Chrysler's Turbine Car by Steve Lehto

Author:Steve Lehto
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Published: 2010-06-20T16:00:00+00:00

The last of the test drivers was an executive secretary from Chicago named Patricia Anderson. She parked her 1960 Corvair for three months and put 2,641 miles on the odometer of a Ghia Turbine Car. When she turned it back in to Chrysler on January 28, 1966, the Ghia Turbine loaner program officially ended.

Even though Chrysler did not say for a while what its consensus was, local newspapers deemed the experiment a success. Robert Irvin of the Detroit News wrote that the cars were “regarded a success in at least one area. The turbine program helped change the firm’s image. It came at a time Chrysler was trying to make the public forget the management squabbles and dissention [sic] that marked its leadership in previous years.”

Before the program ended, however, the Vlahas—the first users—wrote to Chrysler and asked if they could have the car again. They hoped that Chrysler might let them be the last users as well, for a sort of poetic finish to the program. Patricia Vlaha admitted to reporters that they just liked the car so much they’d try anything to get the car back. “We’re keeping our fingers crossed. We’d love to drive it again.”

The Vlahas got their wish in a roundabout way. After the user program ended, Richard Vlaha asked Chrysler if he might be able to borrow a car to use while he visited New York City for training with IBM. Chrysler obliged, and the Vlahas—Patricia came to New York for the trip—got to take one last spin in the car. They showed it off to everyone at work, and brought it to a local country club where IBM was holding a function.

Chrysler decided one last tour was in order for the Ghia Turbine Cars and the various displays it had made for them. The cars went on a tour of college campuses around the country. Engineering departments welcomed them like conquering heroes. Turbine engineers gave lectures and seminars on turbine power, and the cars drew crowds of college kids outside the school buildings. Jerry Gross was one of the engineers sent on the tour; he showed off the Ghia to schools in Boston and Rhode Island.

One VIP who got to drive the Ghia Turbine was Bill France. Big Bill, as he was known, the founder and benevolent dictator of NASCAR, opened up the Daytona motor speedway in 1964 to the turbine car. The track was the centerpiece of NASCAR’s season, and this particular year saw a strong contingent from Chrysler, powered by the new Hemi engine, getting ready to square off against Ford. The huge track was two and a half miles around, with steep banked turns. Carry took the Ghia to Daytona for the week. Big Bill took a few laps behind the wheel on the Daytona oval and was impressed.

Tom Golec and a few others also took one of the Ghias to Denver to see how it would run in the thin mountain air. Unexpectedly, the starter began malfunctioning. On the

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