Preston Tucker

See also: Tucker

Preston Thomas Tucker (September 21st 1903 with Capac Michigan - December 26th 1956) was an originator and manufacturer of American Automobile.

Any young person, it worked as messenger at Cadillac, where it distributed the mail in roller skates. This good salesman joined to the legendary originator Harry Miller to convince Edsel Ford then his father Henry to build a racing racing car, derived from Ford V8 of series, for the edition 1935 of Indianapolis. Miller missed time and of money to conclude her project. Edsel Ford, furious, made lock up the cars, to arise them only in 1937. They courrurent until in 1948, without result. Of aucuns also showed Tucker to have collected part of the goings beyond of budgets for its personal funds.

He became police officer in Michigan. He pursued the delinquents and attended the horrible results of car accidents what sensitized it with safety.

Shortly after the beginning of the Second world war, it founded Tucker Aviation Corporation to propose a vehicle with the army. Its proposal was not accepted, but it made a small fortune with the development of a rotary gun turret. In 1944, it launched a daring financing campaign to build a truck very innovating, the Tucker “48. It succeeds in renting the Usine of engines of planes Dodge-Chicago, closed since the end of the war, but it produced only one about fifty specimens there.

In 1949, the commission of monitoring of the purse put it in charge, because much technical promises of sophisticated proposals were not maintained. He showed the " for its part; three grands" car (General Motors, Ford and Chrysler) to seek to run it. It was finally cleared, but the financial problems placed its company in liquidation. As for the future half-compartment Talisman, it never exceeded the stage of the drawing table.

Francis Ford Coppola carried out a film in 1988 Tucker: the man and his dreams with Jeff Bridges in the high-speed motorboat.

And also this article of " http://www.mesminiatures.com/histoire/marque/tucker.php" is interesting. Here:

TUCKER

Chapters -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - The American dream - To sell the car before it exists - Doors with opening in dresser - Safety above all - 60 days to construct a prototype - Less than 10 L to the 100 km and 205 km/h with the meter - The three large ones of Strait want to make hood the project - An engine of helicopter - Victim of its success - 155 years of imprisonment and 60.000 dollars of fine - 46 Tucker still roll

The history of Tucker, it is a little the history of David against Goliath. And formidable history of a man, Preston Thomas Tucker, which knew to believe and make accept the American dream. He indeed wanted to build a car comprising a phenomenal sum of innovations. The Tucker Torpedo is a very imposing car and truly revolutionist. It made a success of with démoder the production of the time. That could only irritate the three giants by the American motor-car industry who will get busy to obtain his loss. Without this eagerness against this genious visionary, the face of the American car could have been changed about it… A concentrate of innovations Here the car such as its creator had imagined it:

convey with back engine driving cooling by air maximum speed of 205 km/h panes of safety ejector windshield indeformable cockpit foam instrument panel doors with opening in dresser safety belts with before and with the back consumption of 10 liters to the 100 kilometers headlights in the wings, one of the first lines let us bridge headlights turning with the wheels constitution of the first sales network and repair. History

The American dream Preston Thomas Tucker is regarded as a soft dreamer. It was however a true visionary advances some over his time. After being itself married, it leaves for Détroit to found a family. And with a dream at the head: to design and produce the best car in the world. It will not have of cease to carry it out. It transforms the family barn into research department and factory. Then begins its do-it-yourself of genius. In 1936, the army rejects one of its prototypes of vehicle of attack. Too much fast… Indeed, the vehicle exceeds 50 km/h imposed by the schedule of conditions. The electric turret of this vehicle on the other hand will be immediately adopted. The Tucker turret will be used on the planes and the tanks of the American army during second war.

To sell the car before it exists After the war, Tucker launches its project of new car. It imposes a very precise schedule of conditions: line pontoon integrating the headlights in the wings, engine with the back allowing to arrange bags under the cap before and safety of the passengers. The foregrounds are carried out for launching what he thinks of being the car of tomorrow. He seeks investors. In vain. He has an idea of genius then: to sell its car before it exists! He makes for that publish an article in the press speaking about a revolutionary car. Success is striking down: in less than one week, everyone wants it. The question arises then of knowing where one can get this car which exists for the moment only on plans…

Doors with opening in dresser At the end of 1946, Tucker engages Alexander Sarantos Tremulis, a former adviser having worked at Ford, Cord, Auburn, Plymouth and Duesenberg. This designer with the very rich career will work of 1947 to 1949 for Tucker. Its first work: to improve the pace of the car by supporting aérodynamisme and by modifying the drawing of the doors. It was necessary indeed that these last do not touch any more the pavement when they opened the made-to-order of a dresser. It now remains in Preston Tucker to seek capital and a factory in order to start to assemble its future vehicles.

Safety above all Tucker tries to sell its project near the directors of the Administration of the goods of defense. It setting all on safety. For that, it passes a diaporama showing people wounded at the time of road accidents. II propose its revolving headlights according to the direction of the wheels which light the low sides best, its panes of safety, its safety belts as well as the ejector windshield. The committee will be all the more sensitive to this argument that the three large ones of Strait (General Motor, Chrysler and Ford) completely scorn this point in their production. The committee entrusts to Tucker the enormous factory (15 000 m2) of Chicago. It had been used for manufacture of the B29 planes of the war (Superforteresse). Tucker is subjected to a condition express: to succeed in building 50 vehicles. It enters thus the closed circle of the manufacturers of cars.

60 days to construct a prototype It was necessary to be insane to hold the bet… and it did it. Tucker has 60 days to launch the first prototype and to enter in possession of the factory. Let us recall that at Ford, which controlled the series production, it took nine months between the design and the output of the model! All the Tucker family puts the shoulder to the wheel: his/her Junior son gives up the studies and his Vera wife deals with accountancy. During the 60 days of development of the prototype, many people will get busy to make hood the project. Nothing will stop Tucker however: it will collect parts with breakage (such as for example the transmissions taken on Cord), so that the first vehicle is assembled all the same.

Less than 10 L to the 100 km and 205 km/h with the meter Some modifications compared to the starting concept will be imposed:

The two external headlights do not turn any more with the wheels. Only the central headlight follows the steering angle of the direction. the passage of 24 volts is imposed by the high compression ratio of the engine. It will be carried out thanks to the use of two batteries in series. The engine does not lay out any more injection. The disc brakes are removed. The three large ones of Strait want to make hood the project Everyone speaks about Tucker. And that starts to disturb. The three large car manufacturers of Strait, supported by the high authorities of the Roosevelt government, will get busy to make hood the project. Propelled tutor of Tucker Company, the governor of Illinois Robert Bennington is the apparent link of the sling against Tucker. He will send it to make itinerant publicity through the United States. In same time, the company sees its supply blocked steel. The price of double steel, which is likely to make double the price of Tucker. The governor of Illinois also will try to eliminate all the elements worthy of progress from the car. The engine with the back, the safety belts and many innovations must disappear… Preston Thomas Tucker resists despite everything. He wants to manufacture his car such as he dreamed it.

An engine of helicopter The chance smiles to him finally. The company Air Cooled Motor, which manufactures helicopters in Syracuse, comes to propose at Tucker to repurchase, in March 1948, its steel-works in bad financial position. That should enable him to circumvent the problem of the rise of steel. He also proposes to him with the sale an engine of aluminum seaplane. This engine six cylinders of 5.5 L (335 Ci) announces 166 horses. It will make it possible to finish the first car. This one will be tested in endurance on a race track and will be used once again as publicity. The car will flip over several unfortunately what will only make it possible to validate the ejector windshield.

Victim of its success Put on listening, Tucker is followed 24 hours a day by the FBI. The national radio announces that a financial board of inquiry is on the point of revealing an enormous swindle. According to it, Tucker does not comprise any the announced futuristic characteristics. Moreover, it would have been built starting from elements collected in the scrap merchants. She also announces that the senator of Michigan, Homer Ferguson, which chairs the powerful board of management of stocks of war, will lead itself the investigation. The latter was ordered by the Congress to make the light on the use of the 26 million dollars gathered by Tucker to manufacture the vehicles. When one comes in his residence to stop it, Tucker flees at the wheel of one of its cars, the police force with its cases in the city. The accounts of Tucker are seized by the Commission of monitoring of the Stock Exchange. The closing of the factory is announced whereas 47 cars are produced. The starting contract stipulated that, so that the factory is preserved, 50 vehicles had to be manufactured. It thus misses 3 of them, which must be realized in 4 weeks.

155 years of imprisonment and 60.000 dollars of fine The lawsuit of Tucker takes place in 1949 in the room even where Al Capone was judged. Tucker is shown of swindle, of misleading advertizing, embezzlement by correspondence as well as various attacks with the payment of the Commission of monitoring of the Stock Exchange. It incurs a 155 years maximum sentence of imprisonment and a fine of 60.000 dollars. With the court, the three of Strait influence the jury. They ensure that accountancy is false. But Véra, the woman of Preston, manages to show, invoices with the support, that the advanced sums are quite real. Tucker made a point of only ensuring its pleading. He wants to show that he honoured his agreement well. The jury can see indeed that there are 50 cars parked in front of the law courts. But it is too late. The evidence is not admissible any more. Its insistence exposes it only to one contempt of court. All is… almost well which finishes… not so badly. Tucker is cleared by the jury which insists to go to test the cars. The factory in spite of is very closed and converted as of the morning of the judgment into social housing. Preston with prohibition to continue the adventure. There will not be thus other Tucker.

46 Tucker still roll Tucker actually succeeded in its bet to produce 50 Tucker before the closing-down of its factory. On the 50 produced, 46 currently furrow the world. Tucker dies of disease six years after the lawsuit. But its ideas always live. Its innovations, in the style, the technique and safety (line pontoon, safety belts, brakes discs, ejector windshield of safety, sales network and of repair), were gradually adopted in Détroit and everywhere in the world. They from now on are used by all the current manufacturers. For the anecdote, Tucker was definitely incorrigible. Before dying, it will initiate a new project. He wants this time throw a sport scar. The latter was to take the name of Carioca whereas its manufacture was envisaged in Brazil. The death of Tucker in 1955 will stop Net the new adventure.

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