General Motors Firebird
General Motors never intended the cars for production, but rather to showcase the extremes in technology and design that the company was able to achieve.
"[citation needed] As these concept cars were not specifically tied to any one division of GM, the Firebird I, II, and III were adorned with the logo of the General Motors Air Transport Section (GMATS).
[5] It has a 370 hp (280 kW) Whirlfire Turbo Power gas turbine engine, which has two speeds, and expels jet exhaust at some 1,250 °F (677 °C).
[6] At first, Conklin was the only person qualified to drive the car, and he tested it up to 100 mph (160 km/h), but upon shifting into second gear the tires lost traction under the extreme engine torque and he immediately slowed down for fear of crashing.
It has a low and wide design with two large air intakes at the front, a high bubble canopy top, and a vertical tail fin.
It also featured a non-operational guidance system intended for use with "the highway of the future," where an electrical wire embedded in the roadway would send signals that would help guide cars and avoid accidents.
Its exterior design features a double-bubble canopy and included cruise control, anti-lock brakes, and air conditioning.
It also featured air drag brakes similar to those found on aircraft that emerged from flat panels in the bodywork of the car to slow it from high speeds; an "ultra-sonic" key that signaled the doors to open; an automated guidance system to help avoid accidents; and a "no hold" steering system.
[10] Specifications The Firebird IV debuted at the 1964 New York World's Fair, in the General Motors Futurama Exhibit.
Its designers conceived it for a future in which cars steered automatically via programmed guidance systems, to "ensure absolute safety at more than twice the speed possible on expressways of the day.
It shows a nuclear family that are hot and perspiring in a convertible on their way to a day at the beach, but they are stuck in a freeway traffic jam.
In addition to improving thermodynamic efficiency, the regenerators serve to muffle engine noise and heat, reducing exhaust temperatures.
Other planned improvements would target throttle lag, caused by accelerating the gasifier turbine to peak speed, and lack of engine braking.
[20] GT-304 (1956) was the first GM gas turbine to include a regenerator, which used exhaust heat to warm intake air, improving fuel consumption to 0.77 lb/hp·h.
