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The 1960s ushered in the era of "the muscle car" in America but also marked the beginning of new concerns for energy and the environment. As the Woodstock generation then redefined itself in the "Me Decade" of the 1970s, new competition from other countries led to a new generation of small cars from General Motors, starting with the milestone 1960 Chevrolet Corvair, the first air-cooled, rear engine car built and sold in volume in the U.S. Then came entirely new small car lines for Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Buick in North America and from Opel in Europe.

On the technology front, GM developed the industry’s first vehicle emissions control device, the Positive Crankcase Ventilation valve, in 1963. This breakthrough in reducing hydrocarbon emissions was soon adopted by the rest of the industry. In 1971, GM became the first automaker to introduce engines that could run on low-lead or no-lead gasoline. In 1974, GM introduced the industry’s most important step yet in reducing automotive emissions, the catalytic converter. To this day, all cars sold in North America by all manufacturers are equipped with catalytic converters.

Following the Arab oil embargo of 1973, GM became the first manufacturer to downsize its entire U.S. vehicle fleet to increase fuel efficiency. It was the largest re-engineering program ever undertaken in the industry, ushering in a trend of ever-lighter and more aerodynamic designs across all vehicle models.

But not all of GM’s innovations in this period were about the environment or energy. In 1973, the company became the first automaker to offer an air cushion restraint system, later known as the air bag, in its vehicles.

Beyond the automotive front, GM’s engineers and scientists were also tapped to develop the guidance and navigation system for the Apollo 11 moon landing and the famed Lunar Rover vehicle driven by the Apollo 15 astronauts on the moon.

Video Courtesy of General Motors Archive

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