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5 years 8 months ago
- Posts: 6883
| Although its just a first draft I would like feedback on my pending article on the Chrysler Turbine car:
In the aftermath of WWII the power and efficiency of the jet engine quickly put the world on notice that the era of piston-engine aircraft was over. Developments in aviation begged the obvious question, "Why not jet power for automobiles?" Well who better to answer that question than Chrysler Corporation? After all Chrysler did have a hand in the development of jet engine components during the war.
No need to ask twice, Chrysler Corporation immediately set to adapt jet design technology to automotive power. You have to admit it's an interesting question: "What if you took a jet engine's turbine power but, instead of producing thrust, you use that power to turn a second turbine that's connected to drive wheels?" The result would be a Jet Car for the Jet-Age!
If Chrysler could pull this off, it would be an engineering masterpiece.
Thus began the years of work that Chrysler devoted to developing the turbine engine for automotive power.
And the result of all that work is what you see here. This is the Chrysler Turbine car of 1963.
The goal: to produce a mid-size, 2-door hardtop car below 4,000 lbs., yet fully equipped with every Chrysler accessory except air-conditioning. The plan: to build 50 of these custom-built cars, all identically equipped, and put these cars into the hands of ordinary Americans for real world experience with a jet-powered car. Laboratory testing only gets you so far; Chrysler wanted hands on data to determine if its turbine engines were ready for prime time.
The scale of this testing program was awesome. And the turbine car was a head turner!
Here, finally, was the Chrysler "Thunderbird" the corporation always lusted after. Distinctive "thrusting" headlamps frame a simple, elegant grille. Flat hood with straight, declining height fenderline trailing to a compact rear-end with impressive taillamps inside a simple looped bumper. The cars sides were unadorned. Nothing to mare the elegant lines, except the three vent-like side grilles just after the headlamps, before the front wheel openings. Notice the stainless steel fenderline uppermolding running in an unbroken line from front fender to rear bumper. And the beautiful rocker panel moldings running along the lower bodysides, fender skirts and rear splash panel in an unbroken line except for the front wheel openings. The paint color was the stuff of legends – Firefrost Bronze, just beautiful! The paint seemed to glow as if lit from within. Inside, a plush interior in Copper-Orange leather was a sight to behold. Top it all off with a limousine black vinyl roof with stainless steel trim and you have one of the most unique automobiles of the 1960's. Chrysler's chance to show-off and did they ever!
The consumer research side of all this involved loaning 50 turbine cars to over 200 families across the nation in a two year program to gather performance data and owner feedback. Btw, it was also the best advertising campaign Chrysler ever came up with. For each family selected to receive a car, Chrysler paid for everything except fuel. The loan agreement specified that the "owner" be present whenever the car was driven, that the car be kept clean for public presentation and the car would be returned after a three month period to Chrysler for reassignment to another family.
The detailed recordkeeping associated with this project has allowed me to identify the two families that received turbine cars in my hometown of Norfolk, Virginia. Family 124 received their car on 2/10/1965 to 5/10/1965 for a total of 5,583 miles driven. Family 169 received a turbine car from 6/8/1965 to 9/8/165 for a total of 5,548 miles total. From the dates listed, I believe it was the car of Family 169 that I saw driving past my house during the summer of 1965 almost daily. Yes, this is not just pretty pictures for me; I actually saw the Chrysler turbine car drive through my neighborhood on several occasions. Hey, it was Norfolk so of course I saw the turbine car around town too. One night, as my family was on the way home from visiting relatives, I saw the Chrysler turbine car parked outside a local night club for the moneyed crowd. Wow, how I wished I could have talked to a member of that lucky family.
So, now the verdict. Field reports were positive. Complaints were few, as were repairs. Problems were minor, mostly unassociated with the engine. Most drivers expressed interest in purchasing a turbine-powered car.
Great! So where is your jet-powered car?
See, something doesn't add up here. All the laboratory tests and track reports and consumer feedback say "go for it". Yet Chrysler apparently abandoned the turbine engine. After one of the best planned public demonstration/advertising campaigns in automotive history – No Jet Car!
The written reasons are logical; engine expensive to produce, excessive exhaust heat, excessive lag time from idle speed to full throttle acceleration, limited horsepower, higher than expected exhaust emissions. What surprised me were reports that when drivers took their foot off the accelerator, the car wanted to keep going! Once the turbine revved up to power, it didn’t want to decelerate. Indeed, turbines don't really like to go slow, and the turbine engine idled at 18,000 rpm. As a result, drivers kept standing on the brakes constantly. Turbine cars went through brakes more quickly than would've been considered normal and acceptable wear.
Problems noted but not insurmountable. There has to be more to the engine's cancellation than this. Something still doesn't add up. Maybe the real reason for the failure of the Chrysler Turbine car has yet to be uncovered. After more than 40 years, somebody better reveal those reasons soon. I still want my Jet Car!
Let me know if mechanical details about the car are needed:
(insert technical data here if requested)
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