Ralph Nader on How He Came to Write: "Unsafe at Any Speed"

[techninja22]

if the government and the big Car company of the 50's didn't shut down Preston Tucker Nader would have never had a chance to write this book. Preston call out the big 3 told them they were killers because there cars had no safety features. The 49 tucker did, and they killed it. but come less than 10 years later and GM and Ford began to add safety features to all there cars STOLEN from the same car they all laughed at, disk brakes, We need to thank Preston Tucker he cared about safety.Nader not

[paulvill76]

Nader Fucking asshole , dishonest an imbecile, why don´t you go fuck youself , the first approach for Americans to have a "compact "car like VW Beetle or a Porsche, a big asshole ....

[ANDREI454SS]

he is right with a few things, but per total he is an asshole

[bcubed72]

I read UAAS, and it was a poorly-written hatchet job. For instance, at one point he quotes an engineer (at Chrysler, IIRC) about the safety hazards of rear-engine, aft-CG vehicles.

Now, the 2 biggest rear-engine cars at the time were the Beetle and the Corvair--neither one made by Chrysler. Obviously, the good company man at Chrysler isn't gonna miss a chance to slag the competition.

Nader was either dishonest or an imbicile not to realize that...

[gts5001]

Screw you Ralph

[snowrocket]

A balanced view: Were it not for the likes of Nader and environmentalists, we would not have the safer, less poluting cars of today. Up until Nader, most manufacturers (Saab, Volvo, and Mercedes being the exceptions) made cars to sell, period. However today I think it's all gone a little too far. I don't want to be forced to pay for stability control, ten airbags, unreasonable CAFE standards, or tire pressure monitoring. That's excessive meddling and government intervention in the free market.

[king0cans]

Trouble maker.

[demoskunk]

Rader was right about seat belts, but completely wrong about the Corvair. He should have done his research better and been less dogmatic.

He was also wrong in his assertion that nobody should be able to own a car that goes over 100mph. Apparently, he never heard of the German Autobahn and the fact that faster cars are safer cars because they are engineered better.

[animalcorvair]

this guy is a nut

[outskirtscustoms]

Nader had a good thought just a poor execution. Seat belts and product testing WAS a good thing, BUT he should not have attacked the corvair. They were great cars, he had NEVER personally driven one. And to get a corvair to flip you had to be TRYING to flip it or be an entire retard. I HAVE personally driven several Corvairs and they are perfectly safe. If not SAFER than most other 60's cars.

[animalcorvair]

@outskirtscustoms u are so right i have 8 vairs....gee they are very good drivers

[demoskunk]

@outskirtscustoms Porches and Mercedes sports cars of the 60s had the same rear axle and rear engine design as the Corvair, and they were excellent handling cars.

[snowrocket]

@demoskunk Well, Demoskunk, you're partly correct. It WAS common to use a rear swing axle independant rear suspension on RWD cars in the '60s. Corvair, VW, PorSche, Mercedes, and others used them. The "excellent handling" moniker only tended to apply up to the limit of adhesion. The lift-throttle oversteer made most of these cars REALLY scary, ESPECIALLY if the driver didn't have sufficient air pressure in the rear tires. By the '70s everyone got away from the rear swing axle.

[demoskunk]

@snowrocket BMWs in the 70s had independant rear suspensions, so the technology was sound. and now all the best performance cars in the world have independant rear suspensions, not live rear axles like american cars of the 70s through the 90s.

perhaps the technology hadn't been perfected in the Corvair? also, live rear axles are cheaper to produce and we all know how u.s. auto manufacturers liked to cut corners :)

[snowrocket]

@demoskunk The point I'm making is not "independent versus non-independent". It's the arguement that the TYPE of independent rear suspension (IRS) matters. The swing axle is the cheapest way to have a rear powered IRS. It also has the least desirable geometry and handling. That's why BMW, Porsche, and VW all went to semi-trailing-arm IRS in the 70's; it's safer and handles better for barely more money.

[alfredunhill]

Great American, a real patriot, gave us freedom of information act, seat belts, very courageous and has common sense.  A true hero.

[animalcorvair]

@alfredunhill had seat belts in my 56...he is a dork case closed

[maxticket]

Yeah, saving lives is for suckers. Making products safer and better for the end user is such a waste of time. The country would be such a better place without seatbelts and product testing.

[LPAGAN401]

Never forget the Corvair

[6boomer9]

Nader used the Corvair as a scapegoat to make a name for himself.

[koledapt]

wow .The USA is an Communists Country !!!!!!!!!!

[simonesimone2]

nader!!!!! we love you!!!!!!!!!

[pshhhhhhBOOM]

Fuck you. Nader ruined cars.

[arcturus33333]

A great American and true patriot who should have been elected President long ago. We wouldn't be in the 2nd Great Republican Depression.

[Ottobon]

Ralph Nader is the essential do-nothing, take all the credit leftest. Just like Al Gore invented the internet, Ralph Nader saved millions of lives. My ass he did. Seriously though whats with over-talkitive and bitter retards hating on cars so much. First Nader wanted restrict creativity in automotive design because he was worried cars with tail-fins would stab pedestrians, 20 years later Gore thinks internal combustion is going to end the world.

[j97hou6]

Judges and corporations are just bitter about Ralph Nader and radicals taking away a little bit of their power.

Judges and cops are bitter whenever a defendant isn't forced against their will to go to prison. Judges and cops deserve to be executed. They love big government. Only the radicals will cause the necessary change for a better future.

[tonylee1973]

Ralph is the best. Every America owes him o much.

[0613162k]

º¤ø„¸¸„ø¤º°¨ „ø¤º°¨

¨°º¤ø„ Vote „ø¤º°¨

¸„ø¤º°¨Nader ``°º¤ø„¸

ø¤º°¨¸„ø¤º°¨¨°º¤ø„¸¨°º¤ø

[LPAGAN401]

Fuck Nader!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[truewealth]

Nader communicates the Truth. I wish Nader, Kucinich, Gravel, Richardson and even Ron Paul would be considered before all the other jokers.

[0613162k]

º¤ø„¸¸„ø¤º°¨ „ø¤º°¨

¨°º¤ø„ Vote „ø¤º°¨

¸„ø¤º°¨Nader ``°º¤ø„¸

ø¤º°¨¸„ø¤º°¨¨°º¤ø„¸¨°º¤ø

[LatteLiberal]

God didn't put responsible corporations like GM on this earth to deliberatly hurt people. God put such companies on earth to create jobs. God never said "challenge authority if you feel like it". God said to honor your elders. GM was and is an elder of our community. For Nader to decide he knows better then the biggest corporation on earth is like a kid deciding he can raise himself.

[Mictian8811]

This is what happends when the freedom of speach is given to idiots!

[LatteLiberal]

Liberals should have no right to own a brain or a car. VOTE MCCAIN SO WE CAN HAVE THE OIL WE NEED!

[j97hou6]

Vote Ralph Nader / Matt Gonzalez!

Shove the fucking oil-hungry nuts into prison and force them to pay for all their selfishness and greed. Oil-hungry nuts ruin the quality of life for all of us who deserve a good life fighting for clean energy.

Oil-hungry conservative nuts are crybabies just because they can't drive as much as they'd like, just because they can't give up an insignificant part of their lifestyle.

[2fit661ca]

so naive...

there is no subject to what he's even saying.

[Worldofwarcraft9112]

I... think he knew what GM would accomplish if the corvair was sucessfull and he tried to stop it

[LatteLiberal]

Nader was just bitter that GM wouldnt give him a job when he applied. Its a fact. He tried to get a job and GM said no. So we went out of his way to destroy the company. Liberals are bitter and dangerous people.

[Stinkbone]

Nader is a whackjob. Corvairs were, and still are, great cars. His "friends" were stupid drivers.

[LatteLiberal]

The Corvair could have prevented the success of Toyota and today we would have jobs and prosperity. Now we just have liberal nannyism. There was NOTHING wrong with Corvairs or any American car. Todays seat belts and airbags are a sham. There is no need for expensive technology if you are a responsible driver! Vote MCCAIN to repeal the seatbelt and airbag laws so we can have affordable cars again.

[tamapalagi]

Unsafe at any speed came out with the ford mustang. Sounds fishy.

[LatteLiberal]

Nader was bitter and jealous that the American carmakers refused to hire him. Don't believe the liberal lies. There was and is nothing wrong with car safety.

[truewealth]

No American Citizen compares to Ralph Nader (except perhaps Kucinich!)

[LatteLiberal]

No American citizen should be allowed to destroy an American corporation just because he feels like it. This is why the Constitution needs to be rewritten.

[simonesimone2]

great man

[JohnDeBunkTest]

GM has been a very bad corporate citizen.

[malevolenceXXXensues]

@JohnDeBunkTest atleast not as bad as ford with the pinto and those tire defects