Despite the Cavalier, Chevrolet actually has a pretty impressive history when it comes to innovative small cars. Well, partially impressive. They have been real small-car innovators, but have failed miserably in execution, leaving a terrible history.
Case one - the Corvair. Aluminum-intensive engine. Flat six. Air cooled. All independent suspension. Very clean styling that influenced a number of cars to follw. Turbocharging - in 1960!
Case two - the Vega - all aluminum engine without liners - a technology eventually adopted by Porche and Mecedes if I'm not mistaken. Styling cues shared with the Camaro. A special edition (Cosworth) with twin cams and EFI - in 1975!
We all know what happened to these cars. The Covair was caught out by bad publicity (Nadar), but also an inability to fit larger engines and a high cost of production. The Vega engine had horrible problems with head gaskets and quality control was nothing to write home about. The Cosworth ended up being nearly as expensive as the Corvette and didn't get produced with anything near the power is was capable of.
Chev was burned by these experiences, leading it to become far more conservative (read - the Chevette and J-cars). But, what if the Corvair and Cosworth Vega had lived up to their potential? What would a small Chev look like today?
Case one - the Corvair. Aluminum-intensive engine. Flat six. Air cooled. All independent suspension. Very clean styling that influenced a number of cars to follw. Turbocharging - in 1960!
Case two - the Vega - all aluminum engine without liners - a technology eventually adopted by Porche and Mecedes if I'm not mistaken. Styling cues shared with the Camaro. A special edition (Cosworth) with twin cams and EFI - in 1975!
We all know what happened to these cars. The Covair was caught out by bad publicity (Nadar), but also an inability to fit larger engines and a high cost of production. The Vega engine had horrible problems with head gaskets and quality control was nothing to write home about. The Cosworth ended up being nearly as expensive as the Corvette and didn't get produced with anything near the power is was capable of.
Chev was burned by these experiences, leading it to become far more conservative (read - the Chevette and J-cars). But, what if the Corvair and Cosworth Vega had lived up to their potential? What would a small Chev look like today?