Things people say about the Ford Nucleon

MythFord built a nuclear-powered car.

FactFord never actually built a nuclear-powered car, concept or otherwise. Hemmings (Kurt Ernst) It never went beyond a non-working 3/8-scale model. The Henry Ford (brochure)

MythThe Nucleon was a running prototype.

FactIt never went beyond a non-working 3/8-scale model. The Henry Ford (brochure) It never reached the engineering stage, or even a wind tunnel. Hemmings (Kurt Ernst)

MythIt was going into production.

FactThe Nucleon was never produced. The Henry Ford The Henry Ford museum calls it more a public relations exercise than serious research and development. The Henry Ford (brochure)

MythWe know exactly how it would have driven its wheels.

FactExactly how it would have driven its wheels was never pinned down. Some writers suggest a steam turbine, as in a nuclear submarine, with a second turbine making electricity for the lights and heating. Hemmings (Kurt Ernst) Another description has the reactor’s energy turned into electricity, driving the wheels through electronic torque converters. Hemmings (Mike Bumbeck)

MythThe reactor was small enough to fit in a car.

FactNo nuclear reactor small enough for a car had been built. Times Colonist (Bill Vance) The radiation shielding alone would have made a car far too heavy: some estimates ran to 50 tons. Times Colonist (Bill Vance)

MythFord was the only maker with an atomic car idea.

FactChrysler drew a nuclear car with its passengers well forward, but it never got past paper illustrations; Studebaker-Packard’s atomic dream car, the Astral, came to nothing too. Times Colonist (Bill Vance)