The basic Mustang, without any performance equipment, is a kind of bargain Thunderbird. It has no particular vices, but it has no great charm either except that, like the Thunderbird, it has original and unique styling with enormous appeal to the general public. With the addition of heavy-duty suspension and a hotter engine, it becomes very fast and very exciting to drive. Unfortunately, part of this excitement stems from Ford's antique Hotchkiss-drive rear suspension (abandoned on the big Ford line this year ), which allows the back end to slide at a furious rate. Our test car could best be described as a lightweight, extremely responsive Super-Stock, for it more nearly resembles a potential drag winner than a true GT car.
The standard Barracuda is a very disappointing car, in that it really isn't as nice to drive as the other cars in the Valiant line from which it is derived. It also suffers from a styling treatment that lacks the distinction of the new Corvairs and Mustangs. However, it fairly blooms with the addition of better suspension and a more powerful engine. It is not as powerful as the Mustang, nor as sophisticated a handling package as the Corvair, but it strikes a nearly perfect compromise between the two. In its most sporting form - like our test car - it is a delight to the enthusiast-driver. It goes fast enough, and it handles the way a man who's had some time in European GT cars would like it to handle. We were very impressed by the Barracuda, as we tested it.
The Corvair, in its most basic form, is a far better car than either of the competitors (also in standard trim) we're discussing here. The regular Corvair handles beautifully and needs no heavy-duty suspension. The car's only flaw is the limited potential of its air-cooled, six-cylinder engine - in its most powerful form it is no faster than the "cooking" versions of the Mustang's 289 V-8 or the Valiant's 273 V-8. In its favor, it has a styling treatment that is one full cycle ahead of its competition, and this will surely offset its moderate performance.
Now that we've discussed the cars in both their most basic and most exotic forms, how about the ones that lie in that middle ground - the ones that most people will buy?
Considered in that light, their performance begins to equalize. The most popular versions of the three will probably be within fractions of seconds of one another in most normal accelerating situations, and their comfortable cruising ranges are nearly identical. It is here, when we evaluate the three from the typical moderately-enthusiastic driver's point-of-view, that the Corvair wins.
And it is here too, that we have to go on record and say that the Corvair is - in our opinion - the most important new car of the entire crop of '65 models, and the most beautiful car to appear in this country since before World War II. When the first Corvair Monza appeared, it caught the fancy of hot-rodders and sports car enthusiasts alike. Big, successful businesses were built to supply the demands of the quarter mile crowd - Eelco, Ieco, Bill Thomas - on one hand, and the sports car people - John Fitch, EMPI - on the other. Nobody seemed to mind that it would never go very fast, no matter how much speed equipment they loaded on it: they just plain loved the car. This new Corvair will kick off a second phase for that accessory business.
The Mustang and the Barracuda are both supposed to be something very fresh and very special - unique new concepts - and they aren't. The Corvair is. And what's more, the Corvair isn't a one-of-a-kind sporty-cum-personal car, it's a whole line of cars including a four-door sedan! When the pictures of the '65 Corvair arrived in our offices, the man who opened the envelope actually let out a great shout of delight and amazement on first seeing the car, and in thirty seconds the whole staff was charging around, each wanting to be the first to show somebody else, each wanting the vicarious kick of hearing that characteristic war-whoop from the first-time viewer.
Our ardor had cooled a little by the time we got to drive the cars - then we went nuts all over again. The new rear suspension, the new softer spring rates in front, the bigger brakes, the addition of some more horsepower, all these factors had us driving around like idiots - zooming around the handling loop dragging with each other, standing on the brakes - until we had to reluctantly turn the car over to some other impatient journalist. We were actually annoyed about having to drive the new Sting Ray and the new Impala SS with a great, storming 409 to propel it.
We said we'd give you a comparative opinion, and there it is. We liked both the Mustang and the Barracuda - for different reasons - and they're very good cars. They have speed and handling and they're the right size - excepting the Corvairs, they're the best of their kind.
The '65 Corvair is an outstanding car. It doesn't go fast enough, but we love it.