The 405 Aired Sept 24th, 2025

1st part of the Tucker torpedo automobile story.

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Episode Transcript

OK Solberg (00:00):
I wanna again welcome you into The 04:05
Coffee Break. Hey. That soundslike it's recorded, Jordan. I'm
right here. Get you a cup ofcoffee, glass iced tea, bottle
of water.
Let's see what's happening.Spring wheat, $5.14 a bushel.
550 pounds steer calf. I neverthought I'd say this in my

(00:20):
entire life, $3.41 a pound. Abutcher hog in Iowa, 59¢ a
pound, and a 100 pound lambthat's fat, in Billings, 202.
But guys, there's more, muchmore. Guess what? Guess what? I
got feedback from yesterday'sepisode and someone out there

(00:41):
desired to hear about PrestonTucker, the designer of the 1948
Tucker torpedo automobile. Well,you gotta know, love hearing
from all y'all, and I'd love toinform you about Preston Tucker,
not Malcolm Tucker, PrestonTucker.

(01:04):
How many of you have even heardof the Tucker automobile? Oh,
it's a great story. Kinda sad inthe end, but it's still a great
story. See, here's the deal, Ifyou know your history, you
realize World War two got overofficially on 09/02/1945. But

(01:29):
because of that war, civilianautomobile production was
halted.
From February 1942 till October1945 in The United States, no
cars were made. Well, once thewar's over, people are happy and
people are hungry for some newcars. They wanted to celebrate,

(01:52):
saying hallelujah. Well, PrestonTucker had himself an idea. See,
young Preston Tucker at the ageof 16 began purchasing late
model automobiles, repairing andrefurbishing them to sell for a
profit.
Then shortly after that, he gota job for Cadillac Motor

(02:15):
Company, where he used rollerskates to make his rounds. In
1922, at the age of 20, 19actually, he quit his job and
went to work for the LincolnPark Police Department. And
guys, what drew him to this jobwas the desire to drive and ride

(02:37):
the fast, high performancepolice cars. Now his mom threw a
monkey wrench into his policeplans because of his age, he
wasn't 21 yet, and Preston hadto leave that job with the
police department, and he got ajob at a gas station. And it
wasn't long, and he beganselling Studebaker cars.

(02:59):
Anyway, Preston Tucker's liferevolved around automobiles.
Let's fast forward or I'll neverget it all told. During the war,
Preston Tucker joined themilitary effort by inventing, he
really did, and manufacturing ahighly mobile gun turret called
the Tucker turret for the Navy.That's a whole story in itself,

(03:24):
but after the war, this man, now42 years young, secured, listen,
the Chicago Dodge plant, whichwas one of the largest
manufacturing building in theworld at that time. It had
previously been used by the USgovernment to build B29's for
the war effort.

(03:45):
Preston Tucker had a dream andit was a dream for a state of
the art automobile. Now guyswith the clock ticking and my
time running out, be sure totune in again tomorrow as I
continue this story, but hereare some highlights. His new car
was scheduled to have a rearmounted horizontally opposed six

(04:06):
cylinder engine, a safetywindshield designed to pop out
during a crash so you wouldn'tget cut by the glass. It also
was going to have a thirdheadlight, and it did have a
third headlight nicknamed theCyclops Eye, that turned with
the steering wheel. The car wasto have disc brakes, fuel

(04:27):
injection, seat belts, and aroll bar integrated into the
roof.
Now realize Tucker's innovationand bold entrance into the
market threatened the big threeand their dominance, you know,
General Motors, Ford andChrysler, though not directly
proven, many believe thesecompanies influence government

(04:51):
regulators and the media to helpstifle Tucker's efforts. But
guys, he built a car. He builtmore than one car. In fact,
there are still 47 Tucker carsstill around today. 47 out of
the 51 that were produced.
Now I can only wet your appetiteon this program today, but in

(05:14):
1988, Francis Ford Coppoladirected the movie Tucker, the
man in his dream. You go out andwatch that movie. Oh, it turned
into a big mess with all thelegal troubles, and in the
courtroom where he was chargedwith fraud for selling something
that wasn't present. Outside thecourtroom, they brought one of

(05:37):
the automobiles coined theTucker torpedo. It's sitting,
guys, right outside thecourtroom where this man is up
for fraud charges.
Tucker's defense attorney,William T Kirby, delivered a
brilliantly sarcastic closingstatement that became a legend,
With that car actually sittingoutside the courthouse, Kirby

(06:01):
said, they call this fraud.Well, there's a car, gentlemen.
Where's the fraud? In the glovecompartment? It is a tremendous
story.
You guys will have to view oneor more of the cars, they're
still out there. There's one atthe museum in Hershey,
Pennsylvania, one in Huntingdon,Pennsylvania, there's one in the

(06:26):
Museum of American Speed inLincoln, Nebraska, and another
at the Smithsonian NationalMuseum in Washington DC. I'll
close with a bible verse andthen tune in again tomorrow for
more about Preston Tucker. Theverse comes from Psalm 118:22 It

(06:50):
reads, the stone the buildersrejected has become the
cornerstone.
Now, I realize this verse istalking about Jesus, but Tucker
Preston was also rejected andnow everyone wants a Tucker
torpedo. Woulda, coulda,shoulda. So until next time, as

(07:14):
you go out there, remember now,don't be bitter.