Corvair

Corvair may refer to

Chevrolet Corvair

The Chevrolet Corvair is a compact automobile manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet for model years 1960–1969 over two generations. As the only American-designed, mass-produced passenger car to feature a rear-mounted air-cooled engine, the Corvair range included a two-door coupe, convertible, four-door sedan, and four-door station wagon body styles, as well as passenger van, commercial van, and pickup truck variants.

The Corvair competed with imported cars such as the original Volkswagen Beetle, as well as the Ford Falcon, Plymouth Valiant, Studebaker Lark and the Rambler American.

The Corvair's legacy was affected by controversy surrounding its handling, scrutinized in Ralph Nader's Unsafe at Any Speed, as well as a 1972 Texas A&M University safety commission report for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which found that the 1960–1963 Corvair possessed no greater potential for loss of control in extreme situations than its contemporaries.

The name "Corvair" is a portmanteau of Corvette and Bel Air. The name was first applied in 1954 to a Corvette-based concept with a hardtop fastback-styled roof.

Convair CV-240 family

The Convair CV-240 is an American airliner produced by Convair from 1947 to 1954, initially as a possible replacement of the ubiquitous Douglas DC-3. Featuring a more modern design with cabin pressurization, the 240 series was able to make some inroads as a commercial airliner and also had a long development cycle which resulted in various civil and military variants. Although reduced in numbers through attrition, the "Convairliners" in various forms continue to fly into the 21st century.

Design and development

The design began life in a requirement by American Airlines for an airliner to replace its Douglas DC-3s. Convair's original design, the unpressurised Model 110 was a twin-engined low-wing monoplane of all-metal construction, with 30 seats. It was powered by Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engines and had a tricycle landing gear and a ventral airstair for passenger boarding. The prototype Model 110, registration NX90653 first flew on July 8, 1946. By this time, American had changed their requirements to require pressurization and deemed the design too small. The first prototype was used by Convair for development work for the 240 series before being broken up in 1947.