Tyson Bowman

Have you ever seen the movie, “Tucker?” It is a true story about a man, Preston Tucker, with a dream, a vision, and a horrific struggle of accomplishing it . Preston Tucker was ahead of his time with innovation in automobiles. The car he designed in the 1940s had newer looking features than many cars today. When he first came up with the design for the Tucker car he knew he still had to raise millions of dollars to mass produce it. Everyone he tried to get money from basically laughed in has face, but the funny thing was that he seemed to laugh with them.

At the time he designed the Tucker, the big 3 (GM, Ford, and Chrysler) in Detroit still largely controlled the automobile manufacturing industry. The Big 3 were so powerful that they seemed to control a piece of the U.S. Government. The Big 3 did not want the Tucker car the come into existence because they knew that it was a better idea than any of their automobiles. The Tucker was designed with a futuristic look, a rear engine, multiple safety features, and could do 130mph. It was the first of its kind.

Preston Tucker eventually raised the money to start a manufacturing operation in Chicago. Shortly after production started he was arrested on charges of fraud. One morning Preston Tucker came into work and was reading a newspaper about how the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) had raided his plant and he had been arrested. Shortly after that, SEC officials burst in his office and arrested him. The Big 3, the government, and the press had all worked together to bring a good, honest man down.

He was eventually found not guilty (duh?), but his automobile manufacturing plant was shut down for good. After he was found not guilty, 50 Tucker cars waited outside the court room that day. As all in attendance walked outside the court room, the judge, the jury, and everyone else was stunned at the Tucker car’s design and they all got to take rides.  Those were the only 50 Tucker cars ever made. The Tucker never produced millions of automobiles, but the Tucker’s legacy is so much more valuable. After realizing that another Tucker car would never be made, at the end of the movie Preston Tucker said, “Its having the dream that counts.” Therefore, I guess many of us have made it to the other side.

The 1948 Tucker (tight huh?):