Close but no cigar. Unsafe at Any Speed was not entirely about the Corvair. The book condemned Detroit in general for not caring about the health and well being of their customers. The NHTSA came about as a result of the Congressional hearings about the issues raised by Mr. Nader, who at the time was a young investigative reporter. I find it ironic that by the time the public was made aware of the Corvair's shortcomings, GM had already redesigned the car to correct them. The '65 to '69 Corvairs were the best cars GM ever put on the road in my opinion. Doesn't say much for GM does it?
Emission standards weren't a direct result of deficiencies in auto design but more a reaction to the fact that in the late '50s and early '60s our air was unbelievably foul. I can remember riding down the road with dad at noon with the head lights on so we could see where we were going. Out of 27 people from 8 families in our little neighborhood, 19 have been treated for cancer or died of cancer. Something had to be done and auto emissions was a good start. Sorry, I'm starting to climb up on my soapbox so I'd better stop for now.