Editing Tucker 48 (section)

== Development ==
After [[World War II]], the public was ready for new car designs, but the [[Big Three (automobile manufacturers)|Big Three]] Detroit automakers had not developed any new models since 1941 because their resources had been diverted towards producing war [[materiel]]. This provided opportunities for new, small automakers which could develop new cars faster than the huge legacy automakers. [[Studebaker]] was the first to introduce an all-new postwar model series in the [[Ponton (car)|ponton style]] which had just gone mainstream, but Tucker took a different track, designing a safe car with innovative features and modern styling. His specifications called for a [[water-cooled]] aluminum block<ref name=fordmuseum/> [[flat-6]] [[RR layout|rear engine]], [[disc brake]]s, four-wheel [[independent suspension]],<ref name=fordmuseum/> [[fuel injection]], the location of all instruments within reach of the steering wheel, seat belts and a padded dashboard.

[[File:Tucker Torpedo Brochure c. 1947.jpg|thumb|left|Tucker Torpedo brochure, c. 1947. This concept drawing includes a centrally positioned steering wheel, doors that wrap up into the roof, and front fenders that turn when the car is cornering. These features did not reach production.]]
Before the war's end, Preston Tucker began working on plans for his new automobile. In the summer of 1944, he hired noted car designer George S. Lawson to style his new automobile.<ref>Lawson SEC Trial Testimony, National Archives, Chicago</ref> Lawson worked on the project for over a year and a half before his design debuted publicly, beginning about February 1946 and found as late as a year later in March 1947.<ref>{{cite news |title= Car of the Future |work= San Antonio Light |date= February 11, 1946 |page= 5}}</ref> Lawson was named the Tucker Corporation's "chief stylist" in February 1946, immediately upon the company's formation.<ref>{{cite news |title= Torpedo Car Will Be Made in Chicago |url= https://newspaperarchive.com/us/michigan/traverse-city/traverse-city-record-eagle/1946/02-11/page-2 |work= [[Traverse City Record-Eagle]] |agency= [[United Press International]] |date= February 11, 1946 |page= 2}}</ref>

In December 1946, Lawson resigned from the company after a disagreement with Preston Tucker, and shortly thereafter, stylist [[Alex Tremulis]] of local Chicago design firm Tammen & Denison was hired and furthered the development of the Lawson design. Tucker gave Tammen & Denison and Tremulis a three-month contract, which expired in March 1947 and was not renewed.<ref name="ReferenceA">Tremulis SEC Trial Testimony, National Archives, Chicago</ref> The culmination of Tremulis' efforts during this phase of design development was featured in a full-page advertisement run in numerous national newspapers in March 1947. Tremulis' design was based directly upon the work of George Lawson, but incorporated his own artistic flair.

Simultaneous with Tremulis' departure, Preston Tucker hired a team of five designers ([[Read Viemeister]], Budd Steinhilber, Tucker Madawick, Hal Bergstrom and Phillip Egan) from the New York design firm [[Lippincott (brand consultancy)|J. Gordon Lippincott]], who updated Tremulis' design just as Tremulis had done with Lawson's.<ref name="Egan 1989">{{cite book |last= Egan |first= Philip S. |title= Design and Destiny: The Making of the Tucker Automobile |year= 1989 |publisher= On the Mark |location= Orange, CA |isbn= 978-0-924321-00-9 |edition= 1st |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/designdestinymak00egan }}{{page needed|date= April 2014}}</ref>

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| image1            = 1948 Tucker Torpedo - Flickr - exfordy (2).jpg
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| footer            = (Left): Tucker Torpedo photographed at the 2008 [[Goodwood Festival of Speed]], [[England]]; (right): Tucker 48 at the [[San Diego Automotive Museum]]
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After a month's absence, Tremulis was rehired and the two independent design groups developed full-size clay models side by side in direct competition.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Surviving photographs of the two models reveal that Tremulis' clay design remained unchanged from his March 1947 advertisement proposal and was not chosen for production. The passenger side of the Lippincott team's clay model (they submitted two designs), which incorporated the side profile developed by Tremulis prior to their arrival, was chosen virtually intact for the production automobile's styling.<ref name="Egan 1989"/>

The Tucker 48's evolving appearance in the company's press releases and other promotional materials, combined with suggestive statements such as "15 years of testing produced the car of the year"—despite no running prototype existing ''at the time''—were instrumental in the SEC filing mail and conspiracy fraud charges against Preston Tucker. The SEC, however, failed to prove its case, and Tucker was acquitted of all charges in January 1950.<ref>{{cite news |title= Tucker Acquitted of Fraud; Wants to Build Autos |work=[[Jacksonville Daily Journal]] |date= January 24, 1950 |page= 1}}</ref> However, the company never recovered.

Tremulis, like George Lawson, was eventually named the Tucker Corporation's "chief stylist", although the first reference to him holding this position does not appear until 1948, after the Tucker 48's exterior styling was completed.<ref>''Tucker Topics," Tucker Corporation, 1948</ref>

The Tucker automobile was originally named the "Torpedo", but was changed to "Tucker '48" around the time of Lawson's departure and Tremulis' arrival, reportedly because Tucker did not want to remind the public of the horrors of World War II. Despite the name change, the Tucker 48 is still often referred to as the Tucker Torpedo. Alex Tremulis has claimed responsibility for dubbing the first prototype automobile the "Tin Goose", a name which is presently used in an affectionate manner but at the time was considered derogatory.<ref>{{cite news |title= Fantastic Tucker Story |work= Waukesha Daily Freeman |date= June 29, 1949 |page= 8}}</ref>