Little news blurb I found in a 1962 U.S. News

WissaMan

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I was going through some boxes in my Dad's basement and there was a stack of US News from the 60's. So I picked one up and flipped a few pages and stumbled on this :)

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I'm guessing that that article was during the early testing phase of the turbine?
 
Some guy in the old C-bodies Forum used to be part of the public test vehicle Phase, or rather his father IIRC.
 
anyone know why they never took off? (pun intended)

would be interesting to know what stopped the turbine from becoming a mass production engine.
 
anyone know why they never took off? (pun intended)

would be interesting to know what stopped the turbine from becoming a mass production engine.

The turbine was temperamental and required a significant amount of routine maintenance to keep it running. It was more expensive to produce than a gasoline engine. Finally, running on Kerosene they produce lots of noxious odors. It was an interesting concept but not a very feasible one since the future development costs exceeded any major benefit over the gasoline engines already proven and in production.

Dave
 
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A since retired co-worker of mine that grew up on the east coast told me that a family in his neighborhood had one of the turbine cars to use /test.

He admitted that then as now he isn't a "car guy" .
He said the only lasting memory he had of the car was that when it went past him it sounded like a vacuum cleaner.
 
2 Turbine Car stories; My 11 grade chemistry teacher was driving his '64 Impala SS 327 4 speed up the PA Turnpike NE Extension at about 120 when one of these blew past him like he was standing still contrary to Mr. Leno's 318 comparison. 2nd story; A friend of mine's father had a Dodge dealership in Philly until early '64. He said that he and a group of salesmen drove to the turbine intro in a '61 Polara convertible with Rams and a 3 speed stick. Was the Polara rarer than the Turbine cars?
 
anyone know why they never took off? (pun intended)

would be interesting to know what stopped the turbine from becoming a mass production engine.
Up and into the 1950s, consumers wanted vehicles to last longer and require less maintenance. Automakers were figuring out how to make the bodies last for more years/miles, but not so much the engines. They extrapolated that this trend would continue indefinitely (it didn't), and a new powerplant would be required with more longevity than internal combustion engine. That was the incentive for automakers to explore the turbine as an alternative.

All of the big-3 plus at least one British automaker developed turbine-powered prototypes. Chrysler developed and patented some innovations which simplified adapting a turbine to automotive use, including the regenerator and method to connect the output to their existing 727 automatic. This gave Chrysler an edge.

They found during the field testing that gasoline was not a good fuel choice, because the additives in the gas (including lead) would coat the turbine blades. Chrysler recommended fueling with diesel or kerosene. Not a big deal today when many gas stations have a diesel pump, but it wasn't easy to find in the 60's except at truck stops. That was an inconvenience for consumers participating in the Turbine trials.

The field testing of the 1963 Ghia Turbines ended when the EPA came out with their new emissions standards, which their existing turbine engines could not meet. However, development of the turbine engine continued in the lab at Chrysler, and they almost green-lighted production of a 4th gen turbine engine in the late 70's, which was able to meet the latest emissions standards.

The final decision came down to Iaccoca, who said no. As @Davea Lux said, the turbine was still expensive to produce, it was unknown how much costs could be reduced through mass-production economies of scale, and the company wasn't in good financial health at the time to take such a gamble. Also, IC engine technology had continued to increase the longevity of conventional IC engines, and many first-owners were now trading in their cars before they were worn out, indicating that vehicle longevity was no longer such a consideration when purchasing a new car.

Cool as the idea of the turbine is, this was probably the best decision. The turbine engine probably would have been relegated to a niche market, much like diesel-powered cars did later, at least in North America.
 
Rode in the Bronze Beauty a couple times back then. My grade school days. Dad never brought one home but a number of employees in the neighborhood did. My buddy’s dad compared it’s acceleration comparable to his 318 B body. No idea what top end is. Car like that you don’t dare horse around with much. Unless............
You’re a H.S. kid showing off for your buddies trying to spin the tires. Tried brake torques neutral slams spinning that jet up like he was launching off the Enterprise. Idiot! His dad got a call at work the next day nearly losing all his company car benefits.
 
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