Crazy Vehicle

The  Tucker 48  (named after its model year) is an  automobile  conceived by  Preston Tucker  and briefly produced in  Chicago  in 1948. Only 51 cars were made before the company ceased operations on March 3, 1949, due to negative publicity initiated by the news media, a Securities and Exchange Commission Investigation and a heavily publicized stock fraud trial (in which the allegations were proven baseless and led to a full acquittal). Speculation exists that the Big Three  automakers and Michigan Senator  Homer S. Ferguson  also had a role in the Tucker Corporation's demise. The 1988 movie  Tucker: The Man and His Dream  is based on the saga surrounding the car's production. The film's director,  Francis Ford Coppola , is a Tucker owner and displays his vehicle on the grounds of his winery. The 48's original proposed price was said to be $1,000, but the actual selling price was closer to $4,000. A 1948 Tucker s...