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Gearheads of a certain age say Ralph Nader's name with disdain. The consumer advocate and frequent candidate for US President launched his lengthy career with the 1965 publication of Unsafe at Any Speed. Inspired by the more than 100 lawsuits against General Motors regarding accidents in the Chevrolet Corvair, the book launched Nader into the spotlight.

GM fought back viciously. In sworn Senate testimony, then-CEO James Roche admitted that the automaker illegally tapped Nader's phone and hired prostitutes to tempt the young lawyer, all in an attempt to smear and discredit him. Nader's work directly inspired the unanimous passage of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act by Congress, which eventually led to the adoption of standardized crash testing and mandatory safety equipment in all new cars. By the time Nader's book was published, the Corvair had already gotten a redesigned suspension that mitigated the issues of the early cars; the model continued production until 1969.

But for those of us who never had the chance to drive an early Corvair, the question remains: Is it really so tricky to drive?

Larry Webster, editor-in-chief of classic car insurance company Hagerty's new automotive publication (and the former editor-in-chief of Road & Track) set out to see exactly how scary an early-generation Corvair could be. He explains the inherent compromise of the early car's suspension:
"A pair of short half shafts connected the [rear] wheels to the frame-mounted differential. Only the inboard ends of the shafts could articulate, so as the suspension compressed or extended, the wheels tilted at extreme angles. This had the effect of dramatically reducing the rubber on the road. In an aggressive turn, the rear end tended to lose traction before the front, causing oversteer, or fishtailing. That wasn't all, however. There was a chance, a slim one, that the outside rear wheel could tuck in under the body and potentially trip the car into a rollover. These effects were further exasperated when owners failed to heed the Corvair's unconventional recommended tire pressures: 15 psi in the front and 26 psi in the rear."
Webster took two Corvairs-including a yellow four-door that, get this, was originally owned by Ralph Nader-to an airfield to see what they'd do in different cornering scenarios. Almost immediately, he experienced oversteer that only got worse as the speeds rose:
"To avoid spinning the car, I have to counter-steer almost immediately after initiating the turn. To racers, this behavior is known as "loose," and it's generally preferred to a front end that simply understeers, or plows. But I could see how the lightly trained driver might get into trouble. That was Nader's point: The average driver wasn't equipped to handle an over-steering car."
It's a nuanced examination of the car-one that's backed up with real-world testing and conversation with retired Chevrolet engineer Jim Musser, who worked on the Corvair (both the car and the court case) and eventually became head of R&D. For the record, Musser claims that Chevy kept the Corvair around longer than it would have under natural circumstances, specifically to avoid the appearance of being cowed by Nader's actions.

You really should read Webster's full piece over at Hagerty, but for a quicker, more visceral illustration of how an early swing-axle Corvair drives, check out Webster's video:

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Yes, The Chevrolet Corvair Really Was a Handful to Drive

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Gearheads of a certain age say Ralph Nader's name with disdain. The consumer advocate and frequent candidate for US President launched his lengthy career with the 1965 publication of Unsafe at Any Speed. Inspired by the more than 100 lawsuits against General Motors regarding accidents in the Chevrolet Corvair, the book launched Nader into the spotlight.

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CRASH: Ep 1: Carnage: Car Safety & Car Crashes: Pt 4: High Toll, Ralph Nader, Corvair & Pinto

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CRASH: Ep 1: Carnage: Car Safety & Car Crashes: Pt 5: Quest to improve safety: Seatbelts & Airbags

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On November 30, 1965, 32-year-old lawyer Ralph Nader publishes the muckraking book Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile. The book became a best-seller right away. It also prompted the passage of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, seat-belt laws in 49 states (all but New Hampshire) and a number of other road-safety initiatives. Today, Nader is perhaps best known for his role in national politics-and in particular for the controversial role he played in the 2000 presidential election-but Unsafe at Any Speed was the book that made him famous and lent credibility to his work as a consumer advocate.

"For over half a century," Nader's book began, "the automobile has brought death, injury, and the most inestimable sorrow and deprivation to millions of people." Technology existed that could make cars much safer, he argued, but automakers had little incentive to use them: On the contrary, "the gigantic costs of the highway carnage in this country support a service industry"-doctors, lawyers, police officers, morticians-and "there is little in the dynamics of the automobile accident industry that works for its reduction."

Nader's book popularized some harsh truths about cars and car companies that auto-safety advocates had known for some time. In 1956, at a series of Congressional hearings on traffic safety, doctors and other experts lamented the "wholesale slaughter" on American highways. (That year, nearly 40,000 people were killed in cars, and the number kept creeping upward.) Safety-conscious car buyers could seek out-and pay extra for-a Ford with seatbelts and a padded dashboard, but very few did: only 2 percent of Ford buyers took the $27 seatbelt option.

In Unsafe at Any Speed, Nader railed in particular against the Chevy Corvair, a sporty car with a swing axle and rear-mounted engine that was introduced in 1959. Nader argued that the car epitomized the triumph of "stylistic pornography over engineering integrity." (Its swing axle made the back end unstable, he said, causing it to "tuck under during turns and skid or roll over much more frequently than other cars did.) As it turned out, a 1972 government study vindicated the Corvair, finding that it was just as safe as any other car (Nader called that study "rigged") but the damage was done. The Corvair became an icon of dangerous, even deadly design, and the last one rolled off the assembly line in 1969.

Whether or not its particular examples were sound, Unsafe at Any Speed mobilized a mass movement, in which ordinary consumers banded together to demand safer cars and better laws. Today, seat belts, air bags, anti-lock brakes and other innovations are standard features in almost every new car.

Nader went on to advocate for a number of consumer causes and has run for president four times.
READ MORE: How Third-Party Candidates Have Changed Elections

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Ralph Nader's "Unsafe at Any Speed" hits bookstores

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On November 30, 1965, 32-year-old lawyer Ralph Nader publishes the muckraking book Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile. The book became a best-seller right away. It also prompted the passage of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, seat-belt laws in 49 states (all but New Hampshire) and a number of other road-safety initiatives.