Which Chevrolet model was marketed as the brand’s first compact car in the United States?

The Chevrolet Corvair was marketed as Chevrolet’s first compact car in the United States.

Introduced for the 1960 model year, the Corvair was unusual among American cars because it used an air-cooled, horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine mounted at the rear. Its engineering reflected Chevrolet’s attempt to answer growing interest in smaller, more economical cars.

The Corvair was available in several body styles, including a sedan, coupe, station wagon, convertible, and van-based derivatives. Its independent suspension and rear-engine layout gave it a distinct character compared with conventional front-engine American compacts.

The Corvair is sometimes confused with the Chevrolet II, later called the Nova. The Chevrolet II arrived alongside it for 1962 and used a more conventional front-engine, rear-wheel-drive design. The Corvair remained in production until 1969, while the Nova continued under a different engineering concept.