ReviewBook review: did dirty tricks destroy the car of the future?
Entrepreneur Preston Tucker wanted to create a new car for the boom following the second world war, but Big Auto may have had other ideas
By Steve Lehto
Amazon Digital Services (e-book)
Master salesman Preston Tucker wanted to build a car to satisfy the post-war demands of the auto-starved American public. That car would be revolutionary and futuristic, using the latest technology. Thousands of consumers signed up for the Tucker ’48 before it even existed, but, when it was released, the car was plagued by transmission and engine problems. As Steve Lehto demonstrates, those minor irritants were soon eclipsed. Lehto believes Tucker was skewered by Big Auto and its friends in the Securities and Exchange Commission, who forced Tucker to jump through regulatory hoops while alleging fraud and ruining his reputation. This is a colourful tale of a David run off the road by a Goliath and of a near-mythical car.
