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Ford Nucleon

Ford Nucleon

Announced: 1958
High-tech applications: Nuclear-powered car

The Nucleon never got beyond a 3/8-scale model. It looked a bit like a futuristic Chevrolet El Camino, but instead of a pickup bed it had a to-be-invented, compact nuclear reactor. According to Ford, the vision was for a car that could go 5,000 miles without refueling. That aspect sounds appealing, but in terms of safety and the environment the Nucleon would be politically incorrect today to say the least. Ford said, apparently in all seriousness, that the model showed its designers were unwilling to concede "that a thing cannot be done just because it has not been done."