58K views · 676 reactions | Self-driving car? General Motors built one in 1958—the Firebird III. | Road & Track Magazine | Facebook

The General Motors Firebird was a group of experimental cars made for car shows in 1953, 1956, and 1959. The designers, led by Harley Earl, were inspired by fighter aircraft designs. The first car, Firebird I, was like a jet on wheels with a powerful gas turbine engine. It was the first car in the U.S. with such an engine. The design was not practical, with a bubble canopy, a single-seat cockpit, a fiberglass body, short wings, and a tall tail fin. The car weighed 2,500 pounds and had a top spee