Preston Tucker and His Battle to Build the Car of Tomorrow

by Steve Lehto, Jay Leno (Foreword by)

Overview

A 2017 Michigan Notable Book

After World War II, the American automobile industry was reeling. Having spent years building tanks and airplanes for the army, the car companies would need years more to retool their production to meet the demands of the American public, for whom they had not made any cars since 1942. 
 
And then in stepped Preston Tucker. This salesman extraordinaire from Ypsilanti, Michigan, had built race cars before the war, and had designed prototypes for the military during it. Now, gathering a group of brilliant automotive designers, engineers, and promoters, he announced the creation of a revolutionary new car: the Tucker '48, the first car in almost a decade to be built fresh from the ground up. Tucker's car would include ingenious advances in design and engineering that other car companies could not match. With a rear engine, rear-wheel drive, a safety-glass windshielf that would pop out in case of an accident, a padded dashboard, independent suspension, and automatic transmission, it would be more attractive and aerodynamic—and safer—than any other car on the road. 
 
But as the public eagerly awaited Tucker's car of tomorrow, powerful forces in Washington were trying to bring him down. An SEC commissioner with close ties to Detroit's Big Three automakers deliberately leaked information about an investigation the agency was conducting, suggesting that Tucker was bilking investors with a massive fraud scheme. Headlines accused him a perpetrating a hoax and claimed that his cars weren't real and his factory was a sham. 

In fact, the Tucker '48 sedan was genuine, and everyone who saw it was impressed by what this upstart carmaker had achieved. But the SEC's investigation had compounded the company's financial problems and management conflicts, and a superior product was not enough to keep Tucker's dream afloat. 

Here, Steve Lehto tackles the story of Tucker's amazing rise and tragic fall, relying on a huge trove of documents that has been used by no other writer to date. It is the first comprehensive, authoritative account of Tucker's magnificent car and his battles with the government. And in this book, Lehto finally answers the questions automobile aficionados have wondered about for decades: Exactly how and why was the production of such an innovative car killed?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780912777733
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	04/01/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	362,179
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Steve Lehto is the author of Chrysler’s Turbine Car, Death’s Door, Drawn to Injustice, and The Great American Jet Pack, among others. His articles have been published by Road & Track, Michigan History, and other publications. Jay Leno was the long-time host of the Tonight Show. His extensive collection of classic cars is world famous.

Table of Contents

Foreword Jay Leno ix

1 An Early Morning Car Crash 1

2 Preston Thomas Tucker 5

3 Harry Miller 11

4 The Tucker Combat Car 18

5 Andrew Higgins 24

6 Tucker's Automobile Plans 27

7 The PIC article 30

8 The Tucker Corporation 38

9 Tucker Acquires a Plant 41

10 Before the Stock Offering 50

11 The Tin Goose 56

12 Getting Ready 63

13 The Tin Goose Unveiled 68

14 The Stock Offering 72

15 Post-Tin Goose 82

16 Gearing Up for Production 87

17 The First Car off the Assembly Line-#1001 97

18 The Accessories Program 102

19 The End of the Dream 108

20 Bankruptcy 124

21 The Sec Report 128

22 The Grand Jury 134

23 Collier's and Reader's Digest 139

24 The Trial 142

35 The Civil Suits 167

26 Preston Tucker Speaks Out 176

27 Joseph Turnbull Testifies Again 182

28 The Last Days of Preston Tucker 185

29 The Movie 192

30 After 196

31 The Tucker Legacy 200

32 The Fleet of Tucker '48 Sedans 203

Acknowledgments 215

Notes 217

Bibliography 253

Index 255

Editorial Reviews

"Car enthusiasts of every stripe—including Jay Leno, who was inspired to provide a thoughtful introduction—will appreciate Lehto’s meticulous research, which re-creates a lost era and cogently and accurately presents the full dramatic story of one of the auto industry’s seminal innovators.” —Booklist


“This is not just a book for automobile buffs; there’s enough insight and intrigue to appeal to a wider audience.” —Chicago Review of Books


“A deeply researched and highly approachable new biography written by Steve Lehto (with a forward by Jay Leno), Preston Tucker and His Battle to Build the Car of Tomorrow, describes the mad, madcap, and often maddening efforts Preston Tucker undertook in his attempt to create real and practical change within the American automotive industry.” —TheDrive.com


"Smoothly written and well researched." —Wall Street Journal


"An exceptional and truly impressive study based upon painstaking research and presented in a thoroughly 'reader friendly' style in tone, commentary, content, organization and presentation..." —Midwest Book Review 


"Impressively researched, exceptionally well written, accessibly organized and deftly presented..." —Midwest Book Review

From the Publisher