At the time of the concept's unveiling, nuclear technology was relatively new andnd it was believed that soon nuclear-fusion technology could be made safe, compact, and affordable such that nuclear fuel would become the primary energy source in the U.S. and gasoline would become obsolete.<ref>{{cite book | title=Transportation | author=Morris, Neil | year=2010 | isbn=978-1410939111 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EoExSw2QMXQC | page=13}}</ref>▼
[[Image:Ford Nucleon.jpg|thumb|The Ford Nucleon concept car.]]
The '''Ford Nucleon''' is a [[concept car]] developed by [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] in 1958 designed as a future [[nuclear-powered car]], one of a handful of such designs during the 1950s and 60s. The concept was only demonstrated as a scale model. The design did not include an [[internal-combustion engine]]; rather, the vehicle was to be powered by a small [[nuclear reactor]] in the rear of the vehicle, based on the assumption that this would one day be possible by reducing sizes. The car was to use a steam engine powered by [[nuclear fission|uranium fission]] similar to those found in [[nuclear submarines]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=656 | last=Bellows | first=Alan | date=27 Aug 2006 | title= The Atomic Automobile | publisher=Damn Interesting | accessdate=8 Jan 2011}}</ref>
▲At the time of the concept's unveiling, nuclear technology was relatively new and it was believed that soon nuclear-fusion technology could be made safe, compact, and affordable such that nuclear fuel would become the primary energy source in the U.S. and gasoline would become obsolete.<ref>{{cite book | title=Transportation | author=Morris, Neil | year=2010 | isbn=978-1410939111 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EoExSw2QMXQC | page=13}}</ref>
The mock-up of the car can be viewed at the [[The Henry Ford|Henry Ford Museum]] in [[Dearborn, Michigan]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2120 |title=The Henry Ford, America's Greatest History Attraction |accessdate=20 Mar 2012}}</ref>
