The conspiracy to ruin the coolest American car company of all time

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  • Опубліковано 26 гру 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 1,5 тис.

  • @Hoax711
    @Hoax711 3 роки тому +729

    Somebody complained in Washington...
    Isn't that all that really comes from Washington? Complaints and the ensuing lies about the resolution.

    • @DownShiftDrew
      @DownShiftDrew 3 роки тому +14

      Congratulations you watched the first 7 Seconds of the video 😂😂

    • @prestonedmonds4128
      @prestonedmonds4128 3 роки тому +7

      Sad but true.

    • @happylambo437
      @happylambo437 3 роки тому +11

      As someone who lives there, yes.

    • @coldmoonlight6361
      @coldmoonlight6361 3 роки тому +11

      @@DownShiftDrew Your comment is pointless

    • @maebandy
      @maebandy 3 роки тому

      Are you even clear on which Washington he is referring to? Good thing being a presumptive and condemning public is something we've outgrown.

  • @renecintronjr.2262
    @renecintronjr.2262 3 роки тому +64

    I'm a lifetime machinist. Love the Tucker story. Hate the injustices he endured. Sad to see how corrupt our world is. And it's getting worse. Sick!

  • @illuminatidestroyerbear2231
    @illuminatidestroyerbear2231 3 роки тому +713

    The media has to much power, even back then. They know that accusations can carry a lot more weight than the truth in the courts of public opinion. RIP Tucker.

    • @DigitalImpostor
      @DigitalImpostor 3 роки тому +69

      A scandal is front page news. A retraction is on page 17.

    • @illuminatidestroyerbear2231
      @illuminatidestroyerbear2231 3 роки тому +9

      @@DigitalImpostor absolutely.

    • @JordonRenn93
      @JordonRenn93 3 роки тому +9

      "even back then"... man, the media mad MUCH, MUCH more power back then

    • @DpOaks
      @DpOaks 3 роки тому +8

      The media is supposed to have a lot of power. You should be happy the media has that kinda power. It's what they use the power FOR that is frustrating. The fourth estate is probably one of the most important building blocks to our democracy. If you don't like powerful media go to China or Russia. Obviously the system is broken but still, be happy it's there.

    • @dwoodward931
      @dwoodward931 3 роки тому +7

      Good thing traditional media is dying.

  • @sccarguy8242
    @sccarguy8242 3 роки тому +565

    What’s really sad about the Tucker story, is that his cars were so far ahead of there time. If he had been able to start selling them, the big three would have been forced to catch up to compete... perhaps we would have seen some of the tech we see today decades before... what would cars be like today period?? History would have been reWritten, by one man and his dream.

    • @DR3ADER1
      @DR3ADER1 3 роки тому +7

      False, because it would have, already had and was going to fail without any interference. In fact, in the case of the Tucker Armoured Car, his press agents LIED about the car's turrets being used in the Second World War during the SEC trial. Additionally, the 48 wasn't even finished at all, had no reverse gear and the head of Tucker's board of directors (one Harry Aubrey Toulmin Jr.), in a letter to the SEC admitted that he wasn't even sure the car even worked, full stop.
      Of course, Preston Tucker being the post-war equivalent of FOUSEYtube, replaced Toulmin with "a prominent man now active in the automobile industry", that man being Preston Tucker himself to boost his own ego and delusional fantasies. He was just a huckster who only claimed these fantasies to cover up his own inadequacies as a proper businessman. And he went to incredible lengths to make even P. T. Barnum proud of the madness of his and especially his company's claims, from lying about the power of the engine to lying about the design being the result of "15 years of testing" when a working prototype didn't even exist.

    • @neilbarratt1523
      @neilbarratt1523 3 роки тому +45

      The problem I have with your statement is that there were 51 operating cars produced. This interruption delayed the research to iron out any flaws. The fact still remains that there were complete drivable cars produced.

    • @DR3ADER1
      @DR3ADER1 3 роки тому +3

      @@neilbarratt1523 And the fact also remains that 51 is a pathetically low number considering the SIZE of the factory they were built in. This isn't a DeLorean scenario, where they had to build the factory from scratch, Tucker bought a massive engine plant that Chrysler operated during the Second World War. It was a gigantic (a quick Google search of the Chicago Dodge Plant will give you a good picture of how big the place actually was when it was new) and crucial icon of US wartime mass production, and they failed to even make 1,000 examples. Today, fewer than 47 are known to exist and their conditions vary.
      As another fact to debunk the conspiracy that Tucker was set up to fail by the Big Three, currently, an example of the 48 is preserved in The Henry Ford Museum(this is discounting the fact that Preston Tucker held a close relationship with the Ford Motor Company, as he built various Indycars for them during the interwar period).

    • @hudsonbrown7689
      @hudsonbrown7689 3 роки тому +51

      @@DR3ADER1 are you related to the guy that shut him down or something

    • @DR3ADER1
      @DR3ADER1 3 роки тому +4

      @@hudsonbrown7689 Nope. Just someone critical of this whole conspiracy BS and nonsense that has zero evidence linking to any interference.

  • @liquidflorian
    @liquidflorian 3 роки тому +212

    Tucker had an E-gear transmission before Lamborghini.
    The SEC and press have, also, always been corrupt.

    • @billolsen4360
      @billolsen4360 3 роки тому +5

      The sky is always falling or a big fraud is about to be revealed when you look at the behavior of these "glamor" law-enforcement agencies AND the news media.

    • @tomjones5079
      @tomjones5079 3 роки тому +4

      Preselector, technically

    • @debtoralive4693
      @debtoralive4693 3 роки тому +6

      A famously respected news editor for a large newspaper, whose name some might know, would often "embellish" his stories so it would outsell his competitors. There is actually an award in his name. I was disgusted when I learned this. And still, knowing this, he's considered honored. Wow.

    • @redchris97
      @redchris97 3 роки тому +1

      Yeah, the same SEC that allowed the Bernie Madoff scandal to happen even though they got multiple complaints... makes me wonder what else are those A-holes hiding....

    • @reelreeler8778
      @reelreeler8778 Рік тому +1

      It was the same troublesome preselector transmission used in the Cord 810

  • @rickstorm719
    @rickstorm719 3 роки тому +66

    His son, Preston Tucker Jr. was an engineer at Rocketdyne in the 1960s. It was during a spitball session with him that my Dad came up with the idea of gimbel mounting the thrust chamber of a rocket engine in order to control its flight. It was first used on the SIVB stage of the Saturn V and Dad was the QC rep on that stage during the Apollo years. Great minds stimulate other great minds. My Dad thought the world of the Tucker family.

  • @walterdavis4808
    @walterdavis4808 3 роки тому +479

    When I was a kid back in the 70s there was a guy in town that had a Tucker he had bought new. Still drove it till he died in the 80s . Really neat car

    • @walterdavis4808
      @walterdavis4808 3 роки тому +24

      @Colin Chung I don't I know. He was just the guy who drove the tucker

    • @XB10001
      @XB10001 3 роки тому +4

      That's awesome!

    • @America_Countryhumans1
      @America_Countryhumans1 2 роки тому

      @@walterdavis4808 was probably Tucker himself

    • @walterdavis4808
      @walterdavis4808 2 роки тому +1

      @@America_Countryhumans1 I don't think so. But it was just the old guy with the tucker

  • @jarlnieminen4307
    @jarlnieminen4307 3 роки тому +243

    This fills me with murderous rage. I cannot even imagine the despair felt by those involved.

    • @kylemontano228
      @kylemontano228 3 роки тому +14

      Same brother

    • @hurlaky43
      @hurlaky43 3 роки тому +5

      Heartbreaking

    • @ctdieselnut
      @ctdieselnut 3 роки тому +1

      So disheartening...

    • @Steve-dv8zr
      @Steve-dv8zr 3 роки тому +2

      Add to that rightious rage thinking about hundreds of thousands of people murdered through conspiricy, & laziness by the big three in dangerous cars ineptly produced...No, SHIT OUT by these Conniving car-crapper-outerz...

    • @MattWoodsAus
      @MattWoodsAus Рік тому

      There's got to be a special place in hell for these type of SOBs

  • @jacobsturdevant2767
    @jacobsturdevant2767 3 роки тому +434

    I remember learning about this my senior year of high school in economics class. Such a crazy story... I wonder where the car business would be today if he had not been shut down.

    • @sccarguy8242
      @sccarguy8242 3 роки тому +40

      That’s it exactly, the entire industry would be different today.

    • @rustyshackleford2902
      @rustyshackleford2902 3 роки тому +21

      Or all the people that invented alternate energy sources.

    • @sellickusa
      @sellickusa 3 роки тому +2

      I have wondered that same thing

    • @DigitalImpostor
      @DigitalImpostor 3 роки тому +5

      Flying cars.

    • @DR3ADER1
      @DR3ADER1 3 роки тому +5

      It wouldn't be any different. Because his company was too small, flawed and poorly run to survive the 1950s anyway. Studebaker-Packard were only large enough to survive into the mid-1960s and were merged into AMC just after the decade ended. Don't kid yourself.

  • @paulontheroad
    @paulontheroad 3 роки тому +49

    Great video Steve!
    Funny story; I had a 51 Studebaker Starlight Coupe and every once in awhile I'd get asked if it was a Tucker, I would always respond the same each time by saying "I Wish!"

  • @deanbunge3805
    @deanbunge3805 3 роки тому +72

    I had the privilege of seeing number 44 at The Simeone Museum in Philly fresh from restoration. Preston's grandson and 2 of his great grandsons were part of the resto team. They had a q & a and actually drove the car for us. I took some great pictures. Everywhere you looked was something amazing.

  • @Jabastroso
    @Jabastroso 3 роки тому +94

    I find this story really sad, the innovations in that car could’ve put American car manufacturing in the level or above European brands SINCE THE 40’s. Thank you very much for the story!

    • @SaintNyx
      @SaintNyx 3 роки тому +3

      American cars were ahead of European cars all the way up until the 70s. Tucker might have been able to keep that going for even longer, but probably not. Government legislation killed the American car.

    • @k0zzu21
      @k0zzu21 2 роки тому +5

      @@SaintNyx they were just different, not ahead per se. As an example the Citroën DS was probably the most technologically advanced car back in 1955.

    • @DR3ADER1
      @DR3ADER1 2 роки тому +1

      Incorrect. The Tucker 48 was a flop because the car sucked. The Citroen DS was a) advanced and b) wasn't a heavy, unfinished shitbox. The Citroen sold well because of this. Again, the person in the video is lying here. This whole conspiracy was debunked several times by multiple people and even the Wiki article about Tucker doesn't list anything that suggests or implies foul play from anyone.

    • @csyarid
      @csyarid 2 місяці тому

      @Jabastroso That is why the big 3 destroyed him...because he was a threat to their status quo.

  • @rustzz8
    @rustzz8 3 роки тому +205

    My Grandpa bought a Tucker franchise and I think he got one of the 51 because he talked fondly of them.

  • @reddblurr
    @reddblurr 3 роки тому +51

    A visionary shot down before he could fly all because his product was good enough to pose a threat. So sad.

  • @100aventador
    @100aventador 3 роки тому +90

    I loved these stories! I’m a tech at bmw, so I just put my earphones on and get to work while have these playing on a playlist, makes the day pass by so fast!

  • @joeykoss7172
    @joeykoss7172 3 роки тому +26

    Interesting fact, when they started to allow people to put in orders for the Tucker, they sent you Tucker branded luggage sets and the actual radio for your car to hold you over until delivery. Unfortunately many people received these items but were never able to receive their car. My grandpa was one of these people to never get his car, but we still have the brand new Tucker radio on display in our house, but the luggage set was lost some time ago. Very interesting and sad story of this car! I'm always fascinated by the story but I'm fine with just having the radio as a part of history!

    • @Vinyl_guy
      @Vinyl_guy 9 місяців тому

      I have the luggage and radio/amp for my great grandpas car he never got

  • @grendelum
    @grendelum 3 роки тому +81

    really is a beautiful car, it’s a shame we never got to see what else he’d have built.

    • @bfabb7168
      @bfabb7168 3 роки тому +5

      They’d probably still be around today. And we’d call it the big 4 lol

  • @farewell_to_normalcy9352
    @farewell_to_normalcy9352 3 роки тому +8

    I remember watching the movie about Preston Tucker in high school for my Buisness class (DECA). And spending half a year doing research and righting papers on him. Truly a remarkable man and had ideas that wouldn’t show up on cars for decades. If the big three didn’t get to him, imagine where the automobile would be today?

  • @thatflywelshguy9662
    @thatflywelshguy9662 3 роки тому +79

    The government forcing a business out of business? Nooooo never happens. What a heartbreaking story

    • @pescatoralpursuit1726
      @pescatoralpursuit1726 Рік тому

      This was business using the government to force their competition out of business.

    • @NickTWO111
      @NickTWO111 Рік тому

      The government tried but in the end it was the media, the bad press that killed Tucker.

  • @simpleclean2468
    @simpleclean2468 3 роки тому +48

    The World is dark with evil roaming all over. When one guy had a dream they wanted to burn it.

    • @samsharp9377
      @samsharp9377 3 роки тому +1

      Unless you were Henry Ford and the Dodge brothers.

  • @joshuagibson2520
    @joshuagibson2520 3 роки тому +66

    I watch Steve all the time. Puts out 2 videos a day usually. He's great. Maybe not for everyone, but I sure as hell like him.

  • @draughonc
    @draughonc 3 роки тому +213

    Sounds like it could have happened last week. The more things seem to change, the more you realize its been happening forever.

    • @jaredkinneyjr
      @jaredkinneyjr 3 роки тому +5

      Exactly. Like WWII & Hitler. You wonder how the Germans ever let that stuff happen??? Look at today & the news is now your doctor telling us how good a shot is & that would we ALL need it. Sounds like the Holocaust part 2 to me. IDK we will see wont we?

    • @EliasTheHunter
      @EliasTheHunter 3 роки тому +9

      @@jaredkinneyjr uhhh you’re on the wrong side of history now, buddy.

    • @AdmiralBlackstar
      @AdmiralBlackstar 3 роки тому +6

      @@jaredkinneyjr Yes, yes, wait...what? Um...did we skip a step? I feel like you're missing a step between the vaccine and the holocaust because I have no idea how you could possibly make that particular leap. Also, a bit inaccurate. We don't all need it, but ~80% need to become immune to achieve herd immunity, i.e. the point where too many people are immune for it to spread effectively, and we need to do that quickly before the mutations change it to the point where the current vaccines aren't effective anymore.

    • @MrGoatflakes
      @MrGoatflakes 3 роки тому +3

      @EliasTheHunter except that Swedish doctors and nurses prompted by the government policy just did there own _Aktion T4_ by refusing to admit to hospital, refusal administer oxygen, and prescription of dangerously high doses of morphine to people over 60 with respiratory distress.
      Because though they did nothing (at first) in the way of lockdowns they afraid that the public hospitals would be overwhelmed.
      They weren't, and hospitals were unusually empty because the majority of healthcare workers complied, just like in 1930s Germany.
      This is all well documented in several videos by _The Angry Foreigner_ which has extensive references to Swedish language sources.
      But why did so many Swedish doctors and nurses go along with it?
      Generally even highly educated and indeed powerful people can usually be convinced to perform an action they believe to be fatal simply by being told by a man in a white coat, as shown in the Milgram Experiment.
      Specifically just like the Nazi doctors and nurses they had a pathological faith in government, in doctors, and in academia. Who were and are seen as heroic agents of "the greater good" who need power over life and death decisions in service of that greater, public good. Specifically the power to sacrifice the few in service of the many.
      And the individual deaths are justified and made even possible with easy to swallow lies like that their life was no longer worth living and wresting that decision to live or to die from the patient or their next of kin and instead into the hands of "the expert".
      As if any number of judges or doctors are better at determining if a life is worth living and what a persons wishes in this regard than the person living it or their next of kin.
      See for instance the non verbal but communicative father Andreas Banda that was declared brain dead and doctors attempted to remove life support despite his express previous instructions and the entire family's complete opposition.
      It's hardly an isolated incident www.investors.com/politics/columnists/hospitals-life-support-charlie-gard/
      Alternatively there's the radical notion that the patient is in a private relationship with their doctor, and that the doctor is answerable first and foremost to their _individual_ patients or their next of kin or legal representative.
      Rather than public expedient as decided by at best a publicly elected official or doctor with malpractice insurance and at worst an unaccountable and anonymous civil servant or tenured professor. Who will predictably decide on the basis of the least harm to the least number of people decide to throw a minority under the bus in service of the greater good.
      No sorry the greater good can't exist in the presence of such human sacrifices, because when we allow it in fact no one is safe.

    • @EliasTheHunter
      @EliasTheHunter 3 роки тому +1

      @@MrGoatflakes k

  • @andrewr1355
    @andrewr1355 3 роки тому +128

    Screw the big three lol. Fascinating story man.

    • @rahulsudhir666
      @rahulsudhir666 3 роки тому +15

      They were most likely behind the whole smear campaign. Funnily enough, that's such a Ferrari move!

    • @timothydillon6421
      @timothydillon6421 3 роки тому +7

      The 2 that were bailed out or the one that was bought out?

    • @That_AMC_Guy
      @That_AMC_Guy 3 роки тому +6

      The Big Three really didn`t have as much to do with it as you might think. Don`t forget, they were making money from Tucker! There are many, many off-the-shelf, big-three parts used on a Tucker. The steering wheels came from pre-war Lincolns. The door hardware is Kaiser/Willys. The Air Cleaner is flathead Cadillac. The tail lights (I`ve heard) come from a Plymouth.

    • @jakekaywell5972
      @jakekaywell5972 3 роки тому +6

      Considering that they gave all sorts of technical help to Tucker, that's unlikely. Heck, Ford even donated Lincoln Zephyr steering wheels.

    • @springwoodslasher79
      @springwoodslasher79 3 роки тому +1

      If this is the first time you herd this story that's pathetic.

  • @electronicscavenger2667
    @electronicscavenger2667 3 роки тому +7

    A lot of people thought the big 3 wanted him out because they were worried about competition, but I think it was really because of all the safety stuff, and changes he was making to the car.. that later really showed up in cars... the big 3 knew if people wanted that stuff they would have to retool and add this stuff to theirs, and they really didn't want that. They didn't want to raise expectations of what car owners could get.

  • @shaft3285
    @shaft3285 3 роки тому +7

    The people who gave a thumbs down are missing out on American car history. The Tucker story is great!!!! There was a ton of new tech happening that was ignored for 10-30 years.

  • @mr.mckinnon5680
    @mr.mckinnon5680 3 роки тому +680

    "I'm from the government, I'm here to help."

    • @theanomalous1401
      @theanomalous1401 3 роки тому +5

      😵🤯😨😱

    • @bryanleverett2830
      @bryanleverett2830 3 роки тому +14

      Still shocking Musk isn’t in the same spot

    • @minascholevas
      @minascholevas 3 роки тому +6

      @@bryanleverett2830 Musk already had a reputation

    • @heisenberg5307
      @heisenberg5307 3 роки тому +27

      @@bryanleverett2830 Musk worked to a point where if there was action against him it'd result in great questioning. Not sure if u remember the guy who made the water car then left the planet

    • @flatoutnorth794
      @flatoutnorth794 3 роки тому +3

      @@bryanleverett2830 he has too much money to be influenced

  • @Andrew-ql1cz
    @Andrew-ql1cz 3 роки тому +209

    Thumbs up for Steve.

    • @maxchrysler7925
      @maxchrysler7925 3 роки тому +7

      I saw the thumbnail and I was thinking “this has got to be a Steve video”.

    • @christianmotley262
      @christianmotley262 3 роки тому

      Steve's the man, full of interesting knowledge.

  • @fearandloathingmedia2051
    @fearandloathingmedia2051 2 роки тому +2

    The SEC is currently doing the exact same thing to a company called Ripple right now, one of the main things Ripple does is eliminate the need for Western Union money transfers from poor countries where people in America send money they make back to support their families and are heavily hit with fees. This company would eliminate Western Union pretty much all together. Right after the initial offering, they came down on them and the trial's been going on for over a year. The SEC serves no purpose other than to hurt businesses in a country where the American dream is supposed to be the ultimate goal.

  • @erikludlow
    @erikludlow 3 роки тому +118

    Ive seen the actual movie/documentary on the story of Tucker, its pretty insane.

    • @hopeless__-ut6tg
      @hopeless__-ut6tg 3 роки тому +1

      Where can I watch it at?

    • @robbyjay8119
      @robbyjay8119 3 роки тому +1

      @@hopeless__-ut6tg you can watch it free on tubi.

    • @bbls1490
      @bbls1490 3 роки тому

      What's the name of the movie

    • @robbyjay8119
      @robbyjay8119 3 роки тому +4

      @@bbls1490 Tucker

    • @bbls1490
      @bbls1490 3 роки тому +4

      @@robbyjay8119 just watch it and wow what a story

  • @zachheiman6532
    @zachheiman6532 3 роки тому +23

    I found an old Tucker buyers guide in my great uncles old briefcase in the garage of a house we bought from my aunt. At some point I want to frame it

  • @redram5150
    @redram5150 3 роки тому +14

    If you get a chance, go to the AACA museum in Hershey, Pa. they have the entire manufacturing history of the Tucker including thousands of technical drawings, a dozen different prototype engines, frames, an entire dealership showroom with neon, and three running, driving Tuckers

    • @delorean8526
      @delorean8526 3 роки тому +2

      Been there, and it's awesome. One of the three has a prototype "Tuckermatic" transmission, and they also have one of the prop Tuckers used in the Tucker movie

    • @Berneholt
      @Berneholt 2 роки тому +4

      Epic place went there all the way from Sweden just to see the Tucker :-)

  • @13Photodog
    @13Photodog 3 роки тому +19

    In this frame frame my family lived in northern Illinois. One day my father was driving on a highway when he was passed by one of the Tuckers. He said it had a bumper sticker which read "You have just been passed by a Tucker" Another point of interest is the lead government attorney later became governor of Illinois.

    • @GreenJeep1998
      @GreenJeep1998 3 роки тому +4

      Was one of our governors that got sent to jail too?

    • @HollywoodHornet
      @HollywoodHornet 3 роки тому +2

      @@GreenJeep1998 Lol. You beat me to it.

    • @billolsen4360
      @billolsen4360 3 роки тому +2

      @@HollywoodHornet Crook County, Illinois?

  • @katieandkevinsears7724
    @katieandkevinsears7724 3 роки тому +11

    I still want a Tucker after seeing one in 2006. It's the only one I've seen, but wow what a beauty!

  • @rpavlik1
    @rpavlik1 3 роки тому +6

    I remember my dad telling me years ago about the crazy car that had a headlight that pointed when you steered, ahead of its time. Decades later, my 2018 has steering responsive headlights, and it's awesome in the suburbs or other places with not a lot of streetlights. Really really nice feature. Shame we had to wait so long.

    • @jamesphillips2285
      @jamesphillips2285 Рік тому

      My dad's mid-life crisis car is a 2008 Volvo S80 with steerable (projector) headlights. So 10 years ahead of your example.

  • @dr.tankenstien
    @dr.tankenstien 3 роки тому +5

    I actually had the pleasure of working with one of Mr. Tucker's direct descendants at an Advance Auto Store. He told me pretty much the same story as you just mentioned. Classic story of Big Corp afraid of the little guy who came up with a better mouse trap than they did.

  • @Daysaturate
    @Daysaturate 3 роки тому +3

    I first discovered the Tucker '48 when I played Mafia 2 when I was like 10, and I instantly loved the car. Easily recognisable and was the few fastest cars amongst the sports cars in the game. Learned about the history eventually and still wondered what the company could have came up with if it wasn't for the government and the media screwing him and the company over. Something that unique and eye-catching must have been, and probably still would stand out in a crowd.

  • @Ckom-Tunes
    @Ckom-Tunes 3 роки тому +14

    Great work Steve! You always have the most fascinating stories! Not everything is about going 300 MPH...

  • @momcramer3920
    @momcramer3920 3 роки тому +17

    It seems nothing has changed much there will always be somebody somewhere not wanting you to make it

  • @C-M-E
    @C-M-E 3 роки тому +4

    Tucker's story is one that every young designer ought to study at some point in their journey. I remember when the film came out shortly after I read about his ordeal during my first drafting class (back when AutoCAD was NEW software haha). He came up with features that the big 3 or even Germany wouldn't put on production cars for 40 years.

  • @jonathangriffin1120
    @jonathangriffin1120 3 роки тому +5

    The Tucker transmission was what is known as a preselect, they were a kind of bridge between a manual and automatic. Some of the more upmarket British cars used them as well as buses, the London Transport 'Routemaster' buses probably being the best known.

  • @BeyondABuild
    @BeyondABuild 3 роки тому +17

    Thank you Vinwiki for the awesome content! 🙏🛠

  • @lbaker3602001
    @lbaker3602001 Рік тому +2

    When I was in school (you hear a lot of stories going around) I met this guy who, knew this other man that invented a 200 MPG carburetor that used dry ice to cool the gas, air mixture. He wanted to patented it but some people told him he would never make it across the street to get it patented.

  • @dapperdanbuilds
    @dapperdanbuilds 3 роки тому +15

    The Tucker story is so fascinating! The cars are freaking gorgeous!!!

  • @thomasr3805
    @thomasr3805 3 роки тому +45

    Seatbelts? You mean to tell me I’m gonna just go “flying” through the windshield? What’s next? Let me guess.... smoking is gonna kill me? BAHA

    • @AdmiralBlackstar
      @AdmiralBlackstar 3 роки тому +1

      Happened to my Uncle.

    • @Valks-22
      @Valks-22 3 роки тому

      @@AdmiralBlackstar flew through the windshield smoking and died?

    • @AdmiralBlackstar
      @AdmiralBlackstar 3 роки тому +4

      @@Valks-22 not quite. Seperate incidents. He got tossed through a windshield at one point and as he got older his smoking caused medical complications down the line that killed him.

    • @markfortin421
      @markfortin421 3 роки тому

      Flew through the windshield of a '53 Plymouth in 1956, on my 8th birthday...I'm still here but the cars gone! LOL

  • @michaelallen2501
    @michaelallen2501 3 роки тому +5

    Now tell us the John Mosler story. Any car fan that doesn't absolutely loathe the federal government AND the big 3, hasn't heard all the shady shit they pulled off together.

  • @meligoth
    @meligoth 3 роки тому +6

    Steve could have worked for one of the big three as their lawyer, and he would have been unstoppable. Glad he is on the consumer side fighting the good fight.

  • @StockTurboN20
    @StockTurboN20 3 роки тому +7

    1948 Tucker 48 (Torpedo) love those pretty fast for the time and a rear mounted V6 with over 300+ ft-lbs of torque

    • @brentboswell1294
      @brentboswell1294 3 роки тому +1

      Flat 6. Franklin helicopter engine 😉

    • @StockTurboN20
      @StockTurboN20 3 роки тому +1

      @@brentboswell1294 oh flat 6? Thank you for correcting me

    • @brentboswell1294
      @brentboswell1294 3 роки тому +1

      @@StockTurboN20 rumored that the Tucker Torpedo was a major inspiration for the Porsche 911...Dr. Porsche was enamored with the concept. A flat six is a naturally balanced engine configuration, just like a straight 6. A V6 has lots of shake and vibration that cannot be damped easily.

  • @MikeHarris1984
    @MikeHarris1984 3 роки тому +1

    I watch Lehto's Law channel and love the car stories! Thank you for coming on here to tell more stories!!!

  • @dolfan29
    @dolfan29 3 роки тому +8

    It would be amazing to just think if the Tucker brand had survived and became one of the Big 4 what their innovative cars would look like today.

  • @CrackedCandy
    @CrackedCandy 3 роки тому +1

    I used his "how to get out of a ticket". Didn't work. Was driving cross country, get lost have to take a back road that drug smugglers use and happen to have 2 south Americans in the car. Then your "courtesy" is "nervousness" and get called evasive for answering "I don't know" to the question "are there any arms in the vehicle" because it isn't your vehicle. Then they "do you a favor" and only write you a $260 dollar ticket for which it is so far in the middle of nowhere that no attorney services the area. Pro-tip, avoid Oregon.

  • @edwardwerick2420
    @edwardwerick2420 3 роки тому +4

    Thanks, Steve! I have watched the Tucker movie a few times. It's a great story. I could never buy the "Big three trashed Tucker" theory. It didn't pass the smell test because Studebaker and AMC (among others) were left unmolested. The problem was no one (until now) could come up with a better reason for the SEC to go after Tucker and ruin him. It's a shame! I still believe Preston Tucker truly tried to build a superior car at a competitive price. Automotive development since WW2 has vindicated nearly all of his innovative ideas!

  • @todddenio3200
    @todddenio3200 Рік тому +1

    In the 1980's there was a Tucker for sale in an AutoShopper for $5000. I was in highschool and had no way to buy it otherwise I would have.

  • @FredsRandomFinds
    @FredsRandomFinds 3 роки тому +5

    Rover P4's also had the Cyclops headlight Iirc? Sounds like the gearbox was the "Pre Selector" type similar to that used in busses?

  • @kevinfox500
    @kevinfox500 3 роки тому +1

    Interesting fact. The SEC trial took place in the same courtroom where Al Capone was convicted of tax evasion.
    One of my friend's grandfather worked at the plant, and one thing he left with was a shell and the parts, from the 7 incomplete cars. Over the next 10 years he built the car, and it is still running and diving to this day. When my wife and I got married 15 years ago, he loaded it on his car hauler, and brought it to the location, dressed in an era appropriate suit, and was our ride from the church to the reception venue.
    Our pictures with the wedding party were taken with the car. An unofficial Tucker, made from a spare shell, and NOS parts.

  • @katatonos1
    @katatonos1 3 роки тому +5

    I'm glad Steve could lend a little notoriety to this little channel.

  • @illiniwood
    @illiniwood Рік тому +1

    Something sorta similar happened recently between Amazon and a former employee. Look up the "Carleton Nelson v Amazon" lawsuit. This story is a perfect example of when a company gets as big as Amazon they can use the government as a tool to do their bidding at will.

  • @lout3921
    @lout3921 3 роки тому +18

    Steve always has good stories.

  • @manofsheerawsomness
    @manofsheerawsomness 3 роки тому +2

    Same thing happened to Delorean, not a great car for power but an amazing machine, feds used entrapment on him because he was short on funds just before gaining success. He was found INNOCENT of all charges but people only remember the arrest and not the outcome of the trail. I hate the renault v6, but the car and the great man didn't deserve any of that.

  • @joshuanierenberg9807
    @joshuanierenberg9807 3 роки тому +12

    I watched a movie about this in my marketing class back in high school!

  • @Ryan57Garr
    @Ryan57Garr 3 роки тому

    I was totally ignorant about the Tucker until I watched this, and haven’t really ever appreciated 40’s-50’s cars. Super informative and has given me a better appreciation for post-war cars.

  • @VINwiki
    @VINwiki  3 роки тому +16

    Was Preston Tucker the Elon Musk of his day?

    • @sammythewhammy69
      @sammythewhammy69 3 роки тому +5

      In some ways yes!

    • @gullepomp
      @gullepomp 3 роки тому +3

      Yes, as an entrepreneur. Elon was lucky to have more money to start with.

    • @peterbruce1969
      @peterbruce1969 3 роки тому +5

      make it so no one can post links in comments to keep them from posting links to viruses

    • @sammythewhammy69
      @sammythewhammy69 3 роки тому +1

      @@peterbruce1969 Completely unrelated but I do agree

    • @billcooke4413
      @billcooke4413 3 роки тому

      For sure

  • @PontoonGrandpa
    @PontoonGrandpa 3 роки тому +1

    Excellent Steve!! I love the Tucker story, a close relative had a Tucker for many years and sold it when the prices went crazy a few years ago 😩
    Lehto's Law is a great YT channel

  • @juliettedemaso7588
    @juliettedemaso7588 3 роки тому +3

    A story is only as good as its teller. Well done, sir. I did not think I was going to give a sh** about this; and then I ended up watching the whole thing. 🥰👏

  • @RichJordan3
    @RichJordan3 3 роки тому +2

    These cars are beautiful. There is a great museum here in Hershey that inherited 3 of them and a bunch of parts, they built a wing of the museum for them. Really great to see them and some raw chassis's. AACA Car Museum

  • @SGTxHELLCAT
    @SGTxHELLCAT 3 роки тому +4

    And there are currently 4 or 5 of them sitting at a museum in PA at the Hershey automotive museum

    • @bertgrau9246
      @bertgrau9246 3 роки тому

      I seen one at a car museum at San Diego I don't 'remember what number it was, it was blue

  • @GameMaster136
    @GameMaster136 3 роки тому +1

    I was incredibly lucky and have seen one of the very few remaining Tuckers that are still on the road. Some years ago I used to work at the fuel station for a Safeway in NorCal. Was doing an afternoon shift (usually did night) and all of a sudden a beautiful black Tucker pulled up to the pumps. I was blown away with basically seeing a unicorn. A nice older guy was driving it with his wife and he was nice to talk to about it. I don't think I'll ever feel so in awe of seeing a car after that. It's one thing to see a car at a road show or something but on the street like that is incredible. And with in how good condition it was in it had of have been up to $1mill. I'm so glad I was also able to grab pics of it.

  • @groermaik
    @groermaik 3 роки тому +5

    Hundo, unfolded, above the UA-cam award on the upper left side of the set. 1.6k+.

  • @keithk2920
    @keithk2920 3 роки тому +2

    I count myself lucky that there is a Tucker locally, there is a concourse show in Geneva IL (its just a fancy car show downtown Geneva) but a guy has one and puts it on display.

  • @THROTTLEPOWER
    @THROTTLEPOWER 3 роки тому +11

    Great vid ............. Also, the movie Tucker is a really good movie. 😊😉👌

    • @That_AMC_Guy
      @That_AMC_Guy 3 роки тому +1

      And one of quite few biopics that is relatively accurate!! Though it compresses the timeline somewhat, many of the scenes depicted happened just that way!

    • @THROTTLEPOWER
      @THROTTLEPOWER 3 роки тому

      @@That_AMC_Guy Exactly

  • @boblacks945
    @boblacks945 3 роки тому +2

    This story is a good illustration of the importance of real competition in the business world. When Tucker was put out of business all of his innovations were also set aside. Only in the 1980's, when the Japanese finally penetrated the American market did Detroit start to really modernize and become world class.

  • @famus801
    @famus801 3 роки тому +5

    Thank you for sharing this a lot of people don’t even know this existed and you’re keeping Tuckers legacy alive

  • @mikek4107
    @mikek4107 2 роки тому

    Listening at work thinking that sounds like steve lehto. Fun fact it was. This is one of the youtube crossovers i never expected but will definately appreciate. Great story.

  • @knight838_
    @knight838_ 3 роки тому +6

    Sounds like a big 3 squeeze to me

  • @tjseagrove
    @tjseagrove 3 роки тому +1

    Been subbed to Steve for quite awhile, nice to see some car stories over here.

  • @ashp5406
    @ashp5406 3 роки тому +41

    First thing came to my mind :- Isn't it very similar to what Elon has to go through? Fortunately they could not shut him down like Tucker.

    • @brentboswell1294
      @brentboswell1294 3 роки тому +11

      I'm sure the Tesla fan boys portray it that way, but at least when Ford, Chevy, and Nissan build EV's, you don't have to worry about door fit and finish, or being able to properly repair it down the road (including collision repairs and buying replacement parts). Tesla is an unmitigated disaster for consumers!

    • @aidan11162
      @aidan11162 3 роки тому +5

      @@brentboswell1294 that’s what’s called teething problems and been largely overblown. Ignore Tesla all you want but it’s still there and going to be

    • @aidan11162
      @aidan11162 3 роки тому +19

      A huge difference is that Elon came to the scene with money in hand. It’s a lot harder to get shut down when you can cover the costs yourself

    • @theanomalous1401
      @theanomalous1401 3 роки тому +10

      When you consider the value of $15m in 1948 compared to today. Hell, professional ballplayers won't even get out of bed for $15 million. The story of Preston Tucker should underscore the unchecked power of the alphabet government "agencies" and how they wielded that power to destroy a man and his dreams. Spoiler Alert❗ They are still destroying people and dreams, to this very day.

    • @tmanepic
      @tmanepic 3 роки тому +3

      I think he had at least a billion to his name when he took over Tesla, plenty of firepower for legal defence

  • @rickeycompton5518
    @rickeycompton5518 3 роки тому +1

    I saw a Tucker in 1966 in a museum in Nattureal Bridge Virginia. I taught my friends about the car.

  • @aaronburratwood.6957
    @aaronburratwood.6957 3 роки тому +8

    I’ve only ever seen one Tucker in my life.

  • @ricers2k
    @ricers2k 3 роки тому

    I still remember the first time(and only time) I ever saw one on person, I got to see 7 (or 9) of them at once, back in 2012 at the Glenmoor Gathering, there were 7 original 48’s and a movie car from the 1988 film, and a homemade replica. Crazy sight to see them all together in one spot

  • @schalkvandermerwe4160
    @schalkvandermerwe4160 3 роки тому +7

    The more things change, the more they stay the same...

  • @paulyboy1951
    @paulyboy1951 Рік тому +1

    My father worked with his son. He was a bitter man. I went to high school with Preston the 3rd, his son.

  • @aliassmithandjones9453
    @aliassmithandjones9453 3 роки тому +10

    so refreshing to hear a grown man tell a story that doesn't require bleeping every 20 seconds

  • @gregGould
    @gregGould Рік тому +2

    Steve Lehto has a very good UA-cam channel.

  • @muhammadabdullah6912
    @muhammadabdullah6912 3 роки тому +8

    Another Amazing Video

  • @pizza105z
    @pizza105z 3 роки тому

    Thanks for sharing the story! Iv had the honor of seeing one in my uncles garage where a collector keeps his cars and its still one of the coolest cars ever all these years later!

  • @ginobenedetto4943
    @ginobenedetto4943 3 роки тому +8

    I see some strange similarity’s between what happened to Tucker and what is happening to Parlor.

    • @ginobenedetto4943
      @ginobenedetto4943 3 роки тому +4

      @Ross Bourne Parler was surging in downloads when Apple and Android both removed Parlor from their play stores and Amazon removed them from their servers at pretty much Dorseys and Zuckerbergs request. Dorsey even went as far as posting a screen shot on Twitter of the Apple store showing Parler no longer being #1 because they were removed. Parler then went under investigation for helping incite the riot at the capital on Jan 6, and that investigation concluded that Parler had 0 part in it and that the majority of the planing to meet up was actually mostly done in FB groups. A number of social media and tech giants complained about a rising competitor because it threatened their stronghold, slandered them without any real evidence, and now their name is forever tarnished and they will probably never recover, kind of like Tucker. I’m in reality, where are you?

  • @SCRB1GR3D98
    @SCRB1GR3D98 3 роки тому

    I've actually had the amazing chance to see 6 seperate Tuckers up close in real life, 3 of which where in one man's shop in Jersey. Truly amazing car I take the chance to bask in the glory whenever I see one. Truly an awesome car to see.

  • @BlindMansRevenge2002
    @BlindMansRevenge2002 3 роки тому +5

    If there is anyone who ever lived who could actually state “the man is holding me down“ and it actually means something, it would have to be preston Tucker.

  • @rustyramblings5807
    @rustyramblings5807 3 роки тому

    I have had the opportunity to see 3 of them over the years.The first one was in the Harrahs museum in Reno Nevada.A lot of nice cars,and then you see the Tucker.A outstanding car.The last one I got to see was at SEMA in Las Vegas.I got to be up close to it,and look inside and at the engine.Just a well designed car,way ahead of its time.

  • @imaginaryfriend9655
    @imaginaryfriend9655 3 роки тому +33

    Never mind Elon Musk this, Sounds more like the John delorian story to me...

    • @aussie2uGA
      @aussie2uGA 3 роки тому +3

      Both. Anything that disrupts the status quo. Elon Musk is very disruptive to the Detroit cashcow.

    • @patrickcollins1533
      @patrickcollins1533 3 роки тому +1

      Except there was no cocaine involved in Tucker.

  • @timp1051
    @timp1051 Рік тому

    The Antique Automobile Museum in Hershey PA has an excellent Tucker display. They also have one of the vehicles that was used in the movie.
    There was a Tucker dealership at 1223 N. Cameron Street in Harrisburg PA that actually sold a Tucker automobile.
    I will definately pick up a copy of the gentleman's book.

  • @DangaRanga
    @DangaRanga 3 роки тому +4

    I see Steve, i hit that like 💯

  • @kokyleod
    @kokyleod 3 роки тому

    Seeing DeVoe Moore's Tucker in the Tallahassee car museum as a kid was really cool.
    I had no idea what I was looking at back then, but my dad sure did.
    I'm glad I've gotten to see one in person.

  • @modernhaze3
    @modernhaze3 3 роки тому +8

    They Should Have the lady do the closing for VinWiki On Steves Videos

  • @chouseification
    @chouseification 3 роки тому

    I have a small piece that would be a factory original part of a Tucker.
    I inherited my grandparents' old 1949 Mills/Evans Constellation jukebox, which plays 78 RPM records.
    Apparently when Tucker was sourcing parts, he came upon a large supply of the medallion disks under the nameplate on the jukebox (Mills was liquidated and Evans bought most but not all of their parts - Tucker bought some as well) - he used those as the horn button. It's funny seeing that medallion knowing how many more jukeboxes have them than Tucker '48 cars did. :P

  • @kylekennedy420
    @kylekennedy420 3 роки тому +3

    Such foul play, imagine if the Tucker car company was still around today.

  • @VicsGarage71
    @VicsGarage71 3 роки тому +2

    Great video and story.
    I'm sure you cover it in your book but the the US attorney the chased him down was also convicted of perjury, bribery and other stuff later in life. Some of it got overturned later, but where there's smoke.

  • @jparsons233
    @jparsons233 3 роки тому +6

    It’s amazing how Preston Tucker and John DeLorean stories are so similar.

    • @macgriggs9350
      @macgriggs9350 3 роки тому +3

      Wasn't DeLorean like an actual drug kingpin tho? Who committed actual crimes?

    • @jparsons233
      @jparsons233 3 роки тому +3

      @@macgriggs9350 no way way off. John DeLorean needed money so a group of guys said they’d help and invited him over. Well when he arrived they threaten him and his families lives. He contacted his lawyer and told him to stay with it until they can legally get out. The cocaine used in the bust was actually government owned because it was seized from a previous drug bust about a month prior. They told John they’d cut his wife’s and daughters heads off and put them on his door step if he didn’t comply. One of the guys that set him up was a man named Stephen Arrington and he along with others did prison time and was later pardoned by Obama few years ago. He’s came to several DeLorean events and told his story how he and others framed an innocent man. He’s even wrote a book about it. He’s actually a very nice guy. The feds wanted someone big to take down for a promotion and they seen John fit the bill. So there was no cocaine in the cars and no John was not a coke head it was all a scam to get him out of business.

    • @jparsons233
      @jparsons233 3 роки тому +2

      @@macgriggs9350 John DeLoreans trials went on for a few years but he was found not guilty on all counts and the agents that set him up did prison time as I said above. So no he was not. There’s so much misinformation about these cars history and it drives us delorean guys nuts. The media went nuts and spread it like wild fire and really did slander the car and John DeLorean. Should read In DeLoreans shadow by Stephen Arrington he will explain how John was set up. I’ll take the story of the man that was actually there over any wiki page or UA-cam video about it. So much misinformation as I said because we’ve heard it all.

    • @Shane-zx4ps
      @Shane-zx4ps 3 роки тому

      . The British government set up Delorean cause he got millions of taxpayers money and then the company went bust, but the brits never forgave him and got him stitched up with the help of the American authorities...

    • @jparsons233
      @jparsons233 3 роки тому +1

      @@Shane-zx4ps that’s true. The money was set to save the company but sad thing is it arrived an hour too late. They pulled out after John was on the news. So if the contract came earlier that day the company would have survived a little longer and could have been around today.

  • @mcpheonixx
    @mcpheonixx 3 роки тому +1

    I had the opportunity to see a Tucker at Silver Springs, Florida. It was a gorgeous car. I had seen the movie and was excited to see the real deal with my own eye's.

  • @Kchill1986
    @Kchill1986 3 роки тому +4

    Very interesting story!

  • @numlockkilla
    @numlockkilla 3 роки тому +3

    The movie is my favorite movie of all time. Jeff bridges is amazing. Best roll ever. Even better than backdraft.