Here's why the government made Chrysler destroy its 46 jet cars
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#TurbineCars #JetCars #SteveLehto
The Car was actually demoed to the president of Mexico at the time. And during the conversation, he asked if it would run on Tequila. the engineers said technically yes. So they filled the gas tank with Tequila and the president of Mexico drove it around. So at the time, the president of Mexico was driving around in a tequila powered jet car........ that is the most Mexican thing I have ever heard.
That's the coolest thing I've heard in a long time. It all just seems so fitting. He may have only been president but I'd say he probably felt like a King while driving around in a tequila powered road rocket. Plus you can jam a straw into the fuel tank and get yourself a hit of tequila. Sounds so convenient.
Now I want a tequila powerd car
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣👍
Turbine Bronze! Excellent I want just the hubcap off the white 1. Pubstuntz
@@TheHungrySlug as long as it's never been fuelled with anything other than food grade drinkable fuels.
11:00 minute mark, my grandfather is standing in the group of designers /engineers. The turbine car was a major part of his life at Chrysler back then. He found a way to measure the pressure between the turbine blades while they were developing the pitch/shape they needed to be inside the engine. I still have the “cobra” probe he developed and used for all the testing, as well as a full set of internals, prototype parts, notes,… It really made me smile to see his face pop up in this video…. Miss you gramps.
Sorry for your loss buddy
did he move over to the GM turbine project? they put a coal dust burning Turbine in a Olds in 82, it would make sense.
Thank you for sharing 👍👍
Heck, that full set of internals may fit in that one mentioned that has none.. Those old Engineers like your gramps knew their stuff..
After seeing this play out it may appear like a half baked idea. The mostly free (cost money for car, transport, people and time) publicity at a time they were experiencing financial challenges may have benefited Chrysler with more sales. The Auto industry has many stories of the challenges to keep evolving and making autos the public wants or needs. We appreciate all the efforts of the people working towards a result that can greatly benefit or change our history
I am 75-years old. When I was still in high school, as I was sitting at the stop waiting for the bus, I actually HEARD this car drive up to the light. It sounded just like a jet airplane, only much quieter. I got a quick look at it just as it pulled away. I never forgot that sight.
The functional jet cars being demolished over import duties reminds me of the liquid glass poured into functional engines as part of the Cash for Clunkers car destruction project. The government just loves destroying things.
that's all government.
Reform governments now.
That era of mass car murder still aches. I saw a seemingly good condition K5 in a dumpster on a hill with the cash for clunkers billboard. So many of my friends and other car people tried in vein to save the older more priceless vehicles, but the government refused to let any of them go
The butthurt over CFC (so many years past its brief impact) is hilarious. Most of what got scrapped was no loss while providing MANY donor vehicles for salvage to keep other machines running. People outside the salvage industry don't tend to know how it works. CFC yielded many accessories, body parts, whole interiors (great for fixing Copart buys which is what I did when I worked for a used car lot), front clips, fenders, truck beds (beds are not cabs so those were fair game and we got our share) wheels, suspension parts, rear ends and more. A few desirable machines got zapped but most went to salvage yards (who were entitled to buy them provided they snuffed the engines and crushed the hulls) thereafter to be profitable parts sources. Nearly EVERY old vehicle meets the shredder. If you're too slow to score what you want through poor planning that's a USER error.
@@Comm0ut You missed the part where it cost all of us to the tune of three billion dollars. Enough to build a 400 square foot tiny home for 60,000 of the 550,000 homeless Americans including Veterans that are on the street. Which do you think is more important?
I am 66 yrs. old and when I was 9 yrs. old my dad did a test drive in a Chrysler car at the local dealer in Marietta, GA. and we got a free model of the Turbine car! I still have that model today along with the box it came in.
hate to say it but the BOX is now worth more than what is inside it!! its a 75% x 25% of product
How much do you think it is worth? I also have one, but don’t have the box for it.
@@richardweiner6405 With the box in good condition its worth over $2 million. Without the box 50cents.
I suppose the box is worth so much more because there must be so very few of them. I received mine from a relative who was working at a hotel where the Chrysler executives were having a meeting. It just came with a booklet about the car and the model itself. Didn’t come with a box
I'm 71 years old and I still have my model too! They gave them away at events that demonstrated the turbine car. I remember them balancing a nickel on the air cleaner of a running engine.
My father worked for Chrysler and we had a turbine car for a few weeks. The "woosh" sound out of those huge dual rectangular mufflers was awesome. The intercoolers were so efficient that the exhaust was actually cool. The whole neighborhood got rides in it.
Now that's cool man
So Chrysler sshould NOT destroy the cars! No government has the right to tell us what we can invent and produce!
@@thoughtsfromathenasreality like the narrator said, you'd never have seen so many grown men cry like those men who saw those beautiful cars get crushed. I would have been one of them lol
@@thoughtsfromathenasreality amen
@@DickotheClown They knew it would catch on and we would get very creative. 😁😜
A friend of mine, Al Bradshaw, was a district service manager for Chrysler and he had 4 or 5 of the turbine loaner cars assigned to him. His 24 hour phone number was on the inside of the glove box. He had a lot of stories about going out and dealing with the problems. He was instrumental in helping to get the turbine car at the St Louis Transportation Museum in running condition.
A friend worked at a Chrysler plant in IL. He was walking inside the plant when a big over head door opened and a turbine car pulled in. He said it was gorgeous. He had to get to his work station then but came back later at break time to get a better look. He said it was really streamlined, smooth, truly looked like a space age car.
.....When I was a kid in Detroit, a Chrysler Turbine car was on the road, just a few feet from me... I could hear the 'sound' it made, and have never forgotten that moment...Thus, my comment today, at nearly 70 years old.....
Thanks for your story!
Back when Detroit was actually great too. Well, I always hear Detroit itself is being restored with time.
@@trickyricky12147 It very much is, I still live here unfortunately. But they are actually trying to turn things around which is nice to see
@@bgemski they, Democrats distroyed Detroit, the instant NAFTA was signed into law based on lies, you could hear a sucking sound as Detroit's heart was sucked out, packaged up, and send to Mexico and China, and it left a wake of abondoned factories and boarded up main streets all across this country, and as long as Democrats are allowed to be in charge of ANYTHING, there is no chance on hell of turning it around, Democrats have to keep minorities poor so they can continue to exploit them
@@PsychobabbleRapp Im going to assume that you must be inferring i’m below the poverty line because of my Area, no?
I'm not even a car guy but I'd have bawled my eyes out, too. That level of craftsmanship, ingenuity, and care to go almost completely to waste in *any* field is absolutely heartbreaking.
Thanks government, you're the best👍
I’m from the government, and I’m here to help!
@@danpanderson W
@@EnkiMMXII What Chrysler could not find some buyers of rare car to pay the tax and buy the cars? People were knocking down the door to get them. Chrysler was lazy and wasteful in there complice to the law.
@@tipperzack When Chrysler first had then brought in from Italy, they were planning to continue developing turbine cars and eventually bring them to mass market. The bronze cars were just a proof of concept with plans for future improvements and iterations, so it didn’t make sense for them to pay to keep all of them, just a few to keep as museum pieces. Then, later on when the turbine car concept was scrapped, I would assume it would be too late to retroactively pay import and registration fees, even if people were willing to.
In 1950 ROVER, a UK car manufacturer showed JET 1, a turbine powered prototype capable of 150mph. This beautiful 2 seater is on show @ The London Science Museum. In 1963 Rover +BRM produced a turbine race car that competed at Le Man's 24 hour. Turbine cars also competed in Indy 500 in '67 but we're effectively banned by new regulations by the '70's.
a BRM turbine car,, would have been way overcomplicated and do 10 laps then have a siesta!
@@ldnwholesale8552 it did over 3,600km at LeMans 24 hrs in 1953. That's a bit more than 10 laps.
Britain, as always, was ahead.
I was about 12 or 13 when these cars were put out on the road and remember seeing a big spread on them in Life magazine, or possibly Look magazine, explaining the whole test program. I was really into car design at the time and thought both the looks and concept of this car was amazing and was hoping it was the wave of the future. It was just a few years later when STP's Andy Granatelli built his Indy turbine car and it was so good they disqualified it from any future races. A real shame all around. Also, I used to work for Allied-Signal Aerospace, which in the 1980s was developing a gas turbine engine to power 18-wheelers. They put two of their turbine engines in retrofitted Mack trucks and test drove them from Phoenix to Denver and back for many months. Part of that trip involved steep mountain highway grades, and these trucks had so much torque that they could pull a full 80,000-lb. load up 6% grades at 55 mph (speed limit in those days) passing every other truck doing about 25-30 mph. Unfortunately the program was eventually scrapped for the same reason: high engine cost. I think that those engines would have run about $60-70,000 at the time, when you could buy a whole standard rig for about $25,000.
I'm wondering what the engine braking was like (or lack of it) on the down-sides of those hills. Without engine braking the brakes of the time wouldn't last (even the brakes of this time they won't last without engine braking).
To be honest, when he said that these cars could run on anything, I was expecting the reason the cars were never mass-produced and got crushed was because they posed a threat to big oil.
I was thinking the same thing.
Yeah, the conspiracy bullshit is sexy....but reality sets in and the facts are clear: turbines are expensive to manufacture, maintain, and are not eco-friendly in terms of manufacture or exhaust. But on the plus side, they sound cool, run on most fossil fuels.
@@luisderivas6005 It is VERY sexy my friend, VERY. Not to say conspiracies don't happen, cuz they do.
trust and believe big oil had their hands in there somewhere ...... because down the line someone knows someone who hangs out with someone whose money is all tied together
And you would be right.
An introverted engineer looks at their own feet when they talk to you. An extroverted engineer looks at your feet when they talk to you.
Heard that same joke applied to Finns. LOL!
Hahahaha. Go tigers 🐅
@@kurancy it’s not a Joke, I work for a Finnish company, most are still like this..
An extroverted engineer, teaches you the correct way to walk on your feet, while he helps you along and talks your ear off!
Not me. I have known several comic engineers. Even writer Al Jean of the Simpsons is a techie type.
I had the privilege of riding in one of Chrysler's turbine powered cars in 1976. My wife and I were on our honeymoon and the Kennedy Space center was on the list of places we wanted to visit. There they had one of these cars and were giving anyone that wanted to a ride around the area, a distance of, maybe, 5 miles. The young woman who drove the car knew little about it, other than how to start it and drive it.
Sounds like a lovely honeymoon.
I could listen to these stories for days. What a great presenter also
The Lost Engineering Magnificence of America, makes me cry…
-Never actually lost, it is a tangible asset, like many... commonly 'Sold' ;)
It wasn’t lost, it was preserved at Chrysler because it was too expensive. The video explains it.
@@ivanpatriot1644 That's not what he's talking about.
@@johnhancock6114 what's he talking about then? The video was about Chrysler's turbine car, and he's lamenting the loss of American engineering magnificence. Not hard to connect the dots here. No engineering magnificence was lost. Chrysler made a piece of engineering magnificence, but they shelved it because it wasn't cost effective. They didn't lose the info, burn the books, or anything like that. It just wasn't affordable. If anything, it helped usher the idea of powering the M1 battle tank with a turbine engine. That's what they use, still to this day.
@@ivanpatriot1644 He's referencing it on a scale much larger than Chrysler's Turbine car. Many years ago the USA used to be the one country everybody wanted to come to in order to learn and be able to apply their unique ideas, and our country used to recruit the best and the brightest the world over but over time that has all changed and now people go to other countries to apply their skills rather than come here. While we do still have those who come here for that purpose, much of it has been lost to other countries because, simply stated, the USA has fallen into obscurity and we are no longer *THE* place everyone wants to go.
My dad was one of the chosen to drive the Turbine, It was probably the highlight of his life! We drove it from our home in Milwaukee to New Orleans and people would follow us for miles until we stopped at a gas station. Dad kept the tank pretty full, as not every station carried the type of fuel that we needed. The car was nothing like the 1950 something Plymouth that sat in our driveway! We were given plastic models of the car...which sat in a place of honor in dad’s home for over 50 years!!!
Didn't they say it runs on any liquid fuel?
@@shannondove9029 I was only about 13 at the time, but it seems like dad used something called white gas. I don’t remember him using regular gas. He was an engineer, and very particular:)
Very cool 🤠👍
@@Grandmascrafts891 I believe white gas was unleaded back before unleaded was a thing. Maybe the lead in regular gas back then caused issues in the turbine?
That sounds awesome.
I work for the premier enclosed auto transport company in the country. My co-worker delivered one of these to Jay Leno, he had wanted it since he was a kid. Very cool
I saw a working 63 one at Chelsea proving grounds. Guy said they found it sitting behind one of the factories and it still had a functioning turbine engine in it so they brought it back and restored it. This was in the late 90's. It was awesome, temp was 1,200. The paint was not touched because they couldn't be sure to match it. The engineer also said they were surprised it still had a engine in it. Since most of the kept ones had dummy engines in them. With the exception of a few.
It is something I will never forget
"Some of them found their way into private hands... Jay Leno has one" Of-Frickin-Course he does lmao.
I think at this point, it would be easier to say what Jay Leno, DOESN'T have, than to list all the cars he has.
Jay Leno is able to buy collector cars from hesitant sellers because he built a Museum, and thus they are not just toys for a rich man. Often the sellers seek him out after their father, uncle, etc. died to see their rare car enter Leno's Museum...
No surprise there.
@@davidhollenshead4892 I'll do that if I get a jewel that I can't afford to restore/mantain. It will be in good hands
@@davidhollenshead4892 I like Jay but he needs to get UNWOKE. Shameful to cave in to the cancel culture mob
Saw one riding around in New Jersey back in the 60's. Never forget the sound it made and how we thought it was a new Thunderbird.
Saw one by a roadside shrine in Colorado in '65. Awesome car.
Tony S ... Me too, but it was on the Hamtramck/Detroit border line, only a hop away from the Chrysler Think Tank located in Detroit. It looked like 2 Chrysler exec's out for Lunch & a ride. Never heard or seen anything like that since--Sooooooo Cool.
No you didn’t
@@yodaindica you were there?
yes. it belonged/was being driven by gordon farrell's father, mr farrell, who worked for chrysler.
Our school bus stopped at a driveway in Potomac Maryland. I was only in 1st grade at the time, yet I still remember that bronze Turbo Car. A lady came out and waved us up her driveway. She was so kind taking time to start the car, open the hood and doors. She was very emphatic that we start well away from the back of the car.
As a teenager in 60's I remember these cars very well. In fact a man who lived three blocks from home had one. As I remember it, these were loaned to a few lucky families for feedback after several months? He actually parked it on the street in front of his house. But in those days, hardly anyone would steel cars.
I cried myself when he said "they crushed them in a scrapyard."
Our country ruins every good thing!!!!
@@benmaier7169 I'm pretty sure it's international law, still sucks though
I cringed 😬 physically
There's still at least several that survived. I know of one and Leno has one
@@Miniaturehorseexpress of Coors
When I lived in Virginia one of our neighbors was selected for the use of one. Every time they went to the store, it was loaded to the brim with passengers. It was dubbed "The Rocket Sled". That thing was total bad ass!
I seem to remember that 2 turbine-based cars were entered into the Indy 500 in the late 1960s. They ran away with the race until they broke down late in the race. They were painted red and were sponsored by STP, I think. Great concept!
Yeah, the Granatelli bros brought them Bobby Unser drove. The racing authority, whoever that was at the time, banned them the next year. More because it was the Granatellis who brought them, it was mainly political nonsense.
In 1962, when I was 11, my dad took me to the New York City Car Show. That vehical was so impressive, that 61 years later, thats the only thing that I remember from that event.
When I was a kid, one of my neighbors was a Chrysler engineer... He had one of these cars in the 60's... I had no idea what it was at the time, but now I know how special they were...
All Chrysler cars where special, that ended a long time ago.
@@unfairfight3625 My 1985 Dodge 600 Convertible is still special damnit.
@@jonbaker3728 I'm fully rebuilding a 1990 Dodge Grand Caravan. It sat for 15 years but the engine is running smooth. Its a keeper.
@@jonbaker3728 special to you, that is different.that what is great about the car hobby, there is something for everyone.
@@tadwyn no.....no it isn't
My best friend’s father worked for Chrysler . One day his Dad brought the turbine car and he gave us all a ride. It was the bronze version. I can remember the strange sound it made. Really cool memory.
Wow I’m extremely jealous of you 😂
There's an impostor among us.
I saw one in the early 60s. Was at the Chicago Car Show. My dad wanted to buy one but wasn’t for sale. He wanted a test drive but there was too long of a wait, too many others were there first.
Fake news 😅
@@BlackandWhitecustoms not fake news. A real memory. I was about 6 years old. My friends dad told us it was the same type of engine from the Bat Mobile. (Adam West) of course we believed him.
When I worked at Williams International in Walled Lake, MI, I remember going into their warehouse several times and they had an AMC car in there, I don’t remember what model it was, but it was essentially brand new. They had used it as a test platform for a turbine engine. They may still have it. Of course, Williams had put turbines in just about anything you can imagine. It was the most amazing place I worked at in my entire career.
Summer 1964.....an Interstate in Providence, RI.....a turbine car was on the shoulder, hood up, with smoke coming from the engine compartment.
I went with my father, who was an automotive engineer, to take a test drive in a turbine car in 1964. I still remember how he raved about that bronze beauty !!!
Robert that is really wonderful! Thanks for sharing that gem of history! 💎
Robert ~ You were very lucky for a ride in one. I saw one up close at Niagara Falls - Canada in 1964. Had a pleasant smell from the exhaust.
Imagine running out of gas and looking at your wife and saying "give me your hairspray" and running a car off that to limp if to the next gas station. Expensive tech but Holy shit it would be convenient as ever
I once ran out of gas and had a couple liters of 91% isopropyl alcohol in the car. It actually ran on it and I was able to get the car home lol
Especially in the south east right now.
I worked as a field service tech where we would carry around mineral spirits for cleaning solvent....once ran out of gas sitting in commuter traffic....filled up the 85 S-10 with the cleaning solvent and the poor 2.8V6 death rattled its way to a gas station about 2 miles away....Stayed together after that "motor flush" for 10's of thousands of miles after the fact.....🤣
Officer I am not drinking tequila, this is my emergency fuel
@youtube name thats dosent sound right have you tried it
I heard one in Danville, CA while riding my bike home from Jr High School and followed it to a gas station. The guy had the hood up and what I remember the most was a metal dome shape where the engine should be
Its great to hear Steve explain something that isn't based on a lawsuit.
“Who would pay that much for a engine?!” Hotrodders everywhere…”it runs on what!?”🤔
Salesman: Yes.
It doesn't run on Dunkin', that's for sure!
it runs on $100 bills
I just thought about people buying the $18,000 wheel package on the Mustang.
$10,000 in 1960 would be $90,000 today.
Sweet Jesus even back then the Chrysler board room was just a table with a giant mountain of coke tossing out ideas 😂😂😂
This was before the rulebook was created
Still is
Maybe? They’re sure not making any of the cool cars they should;( nothing I can afford anymore;( either!
@@shane8911 110% now it's just *rails massive line* "what if we put a hellcat in it?!"
Thats what makes it so cool!!!
Aww man, it looks like the BATMOBILE from behind!! How cool is that??! 7:48
I'm 71 years old now. I remember my dad taking me one Saturday afternoon in the early 60s to the local Chrysler dealership in Regina, Saskatchewan to see this amazing car. It was on a cross-Canada tour. The showroom was packed and people were agog. When the Chrysler rep said it would run on any combustible substance, people started shouting out suggestions from perfume to butter, to which the man would reply "yup!" every time. That always stayed with me ... even butter, wow! Always wondered why it was never sold. It seemed to be amazing. Now I know. Thanks for the enlightenment.
I thought it had to be something like alcohol. Like it could run on any sort of liquid fuel, not just anything.
I see why you dropped this today. Trying to find a tank of 93 for a road trip this week and relish the idea of "can burn anything"
With the technological advancements that we’ve had since they initially created these (possibly making production way cheaper) and the expected rise of gas prices, I wonder if this would be viable again. Imagine filling up your tank with... tequila 😂
@@JavTheRipper pop the fuel line off right quick, I need a shot...
I went a few hrs away yesterday gas wasnt that scarce in nc its people being stupid tryna pack in thestattions the problem
@@AllaboutTheWoodrows Charlotte NC. I actually needed gas yesterday, 3 hours and checking 7 stations later, I finally got my 12 gallon tank filled 😑
@@krispyjuniors7734 i was in Charlotte last night hahaaha
Chrysler really should revisit the turbine car. That engine probably loves E85.
It would make more power on diesel more thank likely
Excellent hypothesis on the E 85.
@@DarkAttack14 true but I doubt you want to deal with having to run def fluid to clean up the exhaust from the turbine engine.
@@sexkrazedpanda just run it straight piped ;)
I doubt it, they do not run high compression
I too was very young around the early 60's and rode in the backseat on a drive. My next door neighbor was evaluating one of the 'Bronze' ( i always called it red) turbine cars and dad and I was oohing and aahing while checking it out. My neighbor was very well versed on the specs of the car and would educate us as we probed ever deeper into the car's performance. I was maybe 10 years old (72 now) but even by then was well versed in the mechanics of cars. I only remember a few things about it including the battery was in the trunk and was 24 volt. I also remember seeing the RPM and the engine looking powerful and the temperature was 2500 degrees F. Wow, so hot I thought. It was smooth and had good acceleration. On the multi fuel capability, what does it matter when gas was under $0.30 a gallon. It brings back memories to see this stuff, Thanks.
Oh, the government ruined something someone loved? How am I not surprised?
exactly
@@x1655 Commercial reality is what ruined the concept, I'd say. Cost. Plus the fact that these would have been totally impractical for stop/start city driving. Gas turbines take time to spool up and down and work best at constant speed (hence the widespread use in air transport and ships). I'd be very interested to know how the transmission functioned in those that were built but the video didn't go unto that. If there'd been any future for such automotive tech then the Japanese would already have been onto it. There are good reasons why it's never been revived anywhere.
same thing (sorta) happened to Ning Li's anti gravity studies too..
@@lusoverse8710 They didn't do very well in railway locomotives either with less stop/start driving.
@@lusoverse8710 lots of big word don't care car gone
New drinking game, take a shot every time he says turban .lol.
Passed out after 30 seconds and woke up wearing a turban.
Have a stroke wondering how he didn't see the e at the end of turbine. Probably says warsh instead of wash too. Use some watah to warsh the turban.
It was so distracting I could barely focus on the story. I felt like I was drunk. 😂
So it's actually the correct pronouciation of turbine in the engineering world. (Mech E, easier by a ton of aerospace people)
@@licentiousdreams um you do realise that he is using correct pronunciation of the word 'Turbine' it isnt Terrrrbyne
You are one of the most interesting sounding narrators I have heard on youtube, thankyou. Normally I would have turned off when the adverts come, but I wanted to listen too you. I like Leno too
I saw the car on display at O'Hare Airport in Chicago 1965 when I was going through navy boot camp. I didn't have a camera so I couldn't take a picture. Chrysler had the most advanced technology in the 1960s. Their push button automatic was awesome. We (my brother and I) picked up a Dodge 4 door from a fireman's auction for $50.00 that ran great but had a rusted-out hole in the floor. Covered it up with some cardboard and drove it. You could back up the car and while it was still rolling you could push the drive button and do great burn outs. I remember that the rear-view mirror was on the dash. Strange. I am 77 in case anyone is doing the math.
As a Michigan resident, I'm depressed to learn they were crushed here..
As an aircraft mechanic, I am glad to hear that they saved the engines.
I used to visit omni source a metals recycling plant in toledo and detroit, a friend was a high up, well he showed me them shredding brand new vipers and prowlers back in the 90s. I forget why but it was so depressing to see.
@@98f5 Those Vipers and Prowlers were most likely pre production cars, fully complete and running but not yet homologated. Car companies usually use these cars for press photos, they lend them to journalists for brief tests and then have to destroy them, as they aren’t actually road legal
@@Jay1330 Reminds me of when Ford of Australia finished the Falcon production and leant out the pre production Sprint 6 and Sprint 8 Falcons (Identifiable by their PP number plate on the engine) to journalists and then were all crushed but I’m sure one or two still exist as someone in the yard couldn’t bear the thought to crush them.
Since the big 3 are all based in Michigan. I bet a whole lot of cool projects were crushed secretly in Michigan.
I was at the Peterson Museum in LA. A guy cleaning the turbine car asked if I wanted to sit in it. Sat in the drivers seat and pretended to be driving it.
Peterson Museum is awesome
I can relate. I work on CNC machines making the rotating assemblies of todays top of the line jet engines. I get a chill every time i hear a jet fly by. On top of that the shop is located directly under a flight path of the local airport by coincidence. There's something magical about the SBB motors when they come to life.
Would it be possible to fabricate one of these in your home? If so what would you need to do it? Would be very cool to have a turbo bike.
@@ggkkkgkgkkgkgkg home? No. Getting the basic metal is a major sourcing problem. I've seen some model builders use the technology but nothing on a big scale.
The turbine reminds me of another 'odd' motor for a vehicle: I was in a mechanic shop many years ago and saw a quite odd shaped motor in a van made by one of the big three. I asked the mechanic what the heck it was, all he did was smile and asked me 'Have you never seen a helicopter motor before?'
My uncle, a local police chief, got to drive one of them. I asked him how it drove.He replied, “It drives like it cost, half a million dollars.”
“$10,000 dollar upgrade engine, who’s going to take that!” Diesel guys have left the chat.....
Adjusting for inflation that's close to $100k
@@knote4958 they would still pay it!!
Ive heard that line of reasoning in my aircraft dealership. "189k for the good model, or 300k for the same thing with the top engine?" A disclaimer that the top engine is exclusive, new, and comes with developmental glitches. Customer says screw that, i want the newest and hottest. All we sell now it seems is the 300k models... don't undersell the customer as the saying goes.
@@Sarahbethcycles wtf ? Aircraft dealership? And why you ever pay 210k for a engine that is going to be more expensive to repair (since unproven) And considering that engine is what keeps the aircraft in the air... But someone that can by a aircraft at 300k they probably have stopped having to think or be nice to ousters. Let alone think strait.
@@TheDiner50 when you sell bargain basement airplanes you get bargain basement customers who love to go full options.
As a follow up yo this story, in the 70's Ford Motor Company had Turbine Tractor Trailer trucks. The used them to transport parts to the assembly plants. I saw them st the Rawsonville Parts Plant. (Close to Romulus, MI) They had a quiet jet engine sound, but sound of shifting gears was more prominent. The easiest wsy to tell yje different was the extremely large exhaust stacks.
Great looking car, Rover in the UK was the first to power a car with a gas turbine in 1949/ 1950, in 1952 it reached 152 mph in Belgium
My grandpa was one of the drivers for the car when they allowed 10 people to drive it. After the cars were trashed, he was told not to say anything about it which was weird.
pics or it didn’t happen
You snitched on your grandpa, you were not supposed to say anything, lol. 🤭
This is your grandpa. Wtf!
Awesome I’ll love ❤️ to see Vin Diesel talk to guy of that golden era to secretly reveal last car. Then Vin Diesel uses it. I’m not sure if that ideal was used in fast n furious sagas yet
Yea and I’m god
I'm hearing "fuel efficiency" with the multi-fuel aspect and "less maintenance" which both mean "less continuous consumer spending" which means "hard no" and that never fails to disappoint me.
ROVER built a Gas Turbine car in England in 1949/50 and held the World Speed Record for a Turbine car at about 153 MPH. There as so many reasons that a gas turbine would simply NOT be suitable for a car. With a gas engine the response of the engine to accelerator movement is almost instantaneous. while a turbine takes a significant time to spool up to operating speed. Trying to drive a gas turbine car is stop go traffic was IMPOSSIBLE. Fuel consumption was was measured in FEET PER GALLON and the temperature of the exhaust would have incinerated a car behind it.
And that's why it was trashed by the government on orders from the auto industry nodought... just like when tucker's cars were destroyed.
less maintenance as in it won't need servicing as often - but the cost of that maintenance is going to be incredibly expensive. turbine powered cars are never going to happen. the average jet engine costs millions of dollars, and an overhaul will still be hundreds of thousands at a minimum. even if you find a way to make them as cheap as possible, the cost will still not be worth it over a piston engine
Who's gonna buy a more expensive, unique car that sounds incredible and only a few hundred are ever made? Bugatti has entered the chat.
Thanks for the research you did. This is so cool. Both of my grandfathers were dealers. My dad was a dealer I was a dealer and my brother is currently a dealer so we go way back three generations.
SO, Rodney Dangerfield drives one and runs out of gas. His wife says "The fifth of vodka in the trunk will get us home." Rodney says "Okay" and drinks the bottle. His wife says "Dummy, you were supposed to put it in the gas tank" Rodney says, "Give me 15 minutes. I'm TRYING."
Pool
I can hear his voice.
Best original; joke I have read in some time!
@@Dancinitup The joke just "happened" to hit me while watching the video... I could only imagine this really happening (RD saying this as a joke) and thought "Gee this would be funny!"
I can picture his face as he is saying that.
I worked as a technician at a Chevy dealership in Bethesda, Md from 1977 to 1983. One of those bronze turbine cars showed up in our service lane one day. I got to look under the hood and hear it run. I am still amazed by that cars looks and technology to this day. I assume it was the car that ended up at the Smithsonian
It could be the one that ended up in jay Leno’s private collection
1. Another Marylander!? 2. Something that cool was here on our roads? Maybe there is hope
@@MaddJakd Many years ago at Chevy Chase Chevrolet
Jay Leno's engine overheated and roasted his turbine and no longer runs, and because ALL original documentation was destroyed, nobody knows how to reman or make new parts. Its become a HUGE fan project to the point several of the original engineers from the 60s program have joined a team of modern engineers to help build a whole new engine from square one just because they truly loved the work they created and are so happy that people love and appreciate the car so much.
77 yrs. Old. In 1964 I followed one the cars in Rocford Ill. for about 10 blocks. Right behind it in city traffic, no problems or smells.
We sure to do love Steve's stories. Such an honor to have him on the channel. Be sure to subscribe to his. Let's get him over 200k!
Good morning Mr Bolian, God bless you and your family sir. Much love from Jacksonville Beach Florida. 💙🐻
Been subscribed to steve for a while now. Love his stories
God is good
Been there. Steve is a legend ! And a boss !
Gee Ed, Steve brought me here just a few months ago. Car sites aren't generally recommended to grandmas 😂
“It sounds like a vacuum cleaner” dang this is the only time it’s actually kinda cool lol
It's a combination of a high-pitched whistling and a low rumble / roar.
That's a good way to describe the sound. I was at a restaurant in LA when Jay Leno drove his into the parking lot. It was the weekly cruise night and it was one of the few times I was at the right place at the right time. Such a cool car.
Chaparral 2F literally WAS a giant vacuum.
The 60s tv show Batman...the batmobile sounded that way lol
And it's an Italian vacuum cleaner. It's a 60s EV1 😀
good video and lotsa information,,,,,,only missing one part,,,,,,what would the price have been???
Never heard anyone pronounce turbine like that before
Steve! Wow! Man I never dreamed I would see THIS CAR in action ever again. I saw a turbine in 1964 on US 54, the road between the Lake of the Ozarks, missouri and followed it to Eldon mo. Where it pulled into a grocery store parking lot. Needless to say a crowd of gawkers immediatly surrounded this beautiful spaceship by Chrysler! I was just 16, had my drivers license, and I had the nerve to ask the man driving it,..he laughed and said no,but allowed me to sit in it for a minute. I've always had memories of that georgeous summer day tagging along behind that car. Exactly like the one in your video. Thanks for the memory. Great documentary.
I wonder if that is the same one I saw for sale back in 2001 in Carthage Missouri at Daniel Motors just north of town off 71 highway?
@@bullriderinwrangler1 doubtful, because they were all destroyed after their testing period. The one that came into Eldon, Missouri was in summer of '64.. By reading some post, presumably these 50 demonstrators, made one helluva wide sweep across America and into Mexico.
Wow thats awesome, ive only seen them in books.
@@richardcoram1562 Doubt all you want, I know what I saw. It's pretty much impossible to mistake any other car for this one.
@@bullriderinwrangler1 I'm not a doubter at all man what are you saying? IT WAS 1964 when I sat my 16 year old body in the seat behind the wheel of The Turbine car exactly like this one. I followed it for miles up highway 54 into Eldon. I ASKED IF I COULD DRIVE IT!! LOL Not surprised he said " sorry son, not today- go on sit in it"😁👍🇺🇸
This guy is a very capable narrator. I understood every word, even though English isn't my native language, and he kept my attention from start to end.
His law channel is a real treat too: kzhead.info/tools/MljRGC0eBJrxbUorWEnasg.html
You're better at English than a lot of Americans I've met.
You mean American English
You should hear him speak finnish :P
Too bad he can't pronounce "turbine" correctly, he keeps saying "turban."
I remember back in the early 60's a new shopping mall opened near me that had 2 open air sections with a closed roof section in the middle. After a couple of winters they had enough complaints they decided to make it all enclosed. For their grand "reopening" they had a multi manufacturer new car display set up along the concourses. They had a Chrysler bronze turbine car as their featured vehicle in the center main area.
Excellently presented! Thanks for sharing.
I saw one at a chrysler dealer ship when I was about twelve. It was on the showroom floor, so no test driving. But the most amazing thing to me was that the spokes person could balance a coin on its edge on the engine while it was running. Absolutely amazing!!!!!
In the summer of 1963, I was in an Esso station in Wayne, PA....I was 13. My older brother had stopped there for gas. I heard this whining sound that got higher and higher....it was one of the bronze Chrysler turbines starting up. I can truthfully say I saw one....and I was dumbstruck watching it pull away. It looked so cool from the rear and sounded like a jet as it left the station. THAT is a strong childhood memory from lonnnng ago which was only explained by this video!
My Dad loved this car. Broke his heart when it disappeared. Could be a luxury car today. Miss you Dad.
Rover, in the UK, built the first turbine powered car in 1949/50.
Just a little correction. The engine was a turbo shaft engine not a turbofan engine. There was no fan section like on modern commercial jets. Just a compressor and a turbine which was coupled to the transmission. I was very similar to what they use for auxiliary power plant units on commercial planes.
And all helicopters.
turboshaft engines can have fan blades... the one in the car was a centrifugal compressor,.. no fan blades.. the intake was the same as a turbocharge..
@Jim Blalock Nope. There tends to be a lot of confusion about what term is assigned to what part in a jet engine, because many of them are nearly identical in design and function. So people who havent worked on them often get components mixed up. What you're referring to are compressor blades... These are not the same thing as fan blades. Yes, jet engines can have either impellors in centrifugal flow engines, or compressor blades in axial flow engines. Both of those designs, what youre referring to is the compressor section. Similarly, in the back, there is the turbine section, which can use either turbine blades or an impellor (many centrifugal flow engines use turbine blades btw, turbine impellors fell out of favor pretty quickly early on in jet engine development). A "Turbofan" is a whole other level of complication. Those actually do have "fan blades". The bare minimum you need for a jet engine is a compressor section (compressor blades), a combustion section, and a turbine section (turbine blades). This bare minimum arrangement is called a "turbojet". However, turbojets are pretty inefficient no matter what task you set them to. So engineers went out of their way to complicate jet engines past turbojets, to make them better at other tasks. This led to a proliferation of TYPES of jet engines, with names that have a prefix of "turbo", and a suffix of whatever task that jet engine accomplishes. In a "TurboFAN" engine, the core is just a regular turbojet... But the power from that jet is used to spin up a giant ducted fan. That fan is what provides most of the thrust. If you want to see an example of a turbofan, most modern day airliners use Turbofan engines. That single stage of big wide fan you see in the inlet, looking down the inlet of the engine, is the "fan" part of the turbofan. The actual "jet engine" part of the engine is a much skinnier core, that has a much lower diameter than the fan. The fan provides 80-90% of the thrust, by pushing cold air around the core of the engine through something called a "bypass". The core itself only provides 10-20% of the engine's thrust (most of the core's power is robbed to power the fan). This is all done because the turbojet engine is good at moving small volumes of air very fast. For a wide variety of reasons I wont get into, this is very inefficient on slower moving (subsonic) airliners. What the turbofan does is convert a jet engines power into something that moves a large volume of air much more slowly, to increase efficiency at subsonic speeds. The turbofan engine is the only type of jet engine that truly has "fan blades". And you can see them, because theyre the largest and biggest blades on the engine, as well as the blades you can see in the first stage (the first row of blades you see looking down an inlet). Although fan blades participate in inlet air compression, that is not their primary function. Their primary function is to generate thrust by moving as much air as possible around the jet engine through the bypass. This job is what makes "fan blades" distinct and different from "compressor blades". I am making this point as clear as I can, because although most jet engines have blades of some kind, not all jet engines have "Fan" blades... Compressor and turbine blades are not the same thing as fan blades, and you'll only find fan blades in turbofan engines. Powering a big ducted fan wasnt the only task engineers came up with for uses of jet engine power. Another is called a Turboprop. These are jet engines which power a propellor instead of a ducted fan. Similarly, and this is what's in the chrysler jet cars, a more generic jet engine who's only job is to provide shaft power to something else, usually through a gear box to reduce RPM, is a turboshaft engine. I think maybe a few turboprops and turboshafts have a bypass in their designs fed by a low pressure compressor, for use as cooling air, but as far as Im aware, these engines DO NOT EVER have a proper fan in them. Low pressure compressor blades are still compressor blades, not fan blades. Since the point of the jet engine in turboprops and turboshafts is to feed power to something that isnt a ducted fan, they wouldnt waste power trying to also power a ducted fan. Anyway... Fan blades, compressor blades, and turbine blades... Very similar parts separated only by function. Source? I was a KC-135 jet engine mechanic for 6 years, and spent a lot of time researching early jet history. I'd post links on this stuff, but YT just autodeletes comments with links.
@airtechmech *most helicopters. Early helicopters used reciprocating engines. Turboshafts proved to be far better power to weight ratio and much less maintenance intensive, so they took over most of the helicopter world. But some small helicopters with low HP requirements use recip engines still (the Mosquito comes to my mind, which has options for both).
@@hatman4818 You are the mosquitoman 🦟 🩸🚁
I saw one of these in the middle of nowhere in Georgia growing up in the 1960's. I knew it was special because it sounded like a giant vacuum cleaner. I didn't really know what it was until many years later. You never forget something like that.
I remember my 5th grade teacher telling us about this, that the car would run on basically anything flammable. He also told us that school was just a place to make sure we would show up somewhere on time so we’d be good workers one day. Maybe he was onto something 😅
The British car company Rover built the first JET powered car in march 1950 . It was shown publicly in America . It held the speed record for JET cars 155 mph.
I had a moment during this video when it clicked for me - this car explains the Batmobile from the original TV series! Brilliant.
I know, right? _"Atomic batteries to power...turbines to speed..."_
Actually the batmobile, for real, had a regular engine. However, their speed boost "afterburner" was a hot started T-40 Solar (brand name) gas turbine. They would wind it up for the start and extra fuel pooled in the exhaust. Then the start button was pressed, whoosh! In the USNavy they were fire pumps and we lit one off in school as a hot start. They frowned on this of course.
The car was based on the Ford "Futura" concept.
Steve drives by a gas station on the east coast and pulls up to a McDonald's. "Hey, do you have any used french fry oil you want to get rid of?"
That is no joke, there are old diesel powered cars in Europe than run on used frying oils ,some collect and filter the oil privately and some buy the oil from specialized firms. The engine needs to be fitted with a fuel heater and a diesel primer for cold starts ,does not work with highly emission controlled engines though!
You'll all be doing it if the price of diesel goes up.
@@dipling.pitzler7650 there’s cars like that in the USA too. It’s called PVO (Pure Vegetable Oil). That was actually Rudolph Diesel’s original concept for the Diesel engine. Petroleum based diesel only became common because diesel is a byproduct of refining gasoline. When they first started refining gasoline in large amounts they just flushed the diesel down the drain as waste.
@@dipling.pitzler7650 they have them in the US as well, they were pretty popular for a while. Worked with a gal that drove one, driving behind her in and out of work smelled like French fries.
you joke but 1.9PD TDI in VAG group cars can sip that shit all day long
Had a neighbor from where I grew up in Lebanon, OR. He modified a Porsche's with turbines from Hueys.
The oil companies probably leaned on Chrysler to stop production.
Imagine pulling up the meet and you hear a cold N1 compression start
Imagine having to hold the key in the start position until the RPM's reach the speed required for sustained ignition. They don't start like a gas engine, do that and you get a "cold start" that damages the turbine blades
@@guyorsini1044 ....
@ Guy Orsini Sustained ignition can happen at zero RPM. Lol... it’s fuel and an igniter.. it will burn. But if you do that you will get a “hot” start... not a cold start.. lol. So you dry spool it until the right RPM.. throw fuel in, and keep the starter going until RPM reaches the correct amount and temperatures are going down. If not.. you cut fuel and ignition and keep spooling it until the temps go down.
@@Bartonovich52 Your knowledge of the vagaries of turbine engines is laughable
I saw one in Jackson, Mississippi in 1964. The faster it went, the faster it went. No mistaking the sound.
My first boss had to get one running every year for a demo. He said, what a chore I have. Tom Golec. He told me that the originals were lubed by rust, later talcum powder.
They sent them out to dealers and my uncle got one (MacGregor-Smith was a Plymouth dealer in Haverhill,Mass) . I got a few rides in it when I was a kid.
Hard to imagine a time when Chrysler produced innovated car designs rather than relying on a singular design for 20 years.
Ummm there’s not a design in their lineup that’s been produced for 20 years… the oldest is the Ram 1500 Classic that was released in 2008 for the 09 model year. The current Charger and 300 were redesigned in 2011, and heavily refreshed in 2015… 🤷♂️
@@brycmtthw He's probably talking about how the Charger, 300 and Challenger are heavily based on the old W210 Mercedes-Benz E-Class chassis.
On the opposite, Chrysler had many innovative ideas and creations. But, as usual, the assembly and quality at large were always lacking. Same as their today's crap.
I like to think that flop ideas like this costing them money is why they decided to "play it safe" and stop innovating. Despite their modern reputation Chrysler made strong powertrains back in the day, with two of their engines being regarded for their longevity and another being revered for its performance. At a few points they were on the right track toward innovation, even when those ventures didn't pan out (like how Chrysler and AMC experimented with electronic fuel injection in the late 50s, even before GM tried out their mechanical fuel injection in the early 60s). When your efforts lead to a few costly blunders like this, you tend to walk back from that course.
@@mindflake3758 yeah “heavily” is a big overreach. 🤷♂️
In 1962 or 1963 (not sure) my uncle got a notice from Chrysler that he was able to get one of those Turbine cars for testing, unfortunately he turned them down, man were we disappointed.
A turbin is a head covering, the car has a TURBINE
"The tachometer goes to 60 thousand RPM." jeezus. Imagine that chrome tach we mounted on the steering wheel.
Thankyou for this fascinating history lesson. Your delivery is fantastic - well done.
love those turban powered cars!
lol
Every time he says it i imagine an Indian pulling a rickshaw
I'm torn. I can't decide if this is my new favourite mildly racist mispronunciation. Think I still prefer the way Americans pronounce Countach though
That’s all I could think of too 😂😂
Oh, "I"gor❗Help me with these Bags. Igor: You take the Blond, and I'll take the one in the Turbine! Turban❓
Saw a turbine car in the wild as a kid in early 60s when the cars were in the hands of the chosen few Steve Lehto referenced in this video. The awareness level and hype in the mind of the public surrounding this car cannot be overestimated. When I spotted one of these approaching me on the street in my hometown of Ontario, CA it was if the Beatles were about to pass me on the sidewalk. The appearance and sound stopped one in their tracks. I followed the car on my bicycle to the point of exhaustion. So glad that at least a few of them survived the crusher. Jay Leno's video also provides an excellent overview plus an actual walk-around of his own turbine car.
I rode in that car in the New York Worlds Fair in 1964.The ride was around the Chrysler test track.I was only 10 Years old, so I could barely evaluate the car.
My mother would always tell me about flying cars. She was in the Navy for 5 years and worked in air traffic control.
This was a cool story I worked for Chrysler in 2000s and actually got to clean and prep the two cars they own for the proving grounds in Michigan. It was mind-blowing to ride in those things and to imagine they did this 30+ years before I saw them.
When I was a teen, my uncle (Manns Restoration) restored one of these in his shop. Crazy smooth too… demonstrated by balancing a nickel on its side on the engine cylinder. It’s wild to see the attention coming back to this so many years later! It’s a fascinating story, and quite a striking car in person. That orange bronze was soooo beautiful.
I wanted a Turbine car as a kid. Loved the old Mopars. Tried the balance the nickel test on many cars over the years. You can actually balance a nickel on a C4 Corvette ZR-1's LT-5 engine. Turbine smooth idle.
I also saw a Bronze Turbine car when I was a teen. It was at the Northway mall about 1962 and I also saw a nickel balanced on edge on the top on the turbine at idle. I also inspected that nickel afterwards. Looked normal. If it was magnitised, doesn't matter as it was sitting on an aluminum housing. The bearings were exceptional. I still have the brochure that was handed out to visitors. Maybe. My dad drove us there in a 1960 Dodge dart pioneer model - V8. Wish I had it now.
YES GREAT COLOR
Unlikely as there are only a cpl in the world
Is that the one at the Transportation Museum in Kirkwood?
The Rover Company in England built the first gas turbine powered car between 1946 and 1950. It set a world speed record in 1952 at 152.91 mph.
That is one of the best videos of any kind I've seen in a long time. My Dad was a public relations agent in the 1950s through 1970s, and his biggest client was the Chrysler Corporation's Fenton, Missouri car and truck assembly plants. He drove the bronze turbine car back in the 60s, and just thought it was the greatest thing ever. He would come up with some new story about it every so often, such as the fact that it had been run on Chanel No. 5! I still have one of the small plastic models Chrysler used for publicity purposes (in pristine condition). But I never knew the extensive history of the car. Thank you so much for this post.
Thanks, great story Sharing…….interestingly, see my comments.. I was car Nut even in 1960s
You must not have ever seen a porno then