Precious Metal: Tucker 48

Tucker 48 made to eclipse all else on road

Apr 19, 2009

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Special to the Star

The domestic auto industry was shaped by tremendous forces during the 1940s. Following Pearl Harbor, the U.S. needed planes, tanks, guns and bullets in a hurry. It turned to the automakers, already set up for mass production.

The last new car was built in February 1942, and with factories producing war materials, no civilian vehicles were made for model years 1943 through 1945. When production finally resumed, most 1946 and 1947 models were just pre-war body designs with reworked trim.

In Chicago, though, a whole new model was coming together, the brainchild of auto salesman Preston Tucker. He envisioned an automobile that would eclipse anything else on the road. Named for the year it would appear, it was called the Tucker 48.

It certainly was different. Designed by Alex Tremulis – who had worked for several companies including General Motors, Ford and Auburn – its engine was mounted in the rear, it had a fully independent suspension, and its central headlight turned with the wheels. It was sleek and low, but its recessed, flat floor gave it exceptional interior room, and its doors were cut into the roof for easier entry.

The front and rear seats were interchangeable to reduce wear. Tucker was also determined it would be the world's safest car, and to that end, its padded interior included a compartment where, in theory, a passenger could duck if a crash seemed imminent. Tucker also wanted seat belts – virtually unknown then – but was talked out of it by his dealers, who feared buyers would assume the car wasn't safe if it needed such a feature.

Original plans specified a 589-cubic-inch (9.6 L) engine, with a torque converter at each end of the crankshaft to power the rear wheels directly. But problems plagued the prototype, and finally, Tucker used modified six-cylinder helicopter engines, converted to water cooling, and rated at 166 hp and an incredible 372 lb.-ft. of torque. The earliest transmissions were adapted from a front-wheel-drive 1930s Cord.

Could the little company have become a giant? Costs soared, wiping out profits, while production delays eroded buyers' confidence in the cars. Finally, Tucker's hefty stock issue prompted an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He was acquitted, but the firm was finished.

Tucker always maintained there was a conspiracy by other automakers to put him out of business, but the simplest explanation is probably correct: Launching a car from scratch is very expensive, and Tucker was woefully underfunded, with only about half the money needed to make it work.

Of the 51 cars built, 47 are known to exist today. They rarely change hands, but start around $200,000 (U.S.) when they do; in 2008, one sold at auction for $1.1 million.

In 1955, Tucker envisioned a sporty, inexpensive car, and even visited Brazil with the goal of producing it there, but it never went beyond rough sketches. He died a year later, eternally famous for the car that could have been.

Toronto Star