Preston biography tucker automobile
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Preston Tucker
American automobile entrepreneur
For the baseball player, see Preston Tucker (baseball).
Preston Tucker | |
|---|---|
| Born | Preston Thomas Tucker (1903-09-21)September 21, 1903 Capac, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | December 26, 1956(1956-12-26) (aged 53) Ypsilanti, Michigan, U.S. |
| Known for | Tucker 48, Tucker Combat Car, Tucker Gun Turret, Tucker Aviation Corporation, Franklin Engine Company/Air Cooled Motors. |
| Spouse | Vera Tucker (born Vera A. Fuqua) (married 1923-1956, his death) |
| Children | 5 |
Preston Thomas Tucker (21 September 1903 – 26 December 1956) was an American automobile entrepreneur who developed the innovative Tucker 48 sedan, initially nicknamed the "Tucker Torpedo", an automobile which introduced many features that have since become widely used in modern cars.
Production of the Tucker '48 was shut down on 3 March 1949 amid scandal and controversial accusations of stock fraud, of which Tucker was eventually acquitted. The 1
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Preston Tucker
Hailed as a visionär by some and a con artist by others, Preston Tucker (1903-1956) was the man behind an innovative, futuristic-looking car that debuted amid great fanfare during the summer of 1948. Within just a couple of years, however, the Tucker Corporation had folded in the wake of suspicions about its founder's business practices.
With the post-war economy booming during the summer of 1948, American consumers were in a buying mood, especially for cars. But the people crowding dealers' showrooms were yearning for something more exciting than the offerings of General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, whose designs seemed old-fashioned and unimaginative. Into this void stepped Preston Tucker, a brash entrepreneur and master of promotion who insisted that he had just what Americans wanted-"The bil of Tomorrow Today." His namesake automobile boasted a radical new aerodynamic look and a number of innovative safety features. At first, it seemed that Tucker had indee
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Launching a torpedo across the bow of Detroit’s automakers
Preston Tucker was a gifted entrepreneur and technological visionary who challenged the automotive establishment. Born in 1903 in Capac, Michigan, Tucker was always obsessed with automobiles. By the age of 16, he was already making money buying and flipping cars and had left school to work at Cadillac as a clerk. Tucker would later join the Lincoln Park, Michigan police department because he wanted to drive police vehicles, but was later banned from driving them after using a blowtorch to cut a hole in the dashboard of one to allow heat from the engine to warm the cabin.
Tucker later worked on a Ford Motor Company assembly line while running a gas station, where he began selling Studebaker automobiles as a side-business. He was soon hired as a full-time automobile salesman and sold numerous makes, including Stutz, Chrysler, Pierce-Arrow, and Dodge. During the 1930’s, Tucker developed an interest