The Automotive Connection

Throughout its history Michigan Engineering has made significant contributions to the transportation industry.

As early as 1913, Michigan Engineering faculty began conducting automobile and engine research. By 1952, the College had helped create the Transportation Institute, which not only developed and conducted educational programs but also formed mutually beneficial working relationships with the transportation industry. And, of course, Michigan Engineering contributed a stream of innovative engineers who made the automotive industry a vibrant element of the world's lifestyle and economy.

Fred Zeder

In 1924, Walter P. Chrysler hired three engineers to build the first Chrysler, launching the company into the automotive spotlight as one of Detroit's "Big Three." This Chrysler car was the first volume-production car and a complex product that combined a high-compression engine, four-wheel hydraulic brakes, aluminum pistons and full pressure lubrication. Fred Zeder (BSE ME '09) was one of those three engineers and a true innovator who made a lasting impression on the way automotive companies approach manufacturing.

George Huebner

The 1963 Chrysler gas-turbine passenger car was the largest test program of its time. The corporation distributed 55 cars to 203 volunteers in 48 states, free of charge, for three months. George Huebner (BSE ME '32), Chrysler's chief engineer of research and development and the acknowledged "father of America's automotive gas turbine," engineered the cars and championed their development. When San Francisco test drivers complained about acceleration uphill, Huebner made a special trip and staged a drag race over the city's challenging streets, pitting one of his turbine cars against a Chrysler muscle car of the day, a big-block Dodge. Driving the turbo himself, Huebner outran the Dodge piston-engine car, going airborne at cross streets, "just like Steve McQueen's Mustang in Bullitt," he said. He never abandoned his campaign -- at 82, he was still a vocal advocate for wider production of diesel cars.

Harry Chesebrough

In 1959, Harry Chesebrough (BSE ME '32, D. Eng hon. '67) was a Chrysler executive vice-president for product planning and development. He guided Chrysler's first foray into the compact car market, putting the Plymouth Valiant on the road. Years later, when compact cars became a popular response to high fuel prices, it became apparent that the Valiant was a brilliant example of engineering far ahead of its time.

Chris Theodore