General Motors Hybrid Car from 1969!By Brian Lohnes Posted 05/26/09
Imagine our surprise when our Mopar-loving father in law was looking through an old copy of Hot Rod magazine from 1969 and found the GM ad below. It’s for an “experimental” model called the Stir-Lec 1 and it is a freaking hybrid, using a little gas motor to generate electricity for the batteries that actually provide the power for the car.
We’ve never heard of this thing before, haven't seen any photos, and didn't know that it existed at all, and we’re kind of blown away that the company has not at least made mention of it with the promotion it has been doing with the upcoming and much anticipated Volt.
Sure, in terms of the technology of today this thing is about as crude as a concrete block, but it must have been space-aged stuff back in the late 1960s.
The whole thing was packaged up in an Opel Kadett body per the wording in the old advertisement.
Is there a chance that this car is buried in the basement of a GM engineering building? Did it ever actually exist as a real car? Does anyone know anything more about this project?
Once again, there’s nothing new under the sun. This is wild!
Comments + Post your comment!
Written by D2 May 28 2009
That GM EV1 program is covered in "Who Killed The Electric Car?", readily available as rental. I loved it. --D2
Written by squirrel
May 27 2009
turbines are interesting...not very efficient for cars, but they work nice in planes
Written by TheSilverBuick
May 27 2009
[quote author=1988montecarloss link=topic=12512.msg246766#msg246766 date=1243471181]
[quote author=1988montecarloss link=topic=12512.msg246762#msg246762 date=1243471035]
chrysler had a rocket powered car that they loaned to people in the 60's. i think there is only one left. i saw it on tv awhile back. if i can find it i'll post a picture
[/quote]
here it is.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/Chrysler_027.jpg/800px-Chrysler_027.jpg
[/quote]
You mean turbine powered? Yeah, turbine engines have thermal efficiency ranges in the low 40%, which beats diesel's mid to upper 30% and gasolines low 30's%.
My "ideal" hybrid would be a turbine/Electric car, made to burn about any fuel (from hydrogen to cooking oil) and run a heavy flywheel for no fuel coasting. The big down side to the Turbine engine for a car is they don't like to change rpm much, that's where their efficiency comes in, that and the way higher operating temps.
Written by 1988montecarloss
May 27 2009
[quote author=1988montecarloss link=topic=12512.msg246762#msg246762 date=1243471035]
chrysler had a rocket powered car that they loaned to people in the 60's. i think there is only one left. i saw it on tv awhile back. if i can find it i'll post a picture
[/quote]
here it is.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/Chrysler_027.jpg/800px-Chrysler_027.jpg
Written by 1988montecarloss
May 27 2009
chrysler had a rocket powered car that they loaned to people in the 60's. i think there is only one left. i saw it on tv awhile back. if i can find it i'll post a picture
Written by squirrel
May 27 2009
No, there's nothing that was any threat to big oil....especially not in 1969.
Written by min301
May 27 2009
I'm sure big oil had something to say, too.
Written by Matt Cramer May 27 2009
It doesn't surprise me that GM tried some sort of hybrid in the past given they've also been in the diesel-electric locomotive business. I suspect that car was very heavy and had a limited range. GM and Ford both horsed around with Stirling engines but neither one seemed to have come up with anything practical for automotive use. Some of the technologies they were working with in the '70s that were supposed to solve the fuel crisis were actually less efficient and more polluting than what they were supposed to replace - Wankel rotaries come to mind....
Written by Afrika61 May 28 2009
[quote author=Matt Cramer link=topic=12512.msg246401#msg246401 date=1243439709]
It doesn't surprise me that GM tried some sort of hybrid in the past given they've also been in the diesel-electric locomotive business. I suspect that car was very heavy and had a limited range. GM and Ford both horsed around with Stirling engines but neither one seemed to have come up with anything practical for automotive use. Some of the technologies they were working with in the '70s that were supposed to solve the fuel crisis were actually less efficient and more polluting than what they were supposed to replace - Wankel rotaries come to mind....
[/quote]
Uh I hate to have to break this to you but both GM and Mazda had thier respectives rotaries in the development phase nearly a full decade before the oil crunch hit in `73 and as such, never viewed the Wankel as a means of achiving higher MPG`s and lower emissions. GM was farsighted enough at the time to see that tightening emmisions regs that were down the pipe spelled didaster the then current hi-po engines in its stable and set about developing the rotary as alternative performance engine(the 2.3 aluminum block found in the Vega was another alternative stratagy which was aimed at reduced emissions) and came within an inch of seeing prodution in the still-born 4 rotor Corvette. Even after the embargo hit GM still had asperations of bringing a domestic rotary to the streets and designed all the post-Vega H bodies for a 2 rotor engine when the Vega 2.3 was proving to be a disaster: the transmission humps were re-designed to be much taller to accomidate the extra hieght of the expexcted 2 rotor engine.