Will turbo revolution stick this time around?
It was after the last fuel crisis in the early Eighties, when turbocharging first hit the technological big-time as an important fuel-saving technology. Ford put turbocharged four-cylinders in Mustangs and Thunderbirds. Chrysler developed all manner of turbocharged Chargers, Shadows, Daytonas—even minivans. Buick built a variety of turbo V-6s, including the memorable GNX. And let’s not forget the turbocharged Saabs, Volvos, and five-cylinder Audis.
There were also performance turbos from Porsche, Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Mazda. But the big promise of the turbo was efficiency: Turbocharge a small engine and get big-engine power while retaining small-engine fuel economy. Sounded great, but by the end of the Eighties, most of these mainstream turbos had disappeared. Will this second turbo revolution have a different ending? More at Car and Driver