Tucker
Preston Thomas Tucker (21 September 1903 – 26 December 1956) was an American auto entrepreneur who created the ground-breaking Tucker 48 sedan, sometimes known as the "Tucker Torpedo," which introduced a number of innovations that are now commonplace in contemporary vehicles.
The Tucker '48's production was halted on March 3, 1949, amid controversy and contentious charges of stock fraud, for which Tucker was ultimately found not guilty. The 1988 film Tucker: The Man and His Dream is based on the life of Tucker and the events leading up to the car's creation.
The Tucker armored automobile was one of American businessman Preston Tucker's projects during World War Two (also known as the Tucker Tiger Tank even though it was not a tank).
The high-speed armored car prototypes were tested, but no operational versions were requested. The car was built with an extremely potent V12 engine, allowing it to go at speeds of 114 mph (183 km/h) on the road and 78 mph (126 km/h) off the beaten path. The vehicle was designed with a 37-millimeter (1.5 in) anti-aircraft cannon that can fire 120 rounds per minute and is positioned in an aircraft-style spherical gun turret as its primary weapon.
For production vehicles, hull-mounted machine guns would have been added to the turret. The car was touted as being so quick that it could pursue airplanes and engage them with more shots than stationary gun batteries or slower cars.
When Tucker appeared before the Securities and Exchange Commission many years after the war, his publicists made a colorful half-hour video for the Commission members titled Tucker: The Man and his Vehicle. The Tucker armored vehicle and Tucker gun turret, which were never used as weapons, were portrayed to have been significant weaponry in World War II in this movie. Tucker's promotional film is to blame for the myths, according to Steve Lehto and Jay Leno, who attempted to dispel them regarding Tucker's role in World War II and career.
Tucker Corporation
https://www.tuckercorporation.com
