The 1948 Tucker Torpedo

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Recommended: Innovation

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.

Preston Tucker’s dream above all other things was to make a safe car. Because of this the Tucker 1948 had many revolutionary safety features. Some of these features wouldn't be used for some time by other manufacturers. Every detail mattered so with safety being most important the engineers designed some new components. The instrument panel had all the controls within easy reach of the steering wheel and the dashboard was padded. The initial plans for the car also included a steering wheel that would retract in an accident. Kenneth Lyman even filed Patent number 2511165 for it on Dec 5, 1947 on behalf of the Tucker Corporation (Lyman, n.d.). This device unfortunately never had a chance to make it into the 50 vehicles produced. Even though it was symbolic of the innovative ideas they had. Some of them due to time constraints...

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...e of Challenges and Changes (pp. 264–265). Lincolnwood, Illinois, United States: Publications International, Ltd.

Lyman, Kenneth E.. (n.d.). COLLAPSIBLE VEHICLE STEERING COLUMN - Google Patent Search. Retrieved March 2, 2010, from http://www.google.com/patents?id=tCpwAAAAEBAJ&zoom=4&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q=&f=false.

Pearson, C. T. (1960). The Indomitable Tin Goose. Minneapolis, MN: Motorbooks International Publishers & Wholesalers Inc.

The Showroom of Automotive History: 1948 Tucker. (n.d.). . Retrieved February 18, 2010, from http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/showroom/1948/tucker.html.

Tucker, P. (1948, June 15). Open Letter. The Official Tucker Club of America . Retrieved February 18, 2010, from http://www.tuckerclub.org/html/openletter.html.

Windsor, H. H. (1947, September). Popular Mechanics. Popular Mechanics, 88(September 1947), 136-138 236 240.

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