This Month in Tucker History

1903 - On September 21, 1903, Preston Thomas Tucker is born on a peppermint farm near Capac, MI.

1947 - It was September 12, 1947 that the court ruled on behalf of the Tucker Corporation. The agreement Tucker was able to reach with the War Assets Administration requiring an initial payment of $15,000,000 to lease the Chicago plant was ruled valid. Tucker gained formal control of the former Dodge B-29 engine plant and showed $15,007,000 had been raised by the sale of stock, yet both came six months behind schedule due to court delays.

September 1947 also saw the resignation of Tucker Corporation Board Chairman, Harry Toulmin, who cited “Preston Tucker’s hard sell tactics” as his reason for leaving.

While a lawsuit by Tucker stockholders asked the court for receivership of the corporation, in September 1947 six Tucker cars began testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway—the famous “Brickyard,” best known for the Indy 500 race.

1949 - The September 1949 issue of Reader's Digest carried a reprint of the June Collier’s article that had attacked Tucker and called the car a fraud. Bad press seemed to snowball and, on the 22nd, a reorganization hearing was held on Tucker Corporation. One year later, Preston Tucker and Corporation, now acquitted of all charges, sued the publishers of both Collier’s and Reader’s Digest for damages totaling $19 million.

2000 - The Tucker Historical Collection and Library (HCL), the Tucker Automobile Club of America’s archive collection and exhibit, was established on the grounds of the Gilmore Car Museum located in Hickory Corners, MI. The display features a recreated 1948 office, reminiscent of what one may have found at Tucker Corporation, along with Tucker #1047. On September 30, 2000, Mary Lee Tucker-McAndrew proudly dedicated this new venture in the memory of her parents—Preston and Vera Tucker.

(Post credit: Jay Follis)