"The Turbine Car is a completely new
automobile. Since the sole purpose is to determine the reaction of typical
American drivers to turbine-powered vehicles, the engine has been placed in a
family-type car designed for everyday use, which forms a familiar evaluation
background for the driver. The styling theme is designed to provide an exciting
setting for the vehicle itself. The over-all impression is a fresh styling
appeal with strong emphasis on a contemporary and luxurious appearance.
Ornamentation is based on the bladed turbine motif, which is characteristic of
the engine. The interior features a full-length center console and extensive
use of leather.
The objective of this program is to learn just
how this new kind of car performs in the hands of typical drivers and in
typical everyday usage - on long trips and short trips - and over a wide range
of climatic conditions and terrain. Throughout all aspects of the
consumer evaluation, shopping center exhibit, and world tour programs, Chrysler
is trying to get reactions from the general public - from the millions of
people who will drive, ride and view this new kind of car. This evaluation,
Chrysler emphasizes, is designed to generate the information needed as the
basis for decisions regarding the direction that should be taken in the turbine
program. It is a necessary piece of research concerning the size and
characteristics of the potential market for this new kind of automobile. And
since it is a test -an experimental market-research project - it has no
pre-ordained outcome. 1963
Chrysler Turbine
The tour schedule was similar in each area. When
the cars arrived in a given city they were first displayed to members of the
local press. The press events involved explaining the turbine and answering
questions, giving each newsman a ride in one of the cars, and, in some cases,
staging special tests. After members of the press had viewed the cars, they
were then displayed at various dealerships.
One of the key reasons for these tours and
exhibits was to elicit and evaluate consumer reactions to the turbine. The cars
were shown at Plymouth and Dodge dealerships in approximately 90 major cities
in the United States and Canada.
During this time hundreds of thousands of people
came to see the turbine vehicles, and public interest was intense and serious.
When asked, "if this car were offered for sale to the motoring public, do
you think you would buy one?" 30 per cent of the turbine viewers said
"yes" they would definitely buy one and 54 per cent answered they
would think seriously of buying one.
As a result, on February 14, 1962, Chrysler
Corporation announced that it would build 50 to 75 turbine-powered passenger
cars which would be available to selected users by the end of 1963. Typical
motorists would be offered an opportunity to evaluate turbine cars under a
variety of driving conditions.
On February 14, 1962, in Chicago, Chrysler
Corporation exhibited another gas turbine vehicle - the Dodge Turbo Truck. This
medium-duty truck (also equipped with the CR2A experimental engine) had just
completed a 290-mile test run from Detroit to Chicago.
From February 17 through 25, three gas
turbine-powered vehicles (the Plymouth, Dodge, and Dodge Truck) were exhibited
at the Chicago Automobile Show.
On March 7, 1962, George J. Huebner, Jr.,
Executive Engineer of Research for Chrysler Corporation, received an award from
the Power Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers "for
his leadership in the development of the first automotive gas turbine suitable
for mass -produced passenger automobiles." It was the first such award
ever given to an automotive engineer.
May 14, 1963 was an eventful day in the history of
automotive design - the Chrysler Corporation Turbine Car was unveiled to
newsmen at the Essex House in New York City. On the same day a ride-drive
program for newsmen was held at the Roosevelt Raceway on Long Island. Newsmen
were permitted to drive the vehicle around a 2.5-mile course. And, on May 15,
the car was viewed at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City by Chrysler
Corporation dealers in the Metropolitan New York area.
These events signalled the public launching of
Chrysler Corporation's program of building 50 turbine-powered cars and placing
them in the hands of typical drivers for evaluation in everyday use.
This program was an outstanding point in the
history of turbine vehicles for two key reasons. First, this was the first time
any company had committed itself to build a significant number of gas turbine
vehicles. (In the past, gas turbine installations generally were limited to one
or two test vehicles.) Second, for the first time, turbine-powered automobiles
would be driven and evaluated by private individuals outside the corporation.
(Previously, only research specialists and a few automotive writers had been
permitted to drive the turbine-powered cars.)
In addition to the user evaluation program, a
traveling exhibit began visiting large shopping centers across the United
States in January, 1964. The exhibits include a turbine car, turbine engine
displays and regular production Chrysler Corporation products. Each stopover is
scheduled for several days or weeks and is announced in local newspapers.
Chrysler representatives accompany the exhibits and explain the turbine and
Chrysler's program to interested visitors.
A turbine car also was taken on a world tour. From
September 12, 1963 through January 8, 1964, the car was shown in 23 cities in
21 countries. The 47,000-mile journey by a chartered aircraft included
stopovers in Geneva, Paris, London, Turin, Bombay, Singapore, Tokyo, Sydney,
Cape Town, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City.
At Chrysler Corporation, the earliest work on gas
turbine engines dates back to before World War II, when an exploratory
engineering survey was conducted. These studies showed that, although the gas
turbine engine had strong possibilities of being an ideal automobile engine,
neither materials nor techniques had advanced to the point where the cost and
time of intensive research would be warranted.
At the close of World War II, studies of
completely new concepts in gas turbine design were started. As a result of this
work, Chrysler was awarded, in the fall of 1945, a research and development
contract by the Bureau of Aeronautics of the U. S. Navy to create a turboprop
engine for aircraft. This program - although terminated in 1949 - resulted in
the development of a turboprop engine which achieved fuel economy approaching
that of aircraft piston engines.
Chrysler research scientists and engineers then
returned to their original objective - the automotive gas turbine engine. In
the early 1950s, experimental gas turbine power plants were operated on
dynamometers and in test vehicles. Active component development programs were
carried out to improve compressors, regenerators, turbine sections, burner
controls, gears, and accessories.
Here they faced many challenges: fuel consumption
had to be competitive with conventional engines; components had to be small and
highly efficient; noise had to be in the tolerable range; engine braking was a
necessity, and the acceleration time-lag had to be reasonable.
In addition, readily available and non-strategic
high temperature materials had to be developed, exhaust gas temperatures had to
be low, and development work had to meet the requirements of building an engine
which would be light, compact, reliable, easy to maintain and, from the cost
aspect, competitive with the conventional automobile engines.
In spite of these difficult requirements, Chrysler
research engineers were convinced that the potentialities of the automotive gas
turbine engine were more than sufficient to warrant intensive research and a
full-scale design and development program.
Today, it is obvious that the advantages of the
gas turbine over the conventional engine are, indeed, real. Some of these
advantages are: