This color film promotes the Chevy Corvair and the Pan American Highway. It was produced in 1960 and was released circa the early 1960s.
Opening: an animated map of the Inter-American Highway, the Central American section of the Pan American Highway that runs between Nuevo Laredo, Mexico and Panama City, Panama. A Chevy Corvair is being sent from Chicago all the way down this highway to Panama (:09-:45). Opening titles: HERE TO THERE (:46-:54).
Chevy Corvairs leave Chicago, ride on the highway from Chicago all the way to the Mexican border. Down desert roads. Through dirt roads. Driving through Mexico City and through the country of Mexico. The group stops at a scenic overlook (:54-2:23). Fiesta day in Mexico. Villagers look at the Corvair car. The cars push on through Mexican dirt/rocky roads. They make it to Guatemala, a shot of that country’s flag. The cars drive past mountains along rocky dangerous roads and across a bridge (2:24-3:52). The cars have made it to the capital Guatemala City and then onward to El Salvador, a border they must cross. Horses on the road as the cars pass. Over the Cuscatlan Bridge. Honduras border. Rough, dusty roads. The cars drive along (3:53-4:52). Nicaraguan border. Shot of the flag. Lake Nicaragua to Costa Rica. The cars go by steep hills and dangerous curves. The cars brake for a horse. Managua, the capital is visited. Highest mountain ranges at over 12,000 feet or higher. The cars drive fast (4:53-6:33). Foggy mountains. The cars drive through fog in Costa Rica. Muddy roads are crossed. A campsite in the jungle for the drivers. They ready the cars and start to drive again. Rain continues as does the mud (6:34-7:52). The end of the road in Costa Rica, pioneer trails make up the road to Panama. Muddy roads, treacherous travel, the cars drive across a stream up a muddy hillside. Crushed stone roads are then driven across. Close on the cars hitting these roads (7:53-9:31). A raft is used to move the Chevy supply truck as well as the Corvairs. Each car crosses the lake. The cars crash through more than 40 streams, some quite deep. Up and down hills, in and out of streams. Muddy roads cause no problems for the cars (9:32-11:29). The biggest obstacle is a giant, swollen river. A bulldozer is brought in to move giant boulders in the water so the Corvair can push right through the deep water. The bulldozers hook a chain to the car and help pull it through. The cars are back on dry land (11:30-13:00). Panama is reached by 3 Corvairs. The cars cruise around Panama. Palm trees. Traveling cars (13:01-13:35). End credits (13:36-13:41).
The Chevrolet Corvair was a compact car manufactured by Chevrolet for model years 1960–1969. The name is a portmanteau of Corvette and Bel Air, two popular Chevy models. It is still the only American-designed, mass-produced passenger car with a rear-mounted, air-cooled engine. The Corvair’s reputation was tarnished by Ralph Nader’s book “Unsafe at Any Speed” which suggested that the car’s design was severely flawed.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
