EVALUTAION OF THE 1960-1963 CORVAIR HANDLING AND STABILITY

THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION (NHTSA), DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, BEGAN AN EVALUATION OF THE HANDLING AND STABILITY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 1960- 1963 CORVAIR VEHICLE, BEGINNING WITH REVIEW OF GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION DOCUMENTS AND TEST DATA. ANALYSIS OF GENERAL MOTORS DOCUMENTS, TECHNICAL LITERATURE, AND ALL AVAILABLE ACCIDENT DATA WAS FOLLOWED BY A CONCENTRATED PROGRAM OF GOVERNEMENT TESTING OF THE CORVAIR AND CONTEMPORARY VEHICLES DURING THE SPRING AND SUMMER OF 1971. INPUT-RESPONSE TYPE DYNAMIC TESTS WHICH COULD PROVIDE QUANTITATIVE DATA WERE SELECTED FOR THIS COMPARATIVE TEST PROGRAM. TO EVALUATE THE OBJECTIVITY OF NHTSA TESTING AND ANALYSIS, A THREE-MAN ADVISORY PANEL OF INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS WAS RETAINED TO REVIEW THE SCOPE AND COMPETENCE OF THE NHTSA INVESTIGATION AND SPECIFICALLY TO IDENTIFY ANY ADDITIONAL VEHICLE TESTING BELIEVED TO BE NECESSARY TO AN OBJECTIVE, PROFESSIONAL DECISION REGARDING THE HANDLING AND STABILITY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 1960-1963 CORVAIR AS A POSSIBLE SAFETY DEFECT. THIS REPORT CONTAINS RELEVANT CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. /NTIS/

• Corporate Authors:

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Publication Date: 1972-7

Media Info

• Pagination: 136 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles; Defects; Evaluation; Performance; Safety; Stability (Mechanics); Testing
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00223987
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: Final Rept
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jul 24 1973 12:00AM