“It was too little, too late, for both the car and the company were history.”
-From Legendary American Cars
The Tucker Fails
Photo from Walter Zoomie's World
Unfortunately, Preston had many enemies who were trying to make sure that the Tucker '48 never made it. One of his enemies was Detroit Senator Homer Ferguson, who didn't want any possible competition with Ford, Chrysler, and GM, also known as Detroit's Big Three. He also had two other adversaries in the SEC; Harry McDonald, who was the commissioner, and Thomas B. Han, the regional SEC chief. The SEC based their entire case on the broken, handmade prototype, the SEC said that the car was impossible to make, and even if it was, it wouldn’t run. Eventually, Preston was found not guilty because the government couldn’t prove anything. Although Preston did win the case, the damage was done and his company was gone.
 From the Collection of the Gilmore Car Museum |
 From the Collection of the Gilmore Car Museum |
Tucker Fact:Although not documented in the case, all 50 of the Tucker ‘48s were lined up outside the courthouse at the time of the trial as evidence that the car could be made.
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 Photo from Walter Zoomie's World |
