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Originally Posted by raymr
Trouble is, they got burned bad with the Corvair and the Vega. Two cars that looked good on paper but became lawsuit and public relations nightmares. Since then their designs have been pedestrian and non-controversial. Front-wheel drive was a bold move for them.
I thought those neat new 2-seater convertibles would help bring things around, but realistically that is like rowing against a tidal wave.
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GM was the very FIRST US carmaker with front wheel drive (other than Cord in the '30's)- the late '60's Olds Tornado and Cadillac Elderado- how soon we forget! Also, the Chevrolet Citation FWD came along in a timely fashion, and was far better than the Dodge Omni or Ford Escort's at the same time period. I still see some early '80's Citations on the road around here. (I never dreamed I'd find myself defending GM, but hindsight is 20/20).
Corvair was indeed a radically cool design- always wondered why Mr. Nader had such a problem with it, but never condemned the Porsche 911. The Vega was an unfortunate mistake- but no worse than Ford's Pinto / Bobcat. These were the first feeble attempts at small cars by US car-makers.
Dave