the Plymouth Valiant. There was no way that GM was going to allow those other cars to go on sale without the competition from the “poor man’s Porsche” – the Chevrolet Corvair with the rear engine. The R&D department of Chevy was already furiously trying to come up with modifications that would reduce the dangerous handling of the 1960 model currently in production. During the first year of sales, Chevy quietly made incremental changes to the rear suspension. Finally the 1964 model had major changes with no sign of the handling problem. After that, Chevrolet introduced the all-new 1965 model Corvair with handling better than the Corvette of that period. It did not have much power; it did have sharp, safe handling but it was too late. The 1964 ½ Ford Mustang outsold it. By 1968 the Corvair was finished, killed not by Nader, but by Ford.

         Because I was so knowledgeable about the material that might become available to the plaintiff’s lawyers, PA assigned me to work with the Legal Staff attorney who prepared responses to interrogatories and requests for production of relevant company documents. This material was ordered, by the judge, to be copied and delivered to the opposition.

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