1958 Ford Nucleon Concept Vehicle

The 1958 Ford Nucleon looked like a muscle truck from the future with a cab-forward design to protect the occupants form the reactor in the rear of the vehicle. In place of an internal combustion engine there would have be a small nuclear reactor in the back of the car, steam produced from uranium fission would power the car similar to how nuclear submarines work. In stead of a typical style drive train the Ford Nucleon concept car would have had an electronic torque convert, the drive train was to be part of the power module. Theory behind having a small reactor to power the vehicle was that the Nucleon could go at least of 5,000 miles before having to be recharged, once the core was drained it could be taken to a charging station for recharging. 

The Nucleon never made it to full size concept car. The original Ford Nucleon concept model can be viewed at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn Michigan.