Politics played role in Tucker demise.(Auto Plus)

0 Comments | Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), November, 2001 | by Kochanny, Thaddeus J.

Byline: Thaddeus J. Kochanny, Ingleside Writer Bernard R. DeRemer (West Liberty, Ohio) made a case against the Tucker car, calling builder Tucker an undercapitalized dreamer. He was anything but that. Mr. Tucker scared the daylights out of Ford, General Motors and Chrysler with the first modern car design after World War II.

The "Big Three" were still building 1930's cars in 1947. In 1948, the "Tucker Torpedo" had limousine room, seat belts, pop-out windshield, torsion bar independent suspension, nylon upholstery, air cooled rear engine and no dashboard. When Tucker ads appeared, the car industry giants told all potential suppliers at the time, that if they sold to Tucker they would lose the major builders as customers. Except for Howard Hughs, they all...