Chrysler's Turbine Car: The Rise and Fall of Detroit's Coolest Creation

 

"Fascinating." —Vanity Fair

 

"A delightful history." —Wall Street Journal

 

In 1964, Chrysler gave the world a glimpse of the future.
The automaker built a fleet of turbine cars—automobiles with jet engines—and lent them out to members of the public. The fleet logged over a million miles; the exercise was a raging success. If the cars had been mass produced, today we might have cars that run on any flammable liquid instead of petroleum-derived fuels. Yet Chrysler crushed and burned most of the cars two years later; the jet car’s brief glory was over. Where did it all go wrong?
Steve Lehto interviewed all the surviving members of the turbine car program, from the metallurgist who created the exotic metals for the interior of the engine to the test driver who drove it at Chrysler’s proving grounds for days on end. Lehto takes these firsthand accounts and weaves them into a fascinating story about the coolest car Detroit has ever produced.
In this expanded edition, Lehto describes working with Jay Leno to rebuild one of the last remaining turbine cars, a prize in Leno’s famed collection.

Steve Lehto is the author of Preston Tucker and His Battle to Build the Car of Tomorrow, Death’s Door: The Truth Behind Michigan’s Largest Mass Murder, a 2007 Michigan Notable Book, and Michigan’s Columbus: The Life of Douglass Houghton. He is an adjunct professor of law and Michigan history at the University of Detroit Mercy. Jay Leno is a stand-up comedian, a television host, and a writer. He contributed a column to Popular Mechanics that showcased his collection of more than two hundred vehicles and advice about automotive topics.