This Month in Tucker History

1946 - The January 1946 issue of PIC Magazine featured a story by Charles T. Pearson, a freelance automotive reporter, about the revolutionary “Tucker Torpedo” automobile on the drawing board. But it was the December 1946 “Tucker Torpedo” story in Science Illustrated that gave many their first look at Preston Tucker’s dream car and a real sense he was serious. A photo showed the George Lawson designed “Torpedo On Wheels” that looked “more like a Buck Rogers Special” than any auto of its day.

1946 - Just two days after Christmas 1946, and within days of seeing the story, automotive designer Alex Tremulis called Preston Tucker and asked for an interview. They met the very next day for a 15-minute meeting that turns into three hours, and ends with Alex landing a styling consultant contract for his employer, the design firm of Tammen and Denison of Chicago. On New Year’s Eve, just four days later, Alex had already finished several drawings and presents them to Preston Tucker. This meeting lost Tammen and Denison the Tucker contract as Preston hired Alex outright and appointed him Tucker Corporation Styling Chief.

1947 - By December 1947, all in-house work on the “Tucker 589” engine was canceled as the results proved to be “completely unsatisfactory” and the company began exploring other engine options with outside firms. Contracts were signed with Hoffman Motor Development Company of Detroit, MI, who would build six engines, as well as with Ex-Cello-O Fuel Injection Systems, who proposed adapting a Jacobs Aircraft Engine for use in the Tucker. The Ypsilanti Machine and Tool Company, owned by Preston’s mother, pursued yet another engine. The Ypsi group worked on converting four Aircooled Motors-built “Franklin 335” helicopter engines purchased from Bell Aircraft from air-cooled to water-cooled. In the end, these projects paid off well and they found the engine to power the new Tucker ’48 – the converted Franklin 335.

1956 - The month of December also marks great sadness in Tucker history and we mourn the loss of four true pioneers. On the day after Christmas 1956, Preston Tucker passed away of lung cancer. Stylist Alex Tremulis passed away in December 1991, followed by the death of Tucker interior stylist Audrey Moore-Hodges five years later in December 1996, and Tucker design team member Philip Egan in December 2008.

(Post credit: Jay Follis)

Margie Petersen, 1935 - 2011

Robert & Margie Petersen

The Los Angeles Times reports the passing of Margie Petersen on November 25th in Beverly Hills, CA.  Margie and her husband, Robert, were Los Angeles-area philanthropists whose many cultural contributions included the creation of the Petersen Automotive Museum, which is the home of Tucker No. 1030.  Robert Petersen passed away in 2007 at the age of 80.

(Post credit: Kit Fox and LATimes.com; photo credit: LATimes.com)

Out & About with Tucker No. 1017

Tucker No. 1017 at the Winter Park Concours d'Elegance

Eileen Carpenter reports that Tucker No. 1017 had the honor of appearing in Trophy Row at the Concours d'Elegance in Winter Park, FL this past Sunday, November 6th.  This is the second recent appearance of No. 1017 in the Sunshine State.

(Post credit: Kit Fox and Eileen Carpenter; photo credit: Eileen Carpenter)

New Boyd's Crystal Art Glass Tucker Now Available

Boyd's Crystal Art Glass Tucker
in Cobaline Green

Boyd's Crystal Art Glass of Cambridge, OH has recently released a new Tucker figurine in a color they call Cobaline Green.  Click here to order yours today!

(Post credit: Kit Fox; photo credit: Boyd's Crystal Art Glass website)

A Tucker Abroad: No. 1045

Tucker No. 1045

Tucker No. 1045 has emigrated only recently from the shores of its American homeland to its new home "down under" near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Until 2009, No. 1045's most-recent owner was John M. O'Quinn of Houston, TX, and it was the crown jewel of his private museum, O'Quinn's Classy Classic Cars.  Mr. O'Quinn was reportedly a very flamboyant trial attorney who represented plaintiffs in Texas lawsuits against tobacco companies and other high-profile cases.  Tragically, Mr. O'Quinn perished in an automobile accident in October 2009.  Previously, No. 1045 had been owned by Nick Jenin and a succession of other owners.

After Mr. O'Quinn's passing, No. 1045 eventually came into the possession of RM Auctions, which offered it at the annual Monterey, CA auction in August 2010.  The car earned a record auction price of $1,127,500 (including fees).  The lucky winner promptly shipped No. 1045 (now affectionately know as "Tuckeroo") to his home near Melbourne.  Shortly after arriving, however, Tuckeroo made a huge splash in its inaugural appearance at the Motoclassica car show in October 2010.  It has subsequently been featured in a video hosted and produced by TACA member Brendan Edgerton and has appeared at other car shows around Australia.

(Post credit: Kit Fox, TACA message board, Brendan Edgerton; photo credit: TACA website)

This Month in Tucker History

1946 - It was in November of 1946 that articles detailing concepts for the “Car of the Future” appeared on newsstands in both Mechanics Illustrated and Popular Mechanics magazines. A year later in November 1947, the Tucker Corporation was well on its way to bringing the Tucker ’48 to the car-hungry public.

1947 - The company launched a national advertising campaign featuring full-page (or two-page) ads in Colliers, Saturday Evening Post, Life, The New Yorker and Time magazines. Its ten-year lease of the former Dodge Chicago plant formerly began and the company was awarded six different patents. The day after the failed testing of the 589 engine, Tucker Corporation contracted with Hoffman Motor Development Company of Detroit, MI to build six engines. In the arrangement, Borg Warner Corporation would also develop three experimental transmissions for Tucker. The development of each would end just four months later when the Aircooled Motors 335 engine was selected to power the Tucker ’48.

1948 - By November of 1948, Tucker Corporation sees the value of its stock fall to an all-time low and suspends plant operations. In less than a year, criminal indictments are issued against Preston Tucker and seven associates, and a trial begins in October of 1949. By the following January all defendants in the case are found NOT GUILTY.

(Post credit: Jay Follis)

Tucker No. 1017 Wins "Best of Show"

Tucker No. 1017 at the
Lake Mirror Concours d'Elegance

Eileen and Keith Carpenter, the proud owners of Tucker No. 1017, report that they won "Best of Show" at the Lake Mirror Concours d'Elegance in Lakeland, FL this past Saturday, October 15th.  Congratulations, Eileen and Keith, and safe travels back home to Colorado with No. 1017!

(Post credit: Kit Fox and Eileen Carpenter; photo credit: Eileen Carpenter)

A Tucker Abroad: No. 1035

Tucker No. 1035

Tucker No. 1035 has had a long, strange and sad history--but one which may ultimately have a happy ending.  It started in December 1948 when No. 1035 was shipped to Sao Paulo, Brazil, to the first Tucker dealer in Brazil, Jaime Gantmanis.

Over the years, the car changed hands several times, eventually coming into the possession of Roberto Eduardo Lee in 1962.  The car had also been extensively modified, including the interior, chassis and drivetrain.  Tragically, Roberto Lee died in 1975, beginning a legal battle among his heirs that lasted more than 35 years.  No. 1035 and the rest of Lee's collection sat deteriorating and vandalized while the legal battles dragged on.  By early 2011,  however, the city of Cacapava, Brazil (which owns the building that housed Lee's Museu Paulista do Antiguidades Mecanicas) took possession of No. 1035 and the rest of  Lee's collection and relocated them all to a more secure location.  We understand that the city and Brazilian Tucker fans would like to try to restore No. 1035, and we wish them well in that effort.

(Post credit: Jay Follis, Kit Fox and TACA message board; photo credit: TACA website) 

Tucker No. 1045 at the Australian National Show & Shine

Tony Decinque informs us that Tucker No. 1045 was on display at the Australian National Show & Shine in Euroa, Victoria, Australia over the past weekend.  See more photos from the event on the TACA Facebook page.

(Post and photo credits: Tony Decinque)

This Month in Tucker History

1946 - In October of 1946, the National Housing Agency (NHA) awarded the Lustron Corporation, an upstart company ready to build pre-fab steel housing, a lease on the gigantic Dodge Chicago plant. However, five weeks earlier, the War Assets Administration had signed an agreement with Preston Tucker awarding him a lease on the same factory. In response to protest by Tucker, the NHA's Office of Housing Expediter issued a press release stating that "Tucker had refused to allow Lustron joint occupancy and therefore the plant was awarded to Lustron." The press release also stated that "other options" had been explored, such as either company using other war surplus plants in Chicago or even the Curtiss-Wright Plant in Lockland, OH.

1947 - Nearly a year later, in September of 1947, the court ruled on behalf of the Tucker Corporation, stating that the agreement between Tucker Corporation and the War Assets Administration was, in fact, valid. In October of 1947, Tucker Corporation placed a winning bid with the War Assets Administration for the Granite City blast furnace at $2,751,000, only to have it awarded to lower bidder.

1948 - The nearly three-week-long testing of seven Tucker cars on the famed "Brickyard" of the Indy 500 Speedway was completed in October of 1948. One car, serial #1027, rolled over several times during a high speed crash on the track. The car appeared to be heavily damaged, yet the safety windshield had popped out just as planned and the driver, unhurt during the incident, was able to drive the car away.

1949 - October of 1949 proved to be one of the more difficult months for Preston Tucker and Tucker Corporation, as the fraud trial against Tucker and others began in Federal Court. By January of 1950, Preston Tucker and all the other defendants were acquitted on all charges, which included mail fraud, conspiracy, and several Securities and Exchange Commission infractions.

1950 - The final public auction of Tucker Corporation assets took place in October of 1950 at the Chicago Tucker plant grounds. Just days before, during the legal deposition of a news reporter, it was indicated that the SEC had illegally leaked information about Tucker investigation to the press prior to the SEC taking any action. The damage, however, had already been done, and the twenty-two Tucker cars on site, thirteen without transmissions, and the thirty-two Franklin Aircooled engines, were sold at auction. One car located in New York, a test chassis, several parts and various all non-Tucker company vehicles were sold by Samuel Winternitz & Company at a reported a $47,990.00--just pennies on the dollar.

1993 - It wasn't until October of 1993, following the very successful lobbying effort by the Tucker Automobile Club of America, that the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, considered the "nation's museum," added a Tucker to its collection. The United States Marshals' Service donated Tucker #1039, which car had been seized in 1992 by the Drug Enforcement Administration following a narcotics investigation, to the museum rather than sending it to the auction block.

2000 - The 1988 Francis Ford Coppola/George Lucas film, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, was released on DVD in October of 2000. This much-anticipated version featured an original 1948 company promotional film and included several bonus features, such as interviews and a "making of" the film featurette.

(Post credit: Jay Follis)