Tucker’s Torpedo Turned out to Be a Lemon, and RCR Explains Why

Photo: Rex Gray via Wikipedia

The name Tucker has become a cautionary tale in the automotive world for the kind of blue sky thinking, convention-ignoring iconoclast that decides that they can build a car that’s faster, safer and all around better than the brands that have been doing it for decades. It’s also become synonymous with that pie-in-the-sky car turning out to be something of a lemon.

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Hell, even everyone’s favorite example of someone who did this and beat the odds only invested money in an already-founded company and didn’t even become CEO until five years after that company was incorporated. Plus, there’s no way the company would have survived and brought a viable product to market without massive assistance from the government.

The Life and Death of Tucker Automotive Corporation: RCR Car Stories

Other than being said cautionary tale (and a pretty decent Jeff Bridges movie), Tucker was different from many of the other also-rans in that the Tucker 48 (aka the Torpedo) featured a lot of things that would go on to become standard in the automotive industry. It was a car built well ahead of its time, and perhaps, without the Big Three playing their dirty pool, the Tucker could have been something.

The story of the man and his car company is too long and nuanced to discuss in this short format, but thankfully, the fellas at Regular Car Reviews have us covered. The latest in their series of well-researched and carefully considered long form documentary videos, RCR Stories, does precisely that.

Tucker: The Man And His Dream Trailer 1988

So, make sure your boss is ignoring you, throw on your headphones, and listen to The Roman tell you the short but exciting history of the Tucker car company and then segue that right into “Tucker: A Man and His Dream” because you can be productive later.