51 Cars, One Trial: The Death of America's Most Innovative Automaker

Preston Tucker promised America a safer car than Detroit was building. What he delivered was 51 vehicles and a trial he won — ten months after his company was already dead. On March 3rd, 1949, a federal judge placed the Tucker Corporation into receivership. On June 10th, 1949, Tucker and six of his executives were indicted on 25 counts of mail fraud, 5 counts of SEC violations and 1 count of conspiracy. On January 22nd, 1950, the jury acquitted every defendant on every count. He later filed claims totalling 19 million dollars against the press and others. He never collected, and he never proved a conspiracy. This episode follows the paperwork instead of the myth: the stock offering, the presold accessory scheme the SEC examined in 1948, the steel contract that collapsed, an oversized plant, and the arithmetic of building a car when every unit is priced like a prototype. People featured: Preston Thomas Tucker (1903-1956), founder, Tucker Corporation Alex Tremulis, chief designer Cars and machines featured: Tucker 48 (1948), rear-engined sedan, 51 built including the prototype Franklin O-335 air-cooled flat-six, 334 cu in, 166 hp, adapted from the Bell 47 helicopter engine 1948 Ford, Chevrolet and Chrysler production sedans, for comparison If you enjoy forgotten American brands and the stories behind the machines that nearly disappeared from history, subscribe for more automotive documentaries. Sources listed in the pinned comment. #carthistory #tucker48 #forgottencars #automotivehistory #classiccars #deadcarbrands