Tucker's Great Grandsons (with the beards)
1948 Tucker
Some might say that Preston Tucker was a genius, and whether that's true, or not, is certainly debatable. But, I think we all could agree that he was a visionary with his car, and it's design. Advanced concepts that would take years and even decades for other car manufacturers to follow suit with, if at all. Air cooled rear engines, front wheel drive, electric assist manual transmission shifter, safety features largely unheard of in production cars at the time. Features like pop out windshield in the event of an accident, disc brakes, seat belts, padded dash, front right passenger safety zone, a third headlight that moved as the car turned, surely, I missed some. Some of these already had found a home in his first effort, the '48, and if he had remained in business his later models would have included those items not yet on the 48. The car I will show over the next series of shots was present at the annual Lime Rock Labor Day event in '24. It happens to be the 44th one produced out of the 51 he made before he, and his company got into trouble. The Big 3 had to be threatened by Preston's dream car, and one has to wonder what role they had played in Tucker's eventual demise? What made seeing this car special at the show was a chance to meet and talk with Tucker's great grandsons, twins I believe, and they had brought number 44 to the show.
Tucker's Great Grandsons (with the beards)
1948 Tucker
Some might say that Preston Tucker was a genius, and whether that's true, or not, is certainly debatable. But, I think we all could agree that he was a visionary with his car, and it's design. Advanced concepts that would take years and even decades for other car manufacturers to follow suit with, if at all. Air cooled rear engines, front wheel drive, electric assist manual transmission shifter, safety features largely unheard of in production cars at the time. Features like pop out windshield in the event of an accident, disc brakes, seat belts, padded dash, front right passenger safety zone, a third headlight that moved as the car turned, surely, I missed some. Some of these already had found a home in his first effort, the '48, and if he had remained in business his later models would have included those items not yet on the 48. The car I will show over the next series of shots was present at the annual Lime Rock Labor Day event in '24. It happens to be the 44th one produced out of the 51 he made before he, and his company got into trouble. The Big 3 had to be threatened by Preston's dream car, and one has to wonder what role they had played in Tucker's eventual demise? What made seeing this car special at the show was a chance to meet and talk with Tucker's great grandsons, twins I believe, and they had brought number 44 to the show.