The 1948 Tucker was dreamt up by Preston Thomas Tucker and designed by Alex Tremulis. This was one of the last attempts made by a small enterprise to break into large volume car production. This car was said to be “The first new car in 50 years”. Many people felt that a car this great wasn’t possible. The many new innovations in the car were always surrounded by controversy. The car seemed to be doomed, and it was. Much of the appeal of the Tucker was the man behind it. Preston Thomas Tucker was always obsessed with cars, as long as anyone could remember. Tucker was born on September 21, 1903 in Capac, Michigan. He spent his childhood in car repair garages and used car lots. He worked as an office boy at Cadillac, a policeman in Lincoln, Illinois; he even worked at Ford motor company for a while. After he attended Cass Technical School in Detroit, Tucker became a salesman and went to work for Studebaker, then Stutz, Chrysler, and later became regional manager for Pierce-Arrow. During WWII the automotive industry was focused on the war effort. There were no new models of cars produced for over four years, and people needed a new car. Any new car. Tucker thought that the time was right to make his move. He formed the Tucker Corporation for the Production of Automobiles in 1946. Tucker wanted the old Dodge plant in Chicago. Its main building was the largest under one roof. During WWII B29 engines were built in the plant. The War Assets Administration leased him the plant under the understanding that he could have $15 million capital by March of the following year. Tucker moved into the plant in July and started work on his prototype immediately. The corporation needed money desperately and Tucker realized backing from businessmen would cause him to lose almost all control over his company. This was not an option for him so he started brainstorming for ideas, and got one. Franchising. He began selling dealership franchises, and quickly raised $6 million to be held in escrow until the car was delivered. The dealerships seemed suspicious to the SEC. This caused them to put Tucker under investigation. This was the first of many to span the next three years. The franchise agreements were rewritten to satisfy the SEC. Soon after that Tucker experienced his first serious obstacle, Wilson Wyatt. The head of the national housing agency who ordered the WAA to cancel Tucker’s lease and to turn the plant over to the Lustron corporation to build pre-fabricated houses.
Flink’s Three stages of American automobile consciousness fully express the progress of the whole automobile industry. From the first model T to the automatic production, it gives me an intuitive feeling of the automobile history from a big picture. On the other hand, Kline and Pinch focus more on a certain group of people--farmers or people who live in the rural area, they use it as an entry point to talk about automobile, alone with the role and duty transition between male and
Every so often a man or women has an idea that is innovative, amazing or in some cases far ahead of its time. Unfortunately it is far too common that these ideas are lost or stifled by people who are afraid of the change they may bring. Since people also tend to believe if something seems too good to be true it probably is, these ideas may not get enough good attention until it is too late. Preston Tucker was one of these innovative people with a great idea. In 1944 he began work on a car that was safe, reliable, and groundbreaking. So far ahead of its time it made the wrong people nervous. The car was first christened as the Tucker Torpedo but due to concerns over torpedo not sounding safe, it was changed to the Tucker 1948. These amazing cars turned out to be one of the most revolutionary automobiles ever made and would have remained so if it weren’t for a slander campaign by the United States government.
When analyzing the film Tucker, it is easy to see there are several external factors that contributed to his difficulty in the automobile industry. The first was really an intermingling of two threats, the threat of suppliers and rivalry. With the car industry being in the mature stage of the industry life cycle there were three major automobile manufactures and they controlled most of the market share in the industry. With them having such large market shares they also controlled much of the materials that went into manufacturing an automobile this included steel. Tucker faced this challenge when he attempted to buy steel to manufacture his vehicles and learned there was no steel to be purchased because the big three already controlled all of the available steel. From the assistance of Howard Hughes Tucker learned of a failing helicopter manufacturing plant that had in their possession more than enough steel to make the cars that Tucker needed to make. Tucker eventually gained access to the steel from the helicopter plant either through acquisition or merger th...
Preston Tucker was an American automobile dreamer in the early 1900s. He was famous for creating a new innovative car which would have a safe design, including seat belts, safety glass, and a directional third headlight.
Due to the growing prevalence of stock car racing, muscle cars came into power during the 1960s, which has become known as the Golden Age of Muscle. Lasting from 1960 to 1972, muscle cars enjoyed over a decade of power, and, regrettably, a four decade hibernation. In the past six years, muscle cars have reemerged in the form of the Charger, Challenger, Mustang, and Camaro. The new cars’ styling pays tribute to their Golden Age predecessors. This is the new muscle car age, with competition and corporate pride higher than ever.
The automobile went from being a toy for society’s elite to being an essential item within the economic reach of nearly every American, all thanks to the hard work and ingenuity of Henry Ford. His dedication to quality and attention to detail earned him not only dozens of racing titles, but also the reputation of a respectable businessman. Ford understood his market so well that he knew what the people wanted before they could even ask for it, always ahead of the curve. Ford was a pioneer of American commercialism, and so his production methods were centred around efficiency and mass production, thus allowing him to increase productivity and decrees cost to meet the demand of the masses. Lastly, consideration of the working class and philosophy of raising the wages instead of raising the price point and focusing only on profit. There are a great many lessons to be learned from distinguished businessmen in history, and Henry Ford is no
Purchasing a car is one of the biggest and most important decisions that someone will make during their lifetime. Over the past several years, the prices of a vehicle have increased significantly due to the rise of inflation. Economists compare averages of vehicles to calculate and determine the cost of every vehicle that ends up on the car lot. To determine the cost they interpret all the above information and include everything from the cost of making the vehicle to the time of selling it. In the long run, the demand for vehicles is inelastic because they become a necessity for many people. However, in the short run, the demand is elastic because the purchase of a new vehicle can be put off for a while.
Henry Ford was born on July 30 in 1863 in Greenfield Township, Michigan he was one of the first American industrialists and wanted to make a difference in the automobile industry. Back then, before 1908 automobiles were expensive that only rich people could afford. Henry Ford wanted to change this and wanted everyone to have a vehicle to drive. He was able to accomplish this by the assembly line, in which it created more cars in less time. The first car Henry Ford made was the Model T created on the assembly line. Ford’s innovation in manufacturing created less expensive cars and higher wage jobs.
The First production of the Model T came out on October 1, 1908 at the Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit. (www.hfmgv.org) At the time the Model T was going for a price around $850 and by the Twenties a newer model could be bought for at a price of $275.(Gordon) Although having a Model T, was a sign of wealth, it was awfully cheaper than other cars being manufactured by the other manufactures. The Model T was different from all other cars being made at the time because Ford found a way to make his car affordable. The Low Price of the Model T sent a boom around the nation. "Over the next 19 years, Ford would build 15,000,000 automobiles with the Model "T" engine, the longest run of any single model apart from the Volkswagen Beetle." (www.hfmgv.org) "In 1900 America produced 4,100 automobiles; in 1908, the year of the Model T's advent, the number had risen to 63,500; in 1909 it had nearly doubled, to 123,900. In 1916 it stood at 1,525,500." (Gordon)
afford. When he wanted to start to produce the car he faces a lot of barriers,
In the beginning when Tucker was trying to get established with his ideas concerning the automobile, the government helped him by giving him the funds and equipment he needed. Since the government gave him funds, money and supplies Tucker needed to produce his ideas, they signed a contract together stating rules and deadlines for this idea and how Tucker was supposed to repay the government. They also gave Tucker a factory in Chicago, where he was to start his projects and begin making the advertised vehicle. This helped him get on his feet so to speak. When they gave him this factory it stated in the contract that they could legally take the factory away and shut it down so that Tucker could not produce any cars if Tucker did not make a total of 50 cars by the deadline date, which was June first, which posed as a reasonable obligation. In certain ways the government treated Tucker very poorly and unfairly, but they also did him good by letting him start his ideas in the first place and by helping him get the funds he needed as
In the twentieth century, the introduction of the motor vehicle in the United States became not only noteworthy, but also vital in the development of modern American civilization. This technologically complex machine led citizens to vast future dependence on the invention. While mobility was suddenly not limited to alternative, more convoluted options such as railroad stations or bicycles, yet copiously amplified to aid convenience and expanded leisure opportunities. From auto-racing to redesigning infrastructure, motor vehicles allowed progression, digression, and essentially uttermost change to the lifestyles of the American people. This radical idea of the automobile permeated throughout America with most, if not all, credit renowned to Henry Ford.
Born July 30, 1863 in Dearborn, Michigan, Henry Ford was the first child of William and Mary Ford. As a young man he became an excellent self-taught mechanic and machinist. At age 16 he left the farm and went to nearby Detroit, a city that was becoming an industrial giant. There he worked as an apprentice at a machine shop, while months later he would begin work with steam engines at the Detroit Dry Dock Co., where he first saw the internal combustion engine, the kind of engine he would later use to make his automobiles.
This started car companies to start to produce the better car and start making more cars. Eventually cars became more popular and help the economy grow.
In today’s society when you think about super extravagant, high end, luxurious vehicles, what top of the line automotives can you actually think of that comes to mind? If you guessed correctly it would actually be no other than “The Mercedes Benz”. Mercedes Benz is known to man as one of the finest cars of luxury dated back to the late 1800. In 1886 Karl Benz invented the first horseless tricycle. Later on in the early 1900’s both Karl Benz and Gottlieb Dailmer whom were both born in Germany teamed up and branded the first “Mercedes”, which was known as the first automobile which was also developed by William Maybach. Also known for the first car with four wheels