Chrysler was into "word-of-mouth" communications before there was any conception of "social media."
The heyday of the famed Chrysler Turbine car program occurred during the early and mid 1960s when the company let every-day families in the metro Detroit area and across the U.S. test drive one for up to three months at a time. According to Allpar.com, 50 cars were given to 200 drivers and families on a rotating basis 1963-65, from more than 25,000 applications.
Steve Lehto, raised in Birmingham, Mich., didn’t get to ride
in any of the Chrysler Turbine Cars growing up, but definitely knew
about them.
“I’ve been familiar with the [Chrysler Turbine Car]
stories since I was a kid. You’d still see them from time to
time when I was growing up,” said Lehto, 49, who still lives
in metro Detroit and practices law from offices in Royal Oak,
Mich.
Lehto is the author of Chrysler's
Turbine Car: The Rise and Fall of Detroit's Coolest Creation*,
first published in 2010 by Chicago Review Press. Now in its second
printing, the book includes a forward by famed auto collector
– and late night talk show host Jay Leno. (*Be sure to
check the bottom of the post to see how you can win an autographed
copy of Lehto's book.)
“What everyone liked about [the Chrysler Turbine Car] was
that it was an attempt to do something different,” Lehto
said. “Everything about it was unique, and people saw it as a
huge step forward for a manufacturer. It really resonated with
people.”
Lehto said his childhood interest in the Chrysler Turbine Car was
“reignited” about five years ago when his brother,
Rick, mentioned in passing that he works with someone at Williams
International who was involved with the program.
“It was one of those ‘aha!’ moments,” Lehto
recalled as being inspired to dig into the turbine car program and
write a book. “I interviewed a ton of guys at
Williams,” added Lehto, who spent several years working on
the book.
Williams International, which develops and manufactures small gas
turbine engines, is the company many of the turbine car program
engineers joined after the program ended in 1973.
Leno’s Forward
Numerous publishers passed on the book, and it wasn’t until
Jay Leno became involved that it finally found a publisher. One of
Lehto’s previous books, Death’s Door: The Truth Behind
Michigan’s Largest Mass Murder, was the focus of a
newspaper advertisement, “Death’s Door Makes a Great
Christmas Gift.” After Leno found out about the headline and
mentioned it on his show around the 2006 Christmas holidays, Lehto
sent him a copy – along with a manuscript of his turbine car
book. A few months later, Leno called Lehto, said he how much he
liked the manuscript.
It was a couple years before Lehto heard again from Leno when Leno
called him “out of the blue” to ask how to get a hold
of Bill Carry. Carry, who later would be on the cover of
Lehto’s book, was one of the program’s engineers. Leno
had just purchased a Chrysler Turbine Car and wanted Carry to walk
him through it, show him the ins and outs.
Leno also invited Lehto to his garage the next time he was in
California. A couple months later, Lehto took him up on the
invitation. During the visit, Leno asked about the book. When Lehto
said he was having trouble finding a publisher, Leno offered to
write the forward to help.
With that plug from Leno, Lehto’s Chrysler Turbine Car
manuscript was soon accepted by Chicago Review Press.
Response
Lehto said the response to the book has been very positive and
a bit surprising, especially from mainstream media. Early on when
he was trying to find a publisher, Lehto was often told that it was
just a “car” book and they don’t sell. The book
has received reviews and coverage from the Wall Street Journal – being the first
ever book it reviewed in September 2010 – New York Times, Vanity Fair and many other outlets.
With the success of the book, many more people, most former
Chrysler employees have come forward and contacted Lehto about
their involvement in the project. He said he has received mail,
emails and phone calls from a lot of people involved either
directly or indirectly with the project.
“The number of people who have made a point to go out of their way to say ‘thank you’ for the book is without a doubt a high point,” Lehto said.
As an example, in February, Lehto received a call from Frederick B.
Wiggins, one of the chief engineers who developed the TorqueFlite
transmission used in the Chrysler Turbine Car – which was
used predominantly from 1956 through the early 1990s at Chrysler.
Wiggins told Lehto he was able to go on numerous Turbine Car road
trips, including on the one pictured. Of the 55 Turbine Cars made,
only one or two were made without a vinyl top (second car)
– like in the one the engineer drove.
What about an update to the book?
While nothing is in the works, Lehto said he’s heard enough
stories and other information from all the people who have
contacted him since the book’s publishing that it’s not
out of the realm of possibilities.
You can check out more about the Chrysler Turbine Car at
Jay Leno's Garage where Jay showed of his own Chrysler Turbine
Car and talked with Lehto. Leno also talked with Lehto about
the book.
You can keep up with Lehto and his book on Facebook. In addition to the Allpar.com link above, you can learn more about the Chrysler Turbine Car at TurbineCar.com.
Top image: Chrysler Turbine Car at the Walter P. Chrysler Heritage Museum. You can check out more Chrysler Turbine Car images at this Flickr set.
Contest
For a chance to win a Steve Lehto-autographed copy of his book, in the comments below or via Twitter including #TurbineCar hashtag, simply answer:
- Which current Chrysler Group vehicle would you most like to see as a turbine-powered model and why.
From the comments and tweets, we'll randomly select five winners. Please, no more than one comment and one tweet per person. Entries must be submitted or tweeted on or before 11:59 p.m. ET, Saturday, April 9, 2011. We'll start contacting and announcing winners on Monday, April 11, 2011.
For reference, per Allpar.com, here are engine specs from the 1964 Chrysler Turbine Car:
- 130 horsepower at 3,600 rpm (output shaft speed); 425 lb-ft of torque at zero rpm!
- Weight: 410 lb - 25 inches long, 25.5 inches wide, 27.5 inches tall (without accessories, which make the overall length 35 inches).
- Fuel requirements: what've you got? diesel, unleaded gas, kerosene, JP-4, others. No adjustments needed to switch from one to the other.
- Compressor: centrifugal, single-stage compressor with 4:1 pressure ratio, 80% efficiency, 2.2 lb/sec air flow
- First stage turbine: axial, single-stage, 87% efficiency, inlet temperature 1,700 degrees F.
- Second-stage turbine: axial, single-stage, 84% efficiency, max speed 45,700 rpm
- Regenerator: dual rotating disks, 90% effectiveness, 22 rpm max speed
- Burner: single can, reverse flow, 95% efficiency
- Maximum gas generator speed: 44,600 rpm
- Maximum output speed, after reduction gears: 4,680 rpm
- Exhaust temperature at full power: 500 degrees
Fahrenheit.
