Tucker Torpedo
The Tucker Torpedo, officially known as the Tucker '48, was an ambitious automobile conceived by Preston Tucker in the aftermath of World War II. Aimed at providing an innovative, affordable car for the American public, the Tucker Torpedo featured a striking design, including a unique third headlight that turned with the steering to illuminate the path ahead. This prototype, known as the "Tin Goose," was introduced in 1947 and showcased advanced safety and performance features, such as disc brakes, padded dashboards, and four-wheel independent suspension.
Despite its innovative design, the Tucker Torpedo faced significant challenges, including financial difficulties and skepticism from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Production was abruptly halted following two investigations by the SEC, which ultimately accused Tucker of fraud, although he was found innocent. In total, only fifty-one units of the Tucker Torpedo were completed before the company ceased operations. Today, however, the Tucker Torpedo is celebrated as a visionary classic, with its design elements later adopted by the automotive industry, and the surviving models are highly sought after by collectors.
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Tucker Torpedo
Identification Experimental car built in 1948
Although Preston Tucker’s “car of tomorrow” pioneered many features that would later become standard in American automobiles, it had little chance to succeed. Bad publicity and a financial scandal doomed the car, whose production ceased after only fifty-one models had been produced.
Preston Tucker had a dream of building a car that every American could afford. He began designing and planning his new car in the aftermath of World War II, during which all production of passengers automobiles had been halted so that the automobile industry could turn its attention to manufacturing military vehicles and equipment. After the war, the American public was hungry for new cars, and the time was ripe for innovative designs.
Tucker commissioned the well-known automobile designer Alex Tremulis to design a four-door sedan and had engineers beat sheet iron to build it. The completely handmade prototype, dubbed the “Tin Goose,” premiered in June of 1947. The most striking design feature of the car was a third headlight, mounted in the center of the grill, that turned with the front wheels to illuminate the new directions into which the car was about to go. The third headlight—dubbed its “Cyclops eye” by critics—was a radical design innovation, but Tucker had a greater interest in incorporating enhanced safety and performance features, such as disc brakes, padded dashboards, placement of instrument controls on the steering wheel, four-wheel independent suspension, and fuel injection. During the car’s brief history, not all these features were used. Often known as the Torpedo, Tucker’s sedan was officially named the Tucker ’48, after the only model year in which it was produced.
Scandal and bad press doomed Tucker’s car from the beginning. Not willing to give up control of his company to investors, Tucker devised a financial plan that would allow him to keep control. However, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was skeptical of his plan and twice launched a full investigation. In 1948, the second SEC investigation forced Tucker to stop production and lay off sixteen hundred workers. However, he was able to produce fifty more cars by January of 1949. Later that year, when he was accused by the SEC of fraud, Tucker faced a grand jury trial. He was ultimately found innocent on all counts, but the trial destroyed whatever chance for success was left for Tucker and his “Torpedo.”
Impact
After completion of the prototype car in 1947, Tucker’s company completely assembled only fifty-one sedans. Although the car was an abject failure during the late 1940’s, it later came to be regarded as a visionary classic that anticipated many design features that would later become standard in automobiles. The vast majority of the original cars have survived into the twenty-first century as highly prized and exceptionally expensive collector items.
Bibliography
Egan, P. S. Design and Destiny: The Making of the Tucker Automobile. Orange, Calif.: On the Mark, 1989.
Willson, Q. Classic American Cars. New York: DK, 1997.