It’s unfortunate that the Corvair became a lightning rod of controversy and criticism because of Ralph Nader (his claims were later debunked) because the fallout caused GM to shy away from such radical ideas for many years at a time when it needed to innovate. But in 1960, the new platform was a daring answer to the rising tide of imported cars and trucks that had swept the U.S. in the fifties. And far from stopping at just cars, the Corvair was spun off into a line of forward control trucks aimed directly at the VW Type 2, including the Greenbrier passenger van and the Corvair 95 van and pickup. Introduced some months after the passenger cars, the Corvair 95 was named for it’s wheelbase, and the pickup came in two separate variants - “Rampside,” with load access through a side panel that opened onto the curb, and “Loadside,” with a conventional tailgate. All were powered by the Corvair’s 80-hp, rear-mounted flat six, appreciably more powerful than the VW competition and capable of 3/4 ton loads like a conventional pickup. Buyers could spec a four-speed or a two-speed #Chevy Powerglide auto. The pickup was a semi-unit body, with extra strengthening for the load floor. The rear engine made the Loadside variant more difficult to load, because of the high deck. But the Rampside - which would let you easily carry something right into the bed, was a brilliant concept. In their first year, these trucks did quite well - with more than 13,000 sold - mostly Rampsides. But it quickly became clear that most American truck buyers were sticking with regular pickups - sales slumped after and never recovered, particularly the Loadside version - which was dropped in mid-62 with just 369 built that year. The Rampside continued on offer into late 1964, but sales never recovered - just 851 were made in ’64. Corvair Vans faired a little better, but all were gone by ’65 except for the passenger Greenbrier, which lasted one more slow season. GM didn’t revisit very small pickups until the very different LUV in 1972, and didn’t revisit small-ish vans until the Astro in 1985.
