Day: March 17, 2021

Chrysler’s ill-fated Turbine program went way beyond the iconic Ghia car

By Michael J. Moody 1 year ago

At the dawn of a new era, when space travel was becoming a possibility and jet-age automotive styling was all the rage, Chrysler engineers began to explore the turbine power as an alternative to piston engines. It was the beginning of a 30-year deep dive that resulted in the iconic 1963 Chrysler Turbine—and so much more.



a close up of a car

© Provided by Hagerty


Beginning in 1953 and continuing into the early 1980s, Chrysler was relentless in its pursuit of a turbine-powered car that was both fuel-efficient and on-budget. It fell short, obviously, but the massive effort wasn’t for naught. Lessons were learned and legends were made. Like the Ghia-bodied Turbine car that became the public face of the program.

Last week, one of only nine surviving examples (chassis #99123)—one of two in public hands—was sold through Hyman Ltd., snatched up after lingering on the market for all of 72 hours. The

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Taiwan’s Delta Joins Foxconn in Betting on Electric-Car Riches

By Michael J. Moody 1 year ago
Yancey Hai

Yancey Hai

Photographer: Debby Wu/Bloomberg

Photographer: Debby Wu/Bloomberg

Delta Electronics Inc. predicted rapid growth at its fledgling electric-vehicle component business for this year and beyond, joining a bandwagon of Taiwanese suppliers bulking up their automotive muscles as tech giants including Apple Inc. venture into the car market.

“Our EV-related business will grow at least at a double-digit rate over the next few years,” Delta Chairman Yancey Hai said in an interview on Wednesday. “We will further integrate our existing power products into modules and optimize them to make it easier for EV makers to build their vehicles.”

Automotive customers accounted for a small fraction of Delta’s revenue in 2020, but are becoming increasingly important for growth. Delta and peers including Foxconn Technology Group are betting on electric cars as the next big thing as demand for PCs and smartphones, the main products that the Taiwanese suppliers have long depended

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