The 1948 Tucker was dreamt up by Preston Thomas Tucker and designed by Alex Tremulis. This was one of the last attempts made by a small enterprise to break into large volume car production. This car was said to be “The first new car in 50 years.” Many people felt that a car this great wasn’t possible. The many new innovations in the car were always surrounded by controversy. The car seemed to be doomed, and it was.
Much of the appeal of the Tucker was the man behind it. Preston Thomas Tucker was always obsessed with cars, as long as anyone could remember. Tucker was born on September 21, 1903 in Capac, Michigan. He spent his childhood in car repair garages and used car lots. He worked as an office boy at Cadillac, a policeman in Lincoln, Illinois; he even worked at Ford motor company for a while. After he attended Cass Technical School in Detroit, Tucker became a salesman and went to work for Studebaker, then Stutz, Chrysler, and later became regional manager for Pierce-Arrow.
During WWII the automotive industry was focused on the war effort. There were no new models of cars produced for over four years, and people needed a new car. Any new car. Tucker thought that the time was right to make his move.
He formed the Tucker Corporation for the Production of Automobiles in 1946. Tucker wanted the old Dodge plant in Chicago. Its main building was the largest under one roof. During WWII B 29 engines were built in the plant. The War Assets Administration leased him the plant under the understanding that he could have $15 million capital by March of the following year.
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Tucker moved into the plant in July and started work on his prototype immediately. The corporation needed money desperately and Tucker realized backing from businessmen would cause him to lose almost all control over his company. This was not an option for him so he started brainstorming for ideas, and got one. Franchising. He began selling dealership franchises, and quickly raised $6 million to be held in escrow until the car was delivered. The dealerships seemed suspicious to the SEC.
This caused them to put Tucker under investigation. This was the first of many to span the next three years. The franchise agreements were rewritten to satisfy the SEC. Soon after that Tucker experienced his first serious obstacle, Wilson Wyatt. The head of the national housing agency who ordered the WAA to cancel Tucker’s lease and to turn the plant over to the Lutron corporation to build pre-fabricated houses. In the end Tucker got to keep his plant, but made some enemies in Washington.
The WAA extended his %15 million cash deadline to July first and senator George Malone of Nevada began his own investigation of the SEC. Tucker still had a prototype to finish. In December of 1946 he called on Alex Tremulis to design his car and have it built in one hundred days. The engineers working on the project couldn’t get any clay so they beat the design out of sheet iron.
The first car; completely handmade was nicknamed “The Tin Goose.” The Tucker ’48 debuted to the dealers, distributors, press, and brokers on June 19, 1947. Tucker later changed many of the “Tin Goose’s” original features such as the 24-volt starter system used to turn over the 589 c. i. engine. At the debut the workers used two 12-volt truck batteries that weighed over 75 pounds each that caused the suspension arms to snap. Stock finally cleared on July 15.
By the spring of 1948 Tucker had a production line set up, but the stock issue had been $5 million short. He began pre-selling seat covers, radios, and other accessories for his cars. Selling accessories for a car that wasn’t even being produced was the last straw for the SEC. On May 28, 1948 the SEC and the Justice Department launched a full-blown investigation of the Tucker Corporation.
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Investigators swarmed the plant and Tucker was forced to stop production and lay off 1600 workers. The corporation was in financial turmoil. The SEC’s case had to prove that the car couldn’t be built or if it was built it couldn’t perform as advertised. The cars were being built and performed great. After Thanksgiving, a small crew of workers was called in to assemble the last 50 cars Tucker would produce.
In January 1949 the plant was closed and put under trusteeship.” Gigantic Tucker Fraud Charged in SEC Report” was a headline in the Detroit Press in March 1949. The SEC commissioner admitted that he delivered the report to the press in a direct violation of the law. On June 10, Tucker and 7 of his associates went before a Grand Jury Indictment on 31 counts; 25 for mail fraud, 5 for SEC regulation violations, and 1 for conspiracy to defraud. The prosecution based it’s case on the prototype and ignored the 50 production vehicles. On January 23 the jury found that Tucker was innocent on all counts, but the verdict didn’t help the fact that Tucker lost his dream. Preston Tucker went to Brazil to pursue funding for a new car; the project was almost underway when he was diagnosed with lung cancer.
He died in 1956. Bureaucracy Sucks.
