Instagram Jump Start: Corvair roars to No. 1 (now there’s something you don’t read every day)

13 February 2017

Quick, call Ripley’s. Believe it or not, a 1960 Corvair blew past a ‘63 split-window Corvette last week. We saw it with our own eyes. OK, so it happened on Instagram, not real life, but it was still pretty amazing – much like the photo that we posted showing the Corvair three-wheeling.

The image, captured by photographer Richard Pardon, is one of several documenting Hagerty Vice President of Media Larry Webster’s attempt to prove Ralph Nader’s assertion that the car is “Unsafe at Any Speed” – the title of Nader’s 1966 book. It’s also on the cover Hagerty magazine’s Spring issue with video coming soon.

For now, here are the five most-popular posts on HagertyClassicCars over the last week:

1960 Chevrolet Corvair (2,020 likes) – We tried. We really did. But despite our best efforts to prove Ralph Nader’s contention that early Chevrolet Corvairs are “Unsafe at Any Speed,” we concluded this 1960 model isn’t any more dangerous than similar cars of the day. Read all about it in the Spring 2017 issue of Hagerty magazine. It may already be in your mailbox.
1963 Chevrolet Corvette (1,800 likes) – Buyers of the 1963 Chevrolet Corvette had four V-8 engines to choose from, but it was the car’s unique split rear window that made it so memorable.
1954 Porsche 356 Speedster (1,463 likes) – The 1954 Porsche 356 Speedster is powered by a rear-mounted 1,500cc air-cooled flat-four engine.
1955 Porsche 550 Spyder (1,407 likes) – Eighty six years ago today – on Feb. 8, 1931 – actor and aspiring race car driver James Dean was born in Marion, Ind. Although Dean made only three films during his short movie career, he became a Hollywood legend following his death in a car crash on Sept. 30, 1955. This photo of 24-year-old Dean behind the wheel of his 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder – nicknamed “The Little Bastard” – was taken shortly before his fatal collision with a Ford Tudor near Cholame, Calif.
1970 Plymouth Superbird (1,380 likes) – Seven colors were available on the 1970 Plymouth Superbird: Alpine White, Lemon Twist Yellow, Limelight Green, Blue Fire Metallic, Petty Blue, Tor Red and this one – Vitamin C Orange.

You Liked It, We Love It – Every week there’s a photo on HagertyClassicCars that we think deserved a lot more “likes” than it received. This close-up shot of an ice-covered Volkswagen Beetle bumper is one of those.

Best of the Rest – Jeremy Borkat (@jeremyborkat) offers stunning portraits of his everyday encounters in San Francisco – and the rest of the world. Although his camera generally focuses on animals and scenery, it also finds automobiles on occasion. Borkat’s colorful shot of a race car zooming past at Sonoma Raceway, also known as Sears Point Raceway, is our favorite post of the week.