My grandpa knew a guy who owned one of the Chrysler Turbine Cars back in the 60's, and when he came by to see what it was like driving it, they realized the tank was almost empty, and rather than filling it with proper diesel, they just filled it with weed killer and went on their way.
that's something i believe the video got wrong is there's about 100 road cars made as leasing/testing deals just like the GM-EV1 was and yes it's BS that both didn't have a buy out option as both cars were loved by the owners/drivers now the engine was planed on replacing the BBM/hemi eventually ( so the 440-6 or 426 would have been a 3 to 5 year ish run vs a 10~ year run ) so yes it was ready but just like the max-wedge or the 426-hemi it was a expensive option ( and image what the high-end actions would bring as a price premium $$$$ in 2022 as a rare oem optioned car/truck probably more than the BBM-hemi numbers matching factory installation ) but about the same amount extra to a build sheet aka 426=1970 usd 500-ish so the turban was 300-800 usd extra from base-trim and yes a lot of people probably would have bought it and it passed the EPA testing but the transmission was a let down ( but evan to me today in 2022 it's the top option for dodge engines, and this family has/is planning on a 4-door dart with the jet-shaft and a different transmission/hybrid and my pre-1970 charger 540-hemi/TR6070-hybridisation ) and leftover's from the V8's aka 727 non locking automatic so it wastes MPG which in the 1960-71 was meh ( most people or the dealership's didn't care for the opportunity they were just happy to have automatic feeling as better transmissions had be tried before prior to 1966 and had a resurgents in the 2000's-now ) ( my 2022 understanding is with improvements 40-70 MPG @ 80mph on freeway's using regular ULSD diesel fuel ) but the government's changing that in the 1975-ish so the carfa/mpg requirement's didn't pass after that and the Alison-250 is directly related to the dodge jet/research/platform so the program didn't suck management for whatever reason didn't have the guts to sell it and take the nessary risks to win i 🤷♂️🤔 maybe the government 🇺🇸 stepped in and stopped it as they were weird about rockets 🚀 and jet/advanced technologies being sold in the public sector's and the same goes for the knowledge of how to operate and make them and still are as ITAD laws are on the books. so now were stuck with L4 boosted to the moon as new 2022 model year on average sad 😢
@@Kelleyyye621 boo! why did you even read the comments section or comment? or even watch the video if you didn't like it? if you did read it 📖 /my comment you'd learn something interesting about the topic and the history of dodge and America 🇺🇸
My great grandfather was the only one allowed to drive the Firebirds, and after the "Father" didn't show for the firebird 2 film, he was thrown in to the role. Apparently the actors guild harassed him for dues until his death. As for a fun fact about the Firebird 3, a feature tested on it that did come to market was cruise control. As for the bubbles, weird as they may be, they apparently were surprisingly easy to use, with separate temp controls and an intercom system to communicate between.
Honestly, the idea of using electric sensors and painted lines to perform self-driving sounds like a really ingenious solution to self-driving, especially in a world with no idea of AI or other complex machines.
It's an auto industry legend. it was so cool, and so powerful, it could make people excited to drive it. but it trusted in it's short term results too much, and was defeated by economics and circumstances.
I have no idea such technology existed. Even though the turbine engine most likely has no chance to return in this century where automobile companies starting to focus on full electric-powered vehicles, it's nice to ponder what the automobile world would look like if the turbine engine take off earlier and successfully. EDIT: I almost forgot that M1 Abrams uses a turbine engine and also other vehicles like helicopter. My previous comment isn't about turbine engines as a whole but about commercial ones made for public cars for average Joes.
For a while Ariel Motors was working on making an electric vehicle which would use a turbine to recharge the batteries. It looks like the launch of the vehicle was canceled due to the pandemic, and all mentions of the car in recent years seem to imply that it won't include a turbine anymore.
The first tank fitted with a gas turbine was a turretless British Caernarvon but it was just a testbed, the first productiont tank with a turbine was the Swedish Strv 103. There are several other tanks with turbines but the most notable other than the M1 and Strv 103 is the Russian T-80
The main issue with turbines, even today, is that they have horrible idling and burn through gas when doing so. This is why the Abrams needs an exterior power station for it's computerized systems so that the turbine doesn't need to be on during idle. The internal combustion engine however while still not being great with idle, is better able to ramp up and ramp down. And since the main targets of the automobile industry are in cities, where idle time is expected, it likely would have been viewed as a horrible purchase only for those trying to show off. But beyond that turbines also produce a lot of noise close up because of their high frequency sound waves, while this dampens out at further ranges and makes it even quieter than diesel engines at longer distances, the cities are also compact and this noise would likely be very annoying.
Considering that I'm not working in engine manufacturing or fabrication nor do I have enough money to pay gas reliably these days, I don't think that's possible
Airline mechanics and vehicle mechanics would be the same job… imagine if people had abandoned jet engines in their yard? Flying cars probably would’ve advanced if people both maintained and repaired turbine engines…
I am actually a bit surprised they have not seen a resurgence in the hybrid market. One of the reasons you often see turbines on locomotives and ships is they do pretty well when allowed to run at their preferred RPM and charge a battery, and we have gotten a lot better at battery & motor technology lately. It was really the direct coupling to a drive train and consumer driving patterns that really made the engine do so badly.
I've mentioned this elsewhere in the comments, but Ariel Motors was working on a turbine-electric hybrid, but its launch was canceled due to the pandemic. The turbine was only 80hp, compared to the 1,000+hp output from the electric motors, so it would only provide enough power to keep the batteries charged under light driving. We have the technology, there just isn't enough of a benefit to get investments from major manufacturers, and only a few small manufacturers are willing to take the risk.
@@misterdeedeedee If nobody take an effort to fix those earlier issues which I think they did try to improve on but the economic and oil crisis killed its chance for a comeback.
The experience of driving the Jet Car wouldn't be the same without playing the _Initial D_ soundtrack. That way, your experience is just as intense as the Speed Racer movie.
Great video. I've always been a fan of the 50's and 60's concept cars, with their sweeping fins, bubble glass canopies, exotic propulsion systems and bizarre amenities such as beverage dispensers. It's obvious that nobody at GM back then, ever had to clean out a soda or ice cream dispenser like those found in drive-in restaurants of the day. Plus no amount of air conditioning could keep anyone cool inside a clear glass/Lucite bubble interior. The future these cars promoted was so gleefully optimistic, that one could not help but think that all Detroit auto design bureaus of the era, were staffed by ten year old boys hopped up on Ovaltine.
Though you can also understand why if you look back. Like compare the cars that came before like the model T compared to the model A. The jet cars really are just a continuation of the same design idea.
Current generation engineering might be able to bring Turbine cars into the realm of viable products, but outside circumstances may always be the largest hurdle.
Before the pandemic, Arial Motors was working on making an electric vehicle which would use a turbine motor to recharge mid-drive. However, it looks like this concept has been scraped, even though the vehicle has been fully designed and tested.
i do believe that some clever gimmicks of a turbine hybrid car can be real, but it would require some very complicated mechatronics to work properly, such as thermal conditioned catalytic converters that can heat and cool eletronically controlled, variable angle of attack turbine fan blades so the jet engine has finer control of shaft momentum on urban enviorioments, high RPM E motors so you don't waste fuel spinning up the engine or loosing engine RPM, full EV mode at speeds lower than 30mph and such, a extremely robust CVT transmission so the jet engine stays at highest efficiency RPM all the time, and most importantly the car must be a light as possible, essentially just a jet prius, not very exciting but a total nut for physics-engineering enthusiasts.
@@toninhosoldierhelmet4033 >essentially just a jet prius The Prius' transmission would actually be extremely well suited to turbine power. It consists of a differential between the motor and the driveshaft, so that the motor can spin out of sync from the driveshaft. The other output of the differential is connected to a generator which powers the electric motors/battery. The amount of resistance applied by the generator can be varied to keep the motor at it's most efficient operating speed. When traveling at a constant speed, the transmission effectively acts as a direct mechanical connection.
@@SupaKoopaTroopa64 yeah this is the stuff, idk right but as far as i know this is one of the piling reasons why turbine powered cars were dropped, the engines have an extreme RPM range with a narrow efficiency spot in there, idk the exacts tho.
First off, love the video. You're telling me that in the early 1950s gas was an average of 29 cents a gallon! I went to high school in the 90s and I remember paying 99 cents a gallon! So the price of gas only went up 70 cents in 40 years!?! WTF!
Interestingly, Rover actually designed a production car around the gas turbine engine and released it to the public. It was the Rover P6. It never got the turbine engine, but it had a quirky front suspension designed to accommodate it. The car itself was not wildly styled either, but rather a very clean mid century design for the 1960s. Rover was even less stable than Chrysler, so it's no surprise it didn't happen.
Ah, 50s and 60s American car designs. All form and no function. Turbine engine car were a wild concept that could only be spun from the minds of a mad scientist from the 50s. Those GE concepts are absolutely magnificent. Some Star Trek stuff. I'm amazed at how much they got right about the car of the future though. We have a two way communication system now as many phones can connect to our cars. We have a fancy computer system to monitor everything. And we even have somebody else finding the ideal route for us, it's just a computer instead of a guy in a tower. Even the self driving feature has come to exist on a small scale. The only thing they didn't get right was the steering wheel. I can only imagine how much research money was wasted on trying to reinvent how we control our vehicles.
i really prefer when cars looked pretty even if it wasn't always efficent. now we have bland cookie cutter cars and may get 25 miles a gallon but have no spark to them. i guess the gas crises and the rising price of everything made this all inevitable but its tough man
James May did an excellent segment on the history of the Chrysler Turbine car, in his James May's Cars of the People. Riding around with Jay Leno, who owns one of the only surviving models left.
It really is hilariously ironic that Chrysler only got a bailout because of the M1. I'm definitely not going to complain about that though. As an infantryman in Iraq it was ALWAYS nice to have tankers nearby in winter. It's not that it gets super cold, but it goes for from comfy to close to freezing fairly quickly & taking turns standing behind a M1 is great.
love how the magnetic strip for self driving was actually considered until they realized america cant even update its road signs properly laying magnets in every road was just never going to happen even in the oh so hopeful back then
This was such a freakin rad video. I seriously love the retro futurism throughout this entire video. I cant beleive ive never even heard about any of this until now! Thank you so much for a great video that brought so much cool stuff to light. Cheers! Edit: that like center console joystick steering wheel looks like a frickin nightmare. Yikes. I love the other futuristic steering wheels though. Man I wish they would put more of thos in cars. I dont care if they are odd and unwieldy! They are beautiful.
The sad thing is that, even back in the 50s, we had the tech to make vehicles that could've lessened or even negated the carbon impact we're living with the consequences of now. Then as now, corporate greed and human apathy have doomed us all.
Several newer concepts for electric cars involve a turbine engine to power the electrical systems, like a hybrid, and the reason this is interesting and might work is that the turbine engine has a consistent and extremely powerful energy generation ability, great for short bursts to charge a battery. Very cool idea!
I had a chance to see a 1950s? jet turbine powered car at a museum once. Looked absolutely terrifying, like if you took a regular family car, cut a big hole through the back, and shoved a plane engine in it (probably because that's exactly what happened). It was a Chrysler IIRC, the footage used around 0:55 is of that car's engine if I recall... a pretty cool concept but I could imagine the repercussions of your car having a massive jet on it being pretty severe. Like melting the car behind you at a stoplight, etc. Edit: 1962 as was said in the video, my bad.
This video is much more formal then your others; and while I don't think that's bad, I much prefer your more informal, almost absurd writing style of your other videos. I love these informative videos on the futuristic predictions of the past, please continue! :)
Closest thing you could get to a Chrysler Turbine car in 1962, 1964, and 1965 was the Ford Thunderbird since both cars were styled by Elwood Engle. Elwood Engle was at the Ford Motor Company in the very early 60’s but found his was at Chrysler Corporation since Virgil Exner was fired from Chrysler Corporation and needed someone desperately so they hired Elwood Engle and that’s why the Chrysler Turbine and Ford Thunderbird have similar styling to each other.
The Firebird 2 Future concept commercial is shockingly close to reality, just 50 years too early and with all of the features like automatically generated routes on a map and video calling stuck in the car instead of in a tiny brick in your pocket.
To be fair, the turbine car by Chrysler did not emit 3,000° exhaust fumes. You could stick your hand behind it while it was running and you would be absolutely fine.
Its interesting how they developed these turbine engines for domestic use as I only know about their use in military vehicles such as the mentioned abrams MBT, but its definitley a dying concept with today's engine technologies where diesel and petroleum combustion engines or just as or even more powerful while being more efficient, even the abrams gas turbine which is the only surviving example of a mass produced and used gas turbine vehicle that I know of is being ditched in favour of a diesel engine in their next generation of abrams that they've advertised probably due to various European militaries such as Germany using much more superior diesel engines with better reliability while having similar power outputs.
I don’t think it will be replaced anytime. The addition of an APU mitigates the fuel consumption problems. Also, the Abrams is heavier than the Leo 2. The KF51 can use the diesel engine for the Leo 2 as it is lighter as some of the armor was reduced due to the presence of a hardkill APS (T90 APS Shorta is just soft kill).
@@shaider1982 the gas turbine is actually going to be replaced by a diesel from what I've heard about general dynamics teaser of its next gen abrams, look up next gen abrams and you'll see discussions, news outlets and so on including promotional material with one of them titled "silent strike" and a entirely new look of the abrams with even a new remotly controlled autocannon turret on top, but this is only for that new model, I don't think the older models will have engine replacements and changes to the new model could happen to return to the gas turbine between the teaser info and the production model and the info from these sources could be wrong so who knows.
Dying? The majority of the US Navy is all GT now, and most Electrical plants use Gas Turbines fired off Natural Gas. Gas Turbines have a huge advantage in that they don't have a power stroke, its always making power, hence why they are sometimes used in place of Diesel.
You'll notice that the video showed a steering wheel being replaced by a yoke (as in an airplane). There was an even more advanced prototype steering mechanism. There was a small (about 4 inches in diameter) mini-wheel that could be grasped with either hand around its outside diameter. The driver's forearm would rest on an arm-rest (left or right) to keep it steady. To steer the vehicle, the driver would simply twist his hand to the left or right to turn it in the corresponding direction. The problem was that it turned out to be TOO sensitive; the driver would be continually correcting and the vehicle would be weaving to either side of its intended course. In retrospect, maybe there was something else that I don't know or don't remember. It would not seem to be that big a seal to tune the responsiveness of the mini-wheel. It's a common issue in controls engineering.
A lot of these concepts ended up in “Car Town”. I skinned my Firebird II to look like Jet Hawk (from “Chojin Sentai Jetman”), my Firebird III to look like Starscream, and my Turboflite to look like Redbird (Robin’s reoccurring car from some Batman canons).
@@PlatinumNath I ran Wakaba Garage, did you ever see any of my stuff around? I’ve actually been writing some blogs over there lately, telling the stories behind some of my skins.
The Turbo Titan 3 "stearing wheel" is a lot like the steering on a lot of lift trucks, and forklifts. Driving those for work, I actually prefer it, and kind of want a car with those steering set ups.
I love the obsession these companies had back then with putting drink dispensers in their cars, was that really something people wanted in their cars? lol
That Firebird retrofuturistic video. It basically predicted everything we have now (although it was still science fiction in the 70s): GPS, LCD dashboards, self driving cars and.. cupholders!
I believe that we can not make the future be today, we can prepare for the future but we can’t make the future, look how they tried to make the future andddd it looks the same back basically
The ending of the video reminded me of the impracticality of the Hummer and how it coincided with an economic boom and how it’s downfall came with a recession too
I haven't finished watching but I wonder if he will mention how modern tanks use these in an electric hybrid configuration. They can move quietly by just using the electrical motors and can use the turbine engine for a boost in speed and to charge the batteries. I wonder if a modern hybrid jet/electric car would work.
There's a truck startup doing this called edison motors in which they use electric drive-train with a diesel motor functioning as a generator, if the generator turns on it only runs at peak efficiency
@@inconspicuousperson7759 actually to be more efficient thing would be to just use diesel and skip the electrical. The only way hybrids increase fuel efficiency is through things like regenerative braking and such. Because any time you convert one form of energy to another you lose efficiency. It's why electric cars that get charged by a fossil fuel burning power plant is far less efficient and worse for the environment. We got to first stop using fossil fuels for power otherwise electric cars are worse for the environment.
Mr. B. Here ! 🍩☕️👀😎👍. You could not stand behind the vehicle , the exhaust would cook you ! Design and how vehicles looks . Most important cost to manufacture . People who grew up during the Depression were not looking to buy junk products had to last , which if things last that means jobs & lower cost of living for all ! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
"beyond those surface level details they were jet cars". They're not jet cars..that's why they were always referred to as gas turbine. Jets are called such because of jet engines, not surface level details like flying instead of driving. Jet engines deliver power via an expelled *jet* of air for thrust, the turbine merely keeps the engine running (compression). These cars delivered power via a gearbox hooked up to the turbine, and the exhaust was just that, spent gasses, unused in power generation, and not intended to jet.
Buick had a concept car that has a suspiciously similar concept to the Thunderbird II's weird E-Way Track System. It was called the Centurion, it never actually drove, the thing's hood will not stay down, there is a backup camera instead of side-view mirrors (not bad for '56), and you can see it at the Sloan Museum in Flint MI if you are so inclined. And we all know everyone would just show up to work in jeans and a t-shirt if this weird traffic control thing became standard. But, I do like the uniform, it looks like what the police would wear in a distopia.
I hope for a future with overwhelming computing power, mind uploading, limitless life spans, intelligence augmentation, and AI that will create any world with a request. The actual future is guaranteed to be disappointing.
The patents were eventually bought by Wayne Enterprises, however no known vehicles were released to the public.
I ordered a jet car, where's my god d@mn jet car Bruce!!
Weird how the batmobile seems to have a piston engine or a jet depending on how fast its going
Do they come in black?
@@wizard_of_poz4413 It has both.
@@Blaman44 beat me to it
My grandpa knew a guy who owned one of the Chrysler Turbine Cars back in the 60's, and when he came by to see what it was like driving it, they realized the tank was almost empty, and rather than filling it with proper diesel, they just filled it with weed killer and went on their way.
God that’s a power move, “oh you spent 5,000$ on gas? Buddy I’m buying weed spray by the tanker”
I like how regular gas lead just damages it in every way but ppl back then didn't care gas was 2 bucks
that's something i believe the video got wrong is there's about 100 road cars made as leasing/testing deals just like the GM-EV1 was and yes it's BS that both didn't have a buy out option as both cars were loved by the owners/drivers
now the engine was planed on replacing the BBM/hemi eventually ( so the 440-6 or 426 would have been a 3 to 5 year ish run vs a 10~ year run ) so yes it was ready but just like the max-wedge or the 426-hemi it was a expensive option ( and image what the high-end actions would bring as a price premium $$$$ in 2022 as a rare oem optioned car/truck probably more than the BBM-hemi numbers matching factory installation ) but about the same amount extra to a build sheet aka 426=1970 usd 500-ish so the turban was 300-800 usd extra from base-trim and yes a lot of people probably would have bought it and it passed the EPA testing but the transmission was a let down ( but evan to me today in 2022 it's the top option for dodge engines, and this family has/is planning on a 4-door dart with the jet-shaft and a different transmission/hybrid and my pre-1970 charger 540-hemi/TR6070-hybridisation ) and leftover's from the V8's aka 727 non locking automatic so it wastes MPG which in the 1960-71 was meh ( most people or the dealership's didn't care for the opportunity they were just happy to have automatic feeling as better transmissions had be tried before prior to 1966 and had a resurgents in the 2000's-now ) ( my 2022 understanding is with improvements 40-70 MPG @ 80mph on freeway's using regular ULSD diesel fuel ) but the government's changing that in the 1975-ish so the carfa/mpg requirement's didn't pass after that and the Alison-250 is directly related to the dodge jet/research/platform so the program didn't suck management for whatever reason didn't have the guts to sell it and take the nessary risks to win i 🤷♂️🤔 maybe the government 🇺🇸 stepped in and stopped it as they were weird about rockets 🚀 and jet/advanced technologies being sold in the public sector's and the same goes for the knowledge of how to operate and make them and still are as ITAD laws are on the books. so now were stuck with L4 boosted to the moon as new 2022 model year on average sad 😢
@@richardprice5978
I ain't reading all that lmao
@@Kelleyyye621 boo! why did you even read the comments section or comment? or even watch the video if you didn't like it?
if you did read it 📖 /my comment you'd learn something interesting about the topic and the history of dodge and America 🇺🇸
My great grandfather was the only one allowed to drive the Firebirds, and after the "Father" didn't show for the firebird 2 film, he was thrown in to the role. Apparently the actors guild harassed him for dues until his death.
As for a fun fact about the Firebird 3, a feature tested on it that did come to market was cruise control. As for the bubbles, weird as they may be, they apparently were surprisingly easy to use, with separate temp controls and an intercom system to communicate between.
Interesting.
Very intriguing
Honestly, the idea of using electric sensors and painted lines to perform self-driving sounds like a really ingenious solution to self-driving, especially in a world with no idea of AI or other complex machines.
the only problem is the cost of infrastructure and who designed/installed/maintained it the amount of finger pointing would be unreal.
i think it sounds dangerously easy to vandalise
you know an even better idea? it is something that already exists... Rails
@@Holesale00 That description reminds me of "Solar Freakin' Roadways!" and how dumb and unpractical that one sounded.
@@amberhide04 We need more trains in the US
I love knowledge hubs instability, it makes a video about random meme bullshit, then actual science, this is entropy and I love it
Hail Eris!
*Husk. KnowledgeHusk
It's but a Husk of it's former Hub.
Have you ever heard of the tragedy of the jet car? It is not a story a normal engineer would tell you.
I hear the driver won an award!
It's an auto industry legend. it was so cool, and so powerful, it could make people excited to drive it. but it trusted in it's short term results too much, and was defeated by economics and circumstances.
Is it possible to learn this technology?
Some people consider a turbine powered car to be unnatural
@@danielbickford3458 the jet engine makes it stronger, gives it focus
I have no idea such technology existed. Even though the turbine engine most likely has no chance to return in this century where automobile companies starting to focus on full electric-powered vehicles, it's nice to ponder what the automobile world would look like if the turbine engine take off earlier and successfully.
EDIT: I almost forgot that M1 Abrams uses a turbine engine and also other vehicles like helicopter. My previous comment isn't about turbine engines as a whole but about commercial ones made for public cars for average Joes.
In the 1980's, Oldsmobile made a coal powered car.
For a while Ariel Motors was working on making an electric vehicle which would use a turbine to recharge the batteries. It looks like the launch of the vehicle was canceled due to the pandemic, and all mentions of the car in recent years seem to imply that it won't include a turbine anymore.
The first tank fitted with a gas turbine was a turretless British Caernarvon but it was just a testbed, the first productiont tank with a turbine was the Swedish Strv 103. There are several other tanks with turbines but the most notable other than the M1 and Strv 103 is the Russian T-80
The main issue with turbines, even today, is that they have horrible idling and burn through gas when doing so. This is why the Abrams needs an exterior power station for it's computerized systems so that the turbine doesn't need to be on during idle. The internal combustion engine however while still not being great with idle, is better able to ramp up and ramp down. And since the main targets of the automobile industry are in cities, where idle time is expected, it likely would have been viewed as a horrible purchase only for those trying to show off. But beyond that turbines also produce a lot of noise close up because of their high frequency sound waves, while this dampens out at further ranges and makes it even quieter than diesel engines at longer distances, the cities are also compact and this noise would likely be very annoying.
@@mikoi7472 Good argument. The noise issue is definitely a major turn off for everyone.
Imagine if this idea took off. I'd be driving a jet-powered honda civic and it sounds dope af
Just build one. Bob Lazar did it. 😆
Considering that I'm not working in engine manufacturing or fabrication nor do I have enough money to pay gas reliably these days, I don't think that's possible
but there is no vtec kick in tho
Airline mechanics and vehicle mechanics would be the same job… imagine if people had abandoned jet engines in their yard? Flying cars probably would’ve advanced if people both maintained and repaired turbine engines…
@@Nahan_Boker94 no vtec, only whoosh
I am actually a bit surprised they have not seen a resurgence in the hybrid market. One of the reasons you often see turbines on locomotives and ships is they do pretty well when allowed to run at their preferred RPM and charge a battery, and we have gotten a lot better at battery & motor technology lately. It was really the direct coupling to a drive train and consumer driving patterns that really made the engine do so badly.
Mitsubishi made a plug in hybrid concept car with a gas turbine a few years ago
they are still too loud, expensive, precise, maintenance heavy, and thirsty for consumer mass production
I've mentioned this elsewhere in the comments, but Ariel Motors was working on a turbine-electric hybrid, but its launch was canceled due to the pandemic. The turbine was only 80hp, compared to the 1,000+hp output from the electric motors, so it would only provide enough power to keep the batteries charged under light driving.
We have the technology, there just isn't enough of a benefit to get investments from major manufacturers, and only a few small manufacturers are willing to take the risk.
@@misterdeedeedee sounds like an early electric car minus the loud part
@@misterdeedeedee If nobody take an effort to fix those earlier issues which I think they did try to improve on but the economic and oil crisis killed its chance for a comeback.
The experience of driving the Jet Car wouldn't be the same without playing the _Initial D_ soundtrack. That way, your experience is just as intense as the Speed Racer movie.
Night of fire!
You better better see
You better better begin the prayer to play!
Great video. I've always been a fan of the 50's and 60's concept cars, with their sweeping fins, bubble glass canopies, exotic propulsion systems and bizarre amenities such as beverage dispensers. It's obvious that nobody at GM back then, ever had to clean out a soda or ice cream dispenser like those found in drive-in restaurants of the day. Plus no amount of air conditioning could keep anyone cool inside a clear glass/Lucite bubble interior. The future these cars promoted was so gleefully optimistic, that one could not help but think that all Detroit auto design bureaus of the era, were staffed by ten year old boys hopped up on Ovaltine.
BEHOLD, The HOMER
Though you can also understand why if you look back. Like compare the cars that came before like the model T compared to the model A. The jet cars really are just a continuation of the same design idea.
As bad as the world is, at least I don't have to deal with the sound of a million m1 abrams sedans passing under my window every day
Working with jet engines makes you start loving the sound lol.
@@dakotamatata because your hearing becomes so bad that's the only thing you'll hear again.
Current generation engineering might be able to bring Turbine cars into the realm of viable products, but outside circumstances may always be the largest hurdle.
Before the pandemic, Arial Motors was working on making an electric vehicle which would use a turbine motor to recharge mid-drive. However, it looks like this concept has been scraped, even though the vehicle has been fully designed and tested.
I imagine gas companies wouldn't be too keen on cars using something that could run on a variety of fuels.
i do believe that some clever gimmicks of a turbine hybrid car can be real, but it would require some very complicated mechatronics to work properly, such as thermal conditioned catalytic converters that can heat and cool eletronically controlled, variable angle of attack turbine fan blades so the jet engine has finer control of shaft momentum on urban enviorioments, high RPM E motors so you don't waste fuel spinning up the engine or loosing engine RPM, full EV mode at speeds lower than 30mph and such, a extremely robust CVT transmission so the jet engine stays at highest efficiency RPM all the time, and most importantly the car must be a light as possible, essentially just a jet prius, not very exciting but a total nut for physics-engineering enthusiasts.
@@toninhosoldierhelmet4033 >essentially just a jet prius
The Prius' transmission would actually be extremely well suited to turbine power.
It consists of a differential between the motor and the driveshaft, so that the motor can spin out of sync from the driveshaft. The other output of the differential is connected to a generator which powers the electric motors/battery. The amount of resistance applied by the generator can be varied to keep the motor at it's most efficient operating speed. When traveling at a constant speed, the transmission effectively acts as a direct mechanical connection.
@@SupaKoopaTroopa64 yeah this is the stuff, idk right but as far as i know this is one of the piling reasons why turbine powered cars were dropped, the engines have an extreme RPM range with a narrow efficiency spot in there, idk the exacts tho.
First off, love the video.
You're telling me that in the early 1950s gas was an average of 29 cents a gallon!
I went to high school in the 90s and I remember paying 99 cents a gallon! So the price of gas only went up 70 cents in 40 years!?! WTF!
Not that surprising given how in 1 year ours went from under 5$ to under 9$
Interestingly, Rover actually designed a production car around the gas turbine engine and released it to the public. It was the Rover P6. It never got the turbine engine, but it had a quirky front suspension designed to accommodate it. The car itself was not wildly styled either, but rather a very clean mid century design for the 1960s. Rover was even less stable than Chrysler, so it's no surprise it didn't happen.
Ah, 50s and 60s American car designs. All form and no function. Turbine engine car were a wild concept that could only be spun from the minds of a mad scientist from the 50s.
Those GE concepts are absolutely magnificent. Some Star Trek stuff. I'm amazed at how much they got right about the car of the future though. We have a two way communication system now as many phones can connect to our cars. We have a fancy computer system to monitor everything. And we even have somebody else finding the ideal route for us, it's just a computer instead of a guy in a tower. Even the self driving feature has come to exist on a small scale. The only thing they didn't get right was the steering wheel. I can only imagine how much research money was wasted on trying to reinvent how we control our vehicles.
Somebody misinterpreted the phrase "trying to reinvent the wheel" and took it as a challenge 🤣
i really prefer when cars looked pretty even if it wasn't always efficent. now we have bland cookie cutter cars and may get 25 miles a gallon but have no spark to them. i guess the gas crises and the rising price of everything made this all inevitable but its tough man
Another RUclipsr and attorney Steve Lehto is a solid authority on the subject if anyone wants to learn more about Chrysler's turbine cars :)
I was aware of the firebird. But some of these other projects are very interesting and completely new to me. Very cool video.
James May did an excellent segment on the history of the Chrysler Turbine car, in his James May's Cars of the People. Riding around with Jay Leno, who owns one of the only surviving models left.
Gas turbines couldd be great plug in hybrids. Recharge batteries as they drive with smaller turbines. Turbines are fantastic tech when applied right
It really is hilariously ironic that Chrysler only got a bailout because of the M1. I'm definitely not going to complain about that though. As an infantryman in Iraq it was ALWAYS nice to have tankers nearby in winter. It's not that it gets super cold, but it goes for from comfy to close to freezing fairly quickly & taking turns standing behind a M1 is great.
Love that they thought there'd be car traffic control towers lmao
love how the magnetic strip for self driving was actually considered until they realized america cant even update its road signs properly
laying magnets in every road was just never going to happen
even in the oh so hopeful back then
People would steal the magnets on roads that aren't paved.
22:00 *I'm looking at those gas prices right now and getting reminded of better days...*
really interesting information here! thanks a lot for making this. cheers.
Great video sir awesome video I love jet cars, you know your stuff 😀 respect
I love just the crazy comparisons of our generation and 🖥 & how they talk vs. The 50's and 60's life, thinking 📺, etc....
Wow, thank you for sharing this!
It’s so weird, yet oddly funny - seeing the Husk of what was once the great Knowledge Hub.
Best name on RUclips.
What an era of pure awe...
I really like the retrofuturistic content.
This was such a freakin rad video. I seriously love the retro futurism throughout this entire video. I cant beleive ive never even heard about any of this until now! Thank you so much for a great video that brought so much cool stuff to light. Cheers! Edit: that like center console joystick steering wheel looks like a frickin nightmare. Yikes. I love the other futuristic steering wheels though. Man I wish they would put more of thos in cars. I dont care if they are odd and unwieldy! They are beautiful.
Time for the Knowledge Husk arc
The sad thing is that, even back in the 50s, we had the tech to make vehicles that could've lessened or even negated the carbon impact we're living with the consequences of now.
Then as now, corporate greed and human apathy have doomed us all.
wow caught this 9 seconds after upload nice :)
Several newer concepts for electric cars involve a turbine engine to power the electrical systems, like a hybrid, and the reason this is interesting and might work is that the turbine engine has a consistent and extremely powerful energy generation ability, great for short bursts to charge a battery. Very cool idea!
They're surprisingly beautiful, that aesthetic is just beautiful.
Excellent documentary
The beverage dispenser was a popular concept idea because basically everyone smoked heavily, and the drink was to clear the ash taste from your mouth
I had a chance to see a 1950s? jet turbine powered car at a museum once. Looked absolutely terrifying, like if you took a regular family car, cut a big hole through the back, and shoved a plane engine in it (probably because that's exactly what happened). It was a Chrysler IIRC, the footage used around 0:55 is of that car's engine if I recall... a pretty cool concept but I could imagine the repercussions of your car having a massive jet on it being pretty severe. Like melting the car behind you at a stoplight, etc.
Edit: 1962 as was said in the video, my bad.
Thank you for this interesting piece of car history :)
This video is much more formal then your others; and while I don't think that's bad, I much prefer your more informal, almost absurd writing style of your other videos. I love these informative videos on the futuristic predictions of the past, please continue! :)
I disagree, this new take on the channel is substantially better
I like them both equally, but I think he sounded sad here.
People may lack the ability to know the joke, you need to be formal on the internet
@@Dumb-Comment Username checks out.
I love the beat at the end of your videos. So cool
Closest thing you could get to a Chrysler Turbine car in 1962, 1964, and 1965 was the Ford Thunderbird since both cars were styled by Elwood Engle. Elwood Engle was at the Ford Motor Company in the very early 60’s but found his was at Chrysler Corporation since Virgil Exner was fired from Chrysler Corporation and needed someone desperately so they hired Elwood Engle and that’s why the Chrysler Turbine and Ford Thunderbird have similar styling to each other.
well done. thank you for your service.
All time great video!!!
Retro Futurism.
Definitely the vibe and style of the first 2 Fallout games.
Probably why I like them so much.
I love these cars a lot. I've loved them since I was a little lad. I'm glad they're getting more exposure. :)
This was an incredibly interesting watch. Good work!
The Firebird 2 Future concept commercial is shockingly close to reality, just 50 years too early and with all of the features like automatically generated routes on a map and video calling stuck in the car instead of in a tiny brick in your pocket.
Awsome vid bro 👍
Thank you for the history
Imagine flying cars in NYC on a Friday night it would be 9-11 times a 100 every week
Fun fact. We still believe future vehicles ( spaceships not cars ) will have beverage dispensers. Even whole food fabricators
I saw a few turbine cars out at the Bonneville Salt flats. One was just a helicopter engine in a drag racer lol
Great video
To be fair, the turbine car by Chrysler did not emit 3,000° exhaust fumes. You could stick your hand behind it while it was running and you would be absolutely fine.
I'm amazed that I've never heard of any of this before. Definitely, this video is some of your best work so far.
Fascinating history lesson. Good stuff. Incredible tech at the time but I wonder how it would be built today even as just an expensive tech demo.
Imagine if the singing in ads continue to this day
Honestly thank God jet cars weren't released
Its interesting how they developed these turbine engines for domestic use as I only know about their use in military vehicles such as the mentioned abrams MBT, but its definitley a dying concept with today's engine technologies where diesel and petroleum combustion engines or just as or even more powerful while being more efficient, even the abrams gas turbine which is the only surviving example of a mass produced and used gas turbine vehicle that I know of is being ditched in favour of a diesel engine in their next generation of abrams that they've advertised probably due to various European militaries such as Germany using much more superior diesel engines with better reliability while having similar power outputs.
The Abrams MBT was designed solely to burn through an ungodly amount of fuel so the oil companies could have jacked-up government contracts.
I don’t think it will be replaced anytime. The addition of an APU mitigates the fuel consumption problems. Also, the Abrams is heavier than the Leo 2. The KF51 can use the diesel engine for the Leo 2 as it is lighter as some of the armor was reduced due to the presence of a hardkill APS (T90 APS Shorta is just soft kill).
@@shaider1982 the gas turbine is actually going to be replaced by a diesel from what I've heard about general dynamics teaser of its next gen abrams, look up next gen abrams and you'll see discussions, news outlets and so on including promotional material with one of them titled "silent strike" and a entirely new look of the abrams with even a new remotly controlled autocannon turret on top, but this is only for that new model, I don't think the older models will have engine replacements and changes to the new model could happen to return to the gas turbine between the teaser info and the production model and the info from these sources could be wrong so who knows.
Dying? The majority of the US Navy is all GT now, and most Electrical plants use Gas Turbines fired off Natural Gas.
Gas Turbines have a huge advantage in that they don't have a power stroke, its always making power, hence why they are sometimes used in place of Diesel.
Honestly, if the Chrysler turbine car was built today, with modern styling and technology, it would be such a hit among celebrities
As the owner of a Pontiac firebird I find that commercial hilarious and I love it
There's a turbine car not far from where I live. I think it can run but mostly hangs out inside a museum building with other classic cars
You'll notice that the video showed a steering wheel being replaced by a yoke (as in an airplane). There was an even more advanced prototype steering mechanism. There was a small (about 4 inches in diameter) mini-wheel that could be grasped with either hand around its outside diameter. The driver's forearm would rest on an arm-rest (left or right) to keep it steady. To steer the vehicle, the driver would simply twist his hand to the left or right to turn it in the corresponding direction. The problem was that it turned out to be TOO sensitive; the driver would be continually correcting and the vehicle would be weaving to either side of its intended course. In retrospect, maybe there was something else that I don't know or don't remember. It would not seem to be that big a seal to tune the responsiveness of the mini-wheel. It's a common issue in controls engineering.
This was very enjoyable. Thanks dawg
The Ford Big Red and GM Turbo Titan III are so sick! I'd like to see them in American Truck Simulator one day but that's a pipe dream.
Could someone make a mod to include those trucks?
@@PASH3227 I don't see why not? It could be hard though because they are rare.
Beautifully done!
Like a pile of feline-friendly laundry
Been months since I’ve been recommended a video from you god I missed you whimsu
*With today's gas prices,*
*Be grateful that the piston car prevailed!*
Gosh I love your thumbnail. It reminds me of being in Advertising School and my early attempts with airbrush. Also, it’s very ‘80s.
Great as always bud!
This is a cool piece of history I never knew! Thanks!
A lot of these concepts ended up in “Car Town”. I skinned my Firebird II to look like Jet Hawk (from “Chojin Sentai Jetman”), my Firebird III to look like Starscream, and my Turboflite to look like Redbird (Robin’s reoccurring car from some Batman canons).
Ah Car Town. Really miss it.
@@PlatinumNath I ran Wakaba Garage, did you ever see any of my stuff around? I’ve actually been writing some blogs over there lately, telling the stories behind some of my skins.
@@TBustah I think I saw your page before by chance. Looks neat, seeing it again now. Just seeing Car Town again brings back memories
The Turbo Titan 3 "stearing wheel" is a lot like the steering on a lot of lift trucks, and forklifts. Driving those for work, I actually prefer it, and kind of want a car with those steering set ups.
Excellent video/ subject matter.
I didn't even know these were a thing outside of concept.
I love the obsession these companies had back then with putting drink dispensers in their cars, was that really something people wanted in their cars? lol
That Firebird retrofuturistic video. It basically predicted everything we have now (although it was still science fiction in the 70s): GPS, LCD dashboards, self driving cars and.. cupholders!
This feels like this was made way more than three weeks ago
That GM car sounds like the Batcar from the 60s X-D
I believe that we can not make the future be today, we can prepare for the future but we can’t make the future, look how they tried to make the future andddd it looks the same back basically
Wild to see the GM tech center (Millford) hasn't changed at all
I mean we don’t have air traffic control on highways telling us how things are but we do have maps updating traffic, accidents, etc
I love these videos about obscure tech done with the whimsu humor
Amazing production that's severely under viewed, keep it up!
The stearing of the FB3 reminds me of a mouse. I bought a steering wheel for my computer for driving games.
The ending of the video reminded me of the impracticality of the Hummer and how it coincided with an economic boom and how it’s downfall came with a recession too
"It's no Logans Run"
What could ever live up to it?
This gives me the same vibe of all the electrification of cars today, but today it's actually happening instead of just marketing fluff
So that's where the design for the speed racer cars came from...
I haven't finished watching but I wonder if he will mention how modern tanks use these in an electric hybrid configuration.
They can move quietly by just using the electrical motors and can use the turbine engine for a boost in speed and to charge the batteries.
I wonder if a modern hybrid jet/electric car would work.
There's a truck startup doing this called edison motors in which they use electric drive-train with a diesel motor functioning as a generator, if the generator turns on it only runs at peak efficiency
@@inconspicuousperson7759 actually to be more efficient thing would be to just use diesel and skip the electrical.
The only way hybrids increase fuel efficiency is through things like regenerative braking and such.
Because any time you convert one form of energy to another you lose efficiency. It's why electric cars that get charged by a fossil fuel burning power plant is far less efficient and worse for the environment. We got to first stop using fossil fuels for power otherwise electric cars are worse for the environment.
Even if using an electric motor, a tank never moves quietly.
My dad owned a Mazda rotary engine car. It was loud & repair costs were very high.
I love that outro music
Mr. B. Here ! 🍩☕️👀😎👍. You could not stand behind the vehicle , the exhaust would cook you ! Design and how vehicles looks . Most important cost to manufacture . People who grew up during the Depression were not looking to buy junk products had to last , which if things last that means jobs & lower cost of living for all ! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
0:20
And now that has reversed. With the car being seen as a necessary evil.
Something about the firebird 3 design makes me feel so claustrophobic. Like I’d lose it when that bubble came down
Love it lol good work
"beyond those surface level details they were jet cars". They're not jet cars..that's why they were always referred to as gas turbine. Jets are called such because of jet engines, not surface level details like flying instead of driving.
Jet engines deliver power via an expelled *jet* of air for thrust, the turbine merely keeps the engine running (compression). These cars delivered power via a gearbox hooked up to the turbine, and the exhaust was just that, spent gasses, unused in power generation, and not intended to jet.
Buick had a concept car that has a suspiciously similar concept to the Thunderbird II's weird E-Way Track System. It was called the Centurion, it never actually drove, the thing's hood will not stay down, there is a backup camera instead of side-view mirrors (not bad for '56), and you can see it at the Sloan Museum in Flint MI if you are so inclined.
And we all know everyone would just show up to work in jeans and a t-shirt if this weird traffic control thing became standard. But, I do like the uniform, it looks like what the police would wear in a distopia.
*How boring our future looks.*
*How amazing our future is!*
I hope for a future with overwhelming computing power, mind uploading, limitless life spans, intelligence augmentation, and AI that will create any world with a request. The actual future is guaranteed to be disappointing.