Talking Cars

I was lucky enough to be taught how to take a car picture like a pro when I was around 24. I knew a man who was a professional photographer. He taught me how to take a 3 sided picture of a car. You will notice in all of my stories, every car I review or share information has that 3 dimensional view.

Pictured here is one rare car. Many of you car buffs and collectors recognize this rare car right away. This car is the famous “Tucker 48.” I did not commit a typing error. That is the name this car was given when it was made by the man with the vision, Preston Tucker. The car’s debut happened in early 1948.

What is so amazing about this car is the fact that there were only 51 of them made. It is said that today only 48 of them still exist. There is a car collector in West Virginia that owns 3 of them. He keeps them in a secret museum.

Preston Tucker designed and hired some workers to make a car like none other. All hand built, the Tucker had features that no other car had at the time. The biggest and most popular feature was the “Cyclops” center headlamp. When the car turned, and the lights were on, the center headlamp would turn with the wheels giving the driver a much better vision in the dark.

All Tucker Cars had a strange dash design built for safety. The driver had all the controls on his side. On the passenger side, the dash had nothing but a fully padded dash. Plenty of legroom. The glove box was not on the dash. Each door in the car had a pull open glove box of its own. But there were more creative ideas that came from Preston Tucker.

The Tucker 48’s all had a rear engine for power. The engines were a horizontally mounted 335 flat six cylinder. They all came with a 4 speed transmission. Tucker’s first prototype was named the “Tin Goose.” His friends advised him to change the name and just name it after Preston’s last name.

Tucker’s were made in about 10 different colors. If you have ever seen one, or even know of someone who has one, you’re looking at a car that is worth $1,200,000 in good condition. Recently at an auction in California, a Tucker sold for $3,000,000.

The Tuckers were only made in 1948 because the car company was under great pressure by inspectors and the Government and the safety board. With no engine in the front compartment, the Tuckers made the steering box and Pitman arm in front of the frame to help with safety in the event of a collision. Succumbing to pressure and slow building of the car, the Tucker car company had to file for bankruptcy at years end. There is a movie about this car called, “Tucker the man and his Dream” Stars Jeff Bridges and came out in 1988. It is a good movie and very accurate to the history of the car. Drive safe everybody! joseywales2@gmail.com