-
Choose country
Share ThisTowards the end of the 1960s, the sales figures of American automobile manufacturers began to stagnate. The reason for this was the growing number of imported vehicles from Japan – Japanese imports had doubled between 1967 and 1968 and Chevrolet was struggling with responding to the new competition. In addition, Chevrolet slid ever deeper into a legal dispute concerning the technical quality of earlier models, mainly the “Corvair”.
Moreover, Ralph Nader, a lawyer and consumer advocate in the USA, published a book in which he claimed that many US-American automobiles (and especially those manufactured by General Motors) had structural weaknesses. The book, “Unsafe at Any Speed”, resulted in Congressional hearings and in new legislation to ensure improved motor vehicle safety.
When Nader claimed that there was a risk of a gas leak and a sudden engine collapse of some Chevrolet models, Chevrolet had to announce the largest recall in automobile history. On December 5, 1971, 6.7 million Chevrolet Nova, Camaro and V-8 trucks built between 1965 and 1969 were recalled. John de Lorean, GM’s new Chief Executive Officer, was to revitalize Chevrolet and bring it back on course with the Monte Carlo and Vega models. “We need to sell more cars,” was the core message from his first speech as GM’s CEO, and he set a target of 30% market share in the USA, which in 1968 had fallen to 24.7%.
The Monte Carlo was considered somewhat of a transition model, a forerunner of the Chevrolet Vega.
But watchdog Ralph Nader criticized the Vega spark plug adjustment, and Chevy manager Anderson got into a clinch with the unions which resulted in a strike.
In spite of tests executed by the EPA (Environment Protection Authority), which had assessed the Vega in an overall rating as the best American automobile, ultimately, Chevrolet withdrew some of its Vega series.
By means of a spectacular vehicle test carried out in Death Valley, Chevrolet delivered a further argument in favor of the car.
However, the Vega’s image had been severely tarnished, and in 1977 the model was withdrawn from the market.
