Some unusal Chrysler / Mopar history...      


On the history of the  Chrysler Turbine car's 50th anniversary, the theory persists that Chrysler destroyed 46 of the cars only to avoid paying import duties. Steve Lehto, who researched the Chrysler Turbine cars extensively for his book, wanted to put that theory to bed once and for all, so he got us in touch with Bill Carry, who worked on the Turbine car project for Chrysler and who has remained involved with the extant Turbine cars' preservation since then. Bill wrote:

    As I recall, there was an import duty payable on the car bodies from Ghia if they were sold. This duty also declined in amount payable over time, I believe. By the time the disposition of the bodies was being determined, this duty had decreased to next to nothing, if I remember correctly what I was told by George Fenstermacher, the Special Vehicles Manager in Product Planning. The decision to destroy the Turbine cars was pragmatic. Anything done outside of the control of the corporation could potentially create all sorts of PR headaches and diminish the good image effects from the program in the eyes of the public. Nobody wanted a bunch of those bodies running around with piston engines in them, etc., and they sure would not let them out of hand with the gas turbines still installed. Best and most logical decision – destroy them.

    It was a crummy experience. I went to the scrap yard and watched them all be burned and crushed, and that indeed was no fun.

We also briefly chatted with Mark Olson, Chrysler Turbine car enthusiast extraordinaire, who concurs with Carry:

    Based on worst case, the duty on each car would have been less than $500, and I agree that yes they destroyed them to avoid paying duty, but that was not the primary reason. Every one of the engineers who worked at Chrysler at that time would tell you they always destroyed any prototype automobile, it was amazing Chrysler offered them to museums as that was not normal.

Also, as Lehto noted, if there was an import duty to be paid on the cars or their bodies, then logically it must have been paid on the nine that survived. To take that argument further, Chrysler was willing to give all of the cars away to museums, which must mean that Chrysler was willing to pay any applicable import duties if all of the cars had been spoken for. That argument alone sinks the theory that import duties alone were the cause of the destruction of the 46 Turbine cars. The only other stated reason – that Chrysler wished to avoid seeing the Turbine cars released into the wild, either left to languish from improper maintenance or fitted with piston engines – is thus the only argument that remains standing.

You can checkout Jay Lenos Chrysler Turbine car on Jays Garage on Youtube a truely facinating car even for its day