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Return of the Turbo

© Zach French

The 1980s were a dark era for the automotive industry. Extreme emissions restrictions and fuel shortages had all but strangled the life from the last muscles cars Detroit had to offer. It was as if American auto markers in the '70s had forgotten what great fun they had during the '60s, seemingly content to build low performance, vinyl and wood covered boats. Little improvement was to be found in the '80s, with the market geared more toward gas mileage then anything else. The dark cloud of the past decade was a difficult one to shake. However, there was one bright ray of sunshine during the 1980s, brought over from Japan to our shores: the turbocharger.

First, for those non-automotive enthusiasts out there, a turbo is a very simple device used to increase the power output of an engine. Lets start off with the basics- a turbocharger is basically a snail-shaped device with a turbine inside used to draw more air into the engine. Unlike a supercharger, a turbo is driven off exhaust gases, making use of otherwise wasted backpressure. The principle behind a turbocharger is to draw more air into an engine then it could normally, a process called forced induction. An engine runs on air, fuel, and electric spark, so the more air you can introduce into the mixture, the more potential power there is to be made. Japanese car companies were well aware that their small and fuel efficient cars would be perfect for an American auto industry which facilitated these attributes. However, unlike those in Detroit, they actually wanted to make their vehicles fun to drive, so a turbo was often the answer. By nature, a turbo won't effect emissions or gas mileage, allowing a smaller engine to make the power of a larger one without many of the sacrifices. During the 1980s, there were many turbocharged Japanese cars roaming the streets that were cheap, got good gas mileage and were a blast to drive. Turbocharged offerings from Toyota, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Nissan were extremely common for quite some time, somewhat filling the void of the mighty muscle car. However, with new advances in technology and a changing market, the turbo car eventually started to die out during the 1990s. Once again, naturally aspirated cars filled dealer showrooms.

However, the turbo is now making a comeback with a vengeance. Japanese and even American automakers are realizing that turbocharged cars are fun to drive, efficient and just damn cool. The first such example was the Subaru WRX, which when introduced to the US market after being available overseas for years, became a huge sales success. However, now more turbo cars are appearing in dealer lots at an alarming rate, which is great news for the car enthusiast.

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