The Cyclops Car: The History of the Tucker 48 Torpedo

foreign [Music] has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire [Applause] on December 8 1941 one day after the attacks on Pearl Harbor the United States declared war on the Japanese empire and became actively involved in the second world war and right from this moment onwards a lot had to change the entire American economy was turned upside down in order to prepare it for war production especially the automotive industry had to abandon regular car production in favor of making war-related materials some 50 000 airplanes 130 000 engines 17 000 heavy guns and 25 000 light guns had to be bowled passenger car production came to a complete stop and the last passenger car was built on the 9th of February 1942. [Music] hooray the war is over and if there is one nation that could claim total Victory it was the United States which also happened to be not too much affected by the war overall it was time to pick up all habits and move forward like buying a new car to celebrate the good times preferably one with radical new styling and the latest and greatest Tech that was invented during the War years it was open season on the car market and car manufacturers were well aware of this new cars would practically sell themselves they rushed to get back as quick as possible to regular car production to cash in on the pent-up demand it was a race who could get there the first but there was only one slight problem there was a lasting shortage of Steel and other materials used for car production the result was that car make is presented quote unquote new models for the 1946 model year there were nothing more than a carryover of the 1942 model year so right before the last car rolled off the assembly line and not only that they were also crudely built the bumpers and exterior trim for instance were often painted instead of chromed because of the shortage they simply didn't have the time or resources to come up with something radically new and meet consumer expectations new cars were only available in limited numbers and on top of that not even all that new but outdated and so this created a bit of dissonance between demand and Supply the U.S car industry couldn't give the people what they wanted and all car makers were back to square one they all had to restart their production lines and in this limited time frame from delayed production to back to regular output lies an opportunity various people saw a golden opportunity in trying to best the established car industry by offering something that actually was new and advanced and overall a better choice than what the big three had to offer and be well established by the time they caught up with their production and be a serious competitor like Henry John Kaiser who established the Kaiser brand in 1945 and wanted to be the fourth of the big three or like Gary Davis who came up with the radical Davis diving three-wheeler and so there were other Contraptions built in the home garage that would truly be the car of the future right but there was one man that was going to overrule them all this man Preston Tucker [Music] Preston Thomas Tucker born at the start of the 20th century is what we would call a certified karna today throughout his life he worked at various jobs in the Auto industry and even developed race cars fueled by an endless interest in cars by the time the second world war broke out he jumped in on the need for raw material and designed his own lightweight armored turret combat car named the Tucker tiger making money through as many past Ventures as soon as the war was over he understood he could finally realize his Ultimate Dream his very own car and company that would out-compete the established industry right from the start and this was a once in a lifetime moment building a car and car company out of nothing is a huge task even back then it's been a while a new company was established and a fierce competition from The Big Three who was no joke what would make his first Future car stand out and lure customers away from the other showrooms two things which general car makers lacked at that moment a new and fresh design and advanced or at least up-to-date features the car of tomorrow today however it wouldn't take long before the established car makers would catch up as soon as the shortages were resolved so Tucker sought a third unique selling point so that people would choose his future car over the others but um what would that be aha safety see safety was largely ignored by the car industry it was an afterthought if considered at all see before the flashy fins of the 50s cars were already sold by stressing their beard and power smooth quiet and easy to operate durable dependable and economical to run but safety was none of that cars had no crumple zones no backup lights no Advanced brakes hard metal Interiors they were death traps The Story Goes that you could sometimes tell what cars people drove as the logo was imprinted in the forehead after a collision so to speak but safety could be the name of the game here Tucker wanted to make sure to make a car that was futuristic to look at modern in its equipment and above all safe to drive the safest out there [Music] in 1944 when the first signs appeared at the war might end soon Preston already set out to establish his future company he made a list of requirements for his future car like the many safety Innovations and searched for a car designer who could wrap it all up in a nice and attractive package Tucker found car designer George S Lawson who used to work as a standing Chief over at Buick but the story goes that he was fired from his job because his design proposals for the future Buicks were deemed to radical just take a look some of the sketches feature even a third headline oddly enough but Tucker didn't care in fact he liked Lawson's work so much that he was allowed to continue with his design concept and make a first prototype out of it he started to work on it the day the company called Tucker Corporation was founded in February 1946 but never got to complete it after a disagreement a couple months later in December still Preston used his design sketches in a scale model for promotional purposes to get the general public excited for what was Yet to Come Preston looked for a new designer and found Alex tremolis who designed various Court Auburn and Duesenberg models back in the 30s he was given a task of taking Lawson's design and continued to develop it into a functional production model in roughly seven days on the last day of 1946 Tucker approved tremolo's design the original work of Lawson was still intact but was improved by Alex and the car looked much like a rocket the nickname torpedo was born that eventually scrapped because of a bad connotation with war that just ended Alex continued to work on and off at the project and Preston also hired a new york-based design firm to fully complete the design process of the talkatopo the Tucker 48 and by March of 1947 the design of the car was fully finished and it was time to move on and actually build the car in the meantime Preston was making great steps with everything he needed related to the car and the production of the car because the only thing he had at the time was a vision and a design sketch when it comes to running a business with his flamboyance and salesman techniques he managed to hire a parade of higher level Executives with a general American car industry to join his company so check these people had a lot of contacts in and around Chicago and Preston managed to lease the Dodge Chicago aircraft engine plant a 475 acre or almost two square kilometer Factory building that was originally built during the war for production of airplane engines and also happened to be the largest Factory in the world at the time Tucker thought it would reduce cost if everything was built on the One Roof instead of separate factories so check and then there was a dealership Network almost everyone in the US had heard about Tucker and this revolutionary car so there were almost lines of Car Dealers wanting to sell this new car setting up a network was easy so check and of course money was always an issue you need money to make money Tucker managed to raise around 25 million dollars by issuing stocks and convincing investors that hey I got a plan and I got a car let's go he also received money by issuing dealership licenses and last but not least he also made money by offering Tucker accessories before the official launch of the car consumers could buy a radio or seat covers ahead of actual production and through this way they could get a spot on the waiting list now does that sound familiar but anyway check now Preston Tucker was set and ready to rock and could boast about a lot of things he had half the Auto industry Executives in his pocket through clever advertising everyone in America knew something radical would come along he had the largest Factory in the world he had an extensive dealer network of 2000 dealers set up and was looking to sell the cars worldwide and oh yeah I even designed the most revolutionary car ever but wait a minute where was this car even after finalizing the Prototype sketches it was time to build the actual prototype nicknamed the tin Goose the very first Tucker car had to be built so that it could be showcased around the country and real people in the car was hand billed in the limited time frame between late winter of 1947 where the design sketch was finished in June 1947 when Preston had planned the official release of his very first car on June 13 1947 Preston invited some 3 000 people over at his humongous Factory in Chicago to come and see what all the hype of the past three years was about he was going to reveal the Tucker 48. right before the launch things didn't go so smooth the night before the Prototype collapsed under its own weight but was fixed in the morning the experimental engine was very loud and Tucker asked the band to play a bit louder than usual to cover it up and last but not least the car was driven onto the stage the coolant boiled over creating some steam but all this didn't matter because here it is ladies and gentlemen give it up for the Revolutionary Tucker 48. [Music] foreign people went wild what they saw was a long low and fast looking car with futuristic high-tech and the latest and greatest in safety equipment what is it that we're looking at what makes this car so special here is what Tucker wanted in his revolutionary car initially Preston wanted the car with rear-wheel drive with the engine in the rear where it should be according to Preston only very few cars before that were rear engine a massive and high-tech engine a 589 or 9.7 liter six cylinder with hydraulic valves instead of a camshaft a fuel injection instead of a regular carburetor the engine was placed on the subframe that acted like a well kind of like a drawer allowing for easy access and repair in fact a quick engine swap would be possible each rear wheel would have a direct drive torque converter instead of a regular transmission disc brakes all around at a time when drum brakes were still the norm and independent springless suspension at a time when cars still use suspension from the Stone Age and when it comes to the safety equipment a minimalist interior with the in-car equipment in reach of the driver pen a dashboard instead of a hard metal one a roll bar integrated in the roof early version of side impact crumple zones a windscreen that would not shatter but pop out in case of an accident and finally Tucker's main body trick the third headlight in the middle that would turn when turning the steering wheel so that it would shine a light on there where you're going to it's an early version of cornering lamps this list goes to show that the car was truly revolutionary many of its features would only find their way on passenger Carson 2 decades later if not recently but of course not everything Preston demanded were present on the final prototypes after much fiddling around the massive engine for instance proved to be not the right choice and was swapped for an air code 334 cubic inch or 5.5 liter Franklin aircraft engine originally intended for helicopters also the disc brakes and the individual torque converters in the wheels didn't make it but the rest was still there oh boy finally a car that would teach the established car industry a lesson and change it forever [Music] although 99 of the attendees at the reveal and those interest in the Tucker 48 were absolutely excited about the car there was this one percent that took the show and the car with a grain of salt some people went on to criticize the car like popular journalist Drew Pearson who only accused the car for being faulty and not actually meet the list of features as advertised by Preston and then there were some people that criticized the man someone figured that somehow it doesn't add up if you're able to collect 20 million dollars without even building a single car and Truth to be told is that it was a lot of show but not a lot of go at that moment but this was about to change after the grand reveal Preston was haunted work to get the assembly line up and running but in doing so he started to experience the setbacks as a result of the allegations I just mentioned for instance Preston wanted to acquire two steel males but the deal was canceled and on top of that the SEC the Securities and Exchange Commission an organization is about protecting investors started to interfere as well the SEC looked over Preston's shoulder from the very beginning in previous years there were some other very promising startup companies backed by government funds who after all turned out to be frauds and burned early investors including the state and although Tucker never took a dime from the US government the SEC had its doubts when they found out that Preston raised 20 million all alone without a single thing to show for it and sold accessories ahead of production maybe it wasn't a scam but it sure as hell looked like it and if that wasn't enough one of Preston's trusted chairmans felt the heat of the SEC and decided to jump the ship in a letter that he wrote to the SEC he declared that he would distance himself from the company and also stated that the Tucker 48 was a horrible car and Preston a naive man this raised even more eyebrows over at the SEC [Music] from here on out it was a proverbial excrement that hit the fan in a way that we would describe it today as cancer culture Preston Tucker got canceled one newspaper after another came up with Sensational articles that all revolved around the same story took up as a fraud and he was only in it for the money and not for the cars stock stunned the plummet former deals were canceled and prospective dealers started to demand answers the SEC started the trial against the Dhaka Corporation to see if they could let him testify that he indeed was a fraud yet the trial with a different route whatever the SEC brought to the table it was always rejected by Tucker's defense attorneys backed up by facts and solid reasoning in fact the target Corporation was so convinced of their own right that it didn't even do their own defense and that was a first or according to one of the defense attorneys it's impossible to present the defense when there has been no offense the Tucker Corporation went even so far to say that if Preston really only was in it for the money wouldn't have been easier ways to scam people than set up a 25 million dollar company the final verdict came in on January the 22nd 1950 Tucker was not found guilty on all kinds of accusations it was a hollow victory for Preston because if there were someone somewhere that did want to destroy the taka Corporation for whatever reason then they failed officially but succeeded unofficially the damage was done there was officially nothing wrong with the Tucker Corporation but Preston was undeniably associated with being a fraud it's almost ironic really just how Preston used big words to sell his idea without a single car to back it up so the Press kept accusing him for being a fraud without a single piece of solid evidence to back it up in the meantime during the trials some loyal employees managed to build 50 Tuckers and each and every Tucker is slightly different than the other but it was a lost cause the trail took a lot of time and money and although Preston won almost all of his dealers wanted their money back the taco Corporation was no longer Preston himself tried on enough to revive and realize a new car company in the early 50s but that were nowhere and on December the 26th 1956 he passed away this wouldn't be a net solder reviews episode if we didn't go a bit deeper into the subject because Let's do an imaginary exercise what would have happened if Tucker succeeded in setting up a modest car company selling the Tucker not bothered by legal cases and didn't die in 56 what would have happened some articles say that we missed out on the car of the future that would drastically change the Auto industry in its day and would have become a massive success and who knows would still be around today honestly from my perspective foreign I think Tucker would only last roughly until the mid 50s and then either go bankrupt merge or be bought out by a logic car maker and I have some solid reasons to think that way so you've gone through the time sweat tears money and pain of years and years of research and development and the creation of a car and you've just released it great good job when are we going to see the Next Generation the late 40s and especially the 50s the larger car makers introduced the concept of annual design changes usually by throwing loads of money at it you know update the exterior styling every year by changing a grill pattern or at different bright work The Styling trend of today is outdated tomorrow a company like Tucker would never have the resources to keep up with this exhaustive trend Tucker could maybe at best release a new model or it would be a heavily face lifted Tucker 48 but would probably look outdated by the mid-50s and therefore undesirable with a price tag of around four thousand dollars in 1948 it was a price tag one could get a top of the line Cadillac for it was practically the most expensive regular passenger car on the US market and this was hard to justify since it wasn't really a luxury car to begin with you paid for the features not the brand and this would prove to be a huge problem by the mid-1950s when the big three started a vicious price War lowering overall car prices a car like the Tucker would be a lost cause not only car companies did not invest in automobile safety the general public also didn't really care about safety either it just wasn't really on top of that priority list think of it like smoking you can also see that by the few safety concept vehicles from the 50s and the boatloads of the radical hey look at me concept cars car safety only really started to gain an interest in the late 1960s and 70s only then the Tucker might have stood a chance so even if Tucker did manage to push it through he would sell a car in the 1950s that was aging it features not a lot of people cared about and sold for a price tag very few people could afford or were willing to pay I guess stalker would go the way like many other small-time American car makers like Studebaker Packard and Hudson it would be a second Kaiser Fraser off to a great start by the late 40s with surpassed by the competition by the 50s still Preston left us with an automotive Oddity and a great story that has been covered by numerous articles books this YouTube video and even a feature film but above all he left us a car that was truly ahead of its time like a decade or two column a con man call him a genius but when is the last time you introduced a cyclops on wheels [Music]

Channel: Ed's Auto Reviews

Views: 180,977

Keywords: Automotive, History, Ed's Auto Reviews, Tucker, Torpedo, Alex Tremulis, America, Car, Preston, Tucker 48

Id: j-J4zFuwsig

Length: 22min 29sec (1349 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 23 2022

Reddit Comments

[u/AnonymousSkull]

Interesting story. I also had no idea Coppola made a film about Tucker.

[u/shiningpathgorilla]

It's funny they put the T on last for the big sign at the factory.

[u/kowalski71]

I got to photograph one of these recently, absolute treat. They're really funky, the interior layout is amazingly roomy with no tunnel. Even more so than the Toronado.

[u/DigBickWonder]

This is one of the coolest designs of a classic car I have ever seen