The 1948 Tucker Sedan or Tucker ’48 Sedan (also nicknamed the Tucker Torpedo) was an advanced automobile conceived by Preston Tucker and briefly produced in Chicago in 1948. Only 51 cars were made before the company folded on March 3, 1949, due to negative publicity initiated by the Big Three.
More pics and story about this one here
Thanks Tommy Salami
What a beaut.
I lurve old American cars.
You look in those old cars and they are beauts alright…but then you notice no seat belts , no air bags, hard steering wheel, iron hard dash and then you can visualize some very nasty wrecks with blood and hair on broken glass…
I like modern “safe” cars
Lol @ Dinsdale
Do you also worriy about the levels of lead in the paint when looking at a Caravaggio?
I love that! I am on my way out but I am so reading that when I get home!
Be sure to see the movie “Tucker”. Jeff Bridges was great and the movie was inspirational and very well done. Also informative on activities of corporations. Corporations are “still active”; healthcare, environment, pensions, loans, we all lose. But see Tucker for both the car and a bit of history.
Loved that web site and the pictures blew me away. Cars, both European and American had more individuality and style about them then.
You’ll notice the dash is padded in the Tucker, one of the safety enhancements of the day. I believe having it so far away was meant for safety too, less about slamming into it than being trapped under it.
As I recall the Tucker also had the middle headlight turn with the front wheels so you could see where you were going when making a turn. This feature was reintroduced by Lexus and others in the 90s, not sure how many models do it now. Personally I hate turning/self leveling lights on modern cars and see them as more of a gimmick now with all lights being so effective, but back in ’48 you were making a leap of faith into the dark as the front lanterns illuminated only the immediate path in front of you with a weak yellow light.
I’d like to see what Tucker would do in this era of composite construction, hybrids and electrics.
Beautiful, just beautiful!!
nice ride ,love the older cars too
They stopped making them because they ran out of the popular purple paint, they were plum Tucker’d out.
I named my son after this car.
Because I am a freak like that.
If you have not done so, be sure to click on the link to the rest of the story.
The Glamorous Life Association – I bet your kid hated being named “Torpedo.”
If you for some reason want to read about a modern example of this check out: Transmeta They were a digital design company that made ICs the way god wanted them to be made. Intel killed them off.
My dad actually invested in the Tucker. After he died, my mom found paperwork regarding the investment. I think it was only around $100, a great sum for him seeing he was only making $65 per week. I wish she would have kept it instead of tossing!
I believe the Tucker had seatbelts, or wanted to but they were considered unnecessary and costly.
This would have been a cool, cool car, too bad it never came to be.