The Post-War Dream
Strikes quickly became the bane of every car maker, because if any of them managed to avoid a strike, their suppliers weren't so lucky. Of course, it's understandable why the unions chose to strike: Wages had been frozen at prewar levels and when the production lines restarted, their employers made no mention of pay increases which employees had naturally assumed were coming.
For anyone trying to buy a new car at this point (as were many returning GIs), the situation was extremely frustrating. If you were lucky enough to find a dealership with cars for sale, you had to take what they offered, both in terms of price and options. Many times, new car dealers would have what little inventory they had, bought up by used car dealers, who would then mark up the prices on the cars to obscene levels, knowing that customers would have no choice but to pay it if they wanted a new car.
When the war started to wind down, Tucker began trying to find investors for his car company. He knew that the best chance someone had for capturing a share of the market would be soon after the war ended. Americans would be wanting cars, and anyone who had a car on the market which was dramatically different than prewar models would have a tremendous advantage. Magazine articles were already hinting that the amazing technological developments which were helping America to win the war would show up in cars once the war was over. Tucker was positive that his car would be a success.
Tucker first tried to get his car company started in Detroit, but quickly discovered that the only way this would be possible was for him to give up total control of the company, including any shot at the company ever making a profit. The people who wanted to back him, would only agree to do it if they got an insane percentage or control of the company in return. Abe Karatz suggested to Tucker that they try to land the Dodge aircraft plant in Chicago, since the War Assets Administration was apparently desperate to unload the plant. Chicago also had large number of steel mills and other industrial operations located within the city, which would mean that suppliers of components to the Tucker Corporation were close by. After traveling to Chicago and looking over everything, Tucker agreed.
In some ways, going after the plant was a mistake on Tucker's part. Certainty, at 475 acres, it was more than large enough to build cars in. Plus it came with two foundries, one for magnesium and the other for aluminum (which would mean that Tucker could cast his engine blocks on site). It was also prime fodder for hyping in advertising, what with it being the world's largest plant and all. However, it was also rumored to be hotly desired by several manufacturers, including the Lustron Corporation, which would ultimately gain control of the plant after Tucker was tossed out. It was also more expensive than some of the other, smaller plants available. The fight to get and keep the plant, was just one of the struggles he would have to endure while trying to get his company going.
With the acquisition of the plant, Tucker now needed a prototype and money to begin operations. At this point, it was decided that the best way to do so, was by selling dealerships. As soon as this happened, Tucker found himself to be the subject of an “informal investigation” by the SEC, who claimed that dealership franchises constituted a “security.” It took months of wrangling by lawyers on both sides, before the SEC was satisfied that the company was legit. This did have the effect of hurting sales, and so Tucker began making arrangements to sell stock in the company, as a way to raise the additional cash needed. Another problem was when Wilson Wyatt, Truman's new housing director yanked the plant out from under Tucker and awarded it to the Lustron Corporation. As well can be imagined, this killed the sale of new dealerships, and brought things to a halt until it could be sorted out. Tucker was able to regain control of the plant, but had to share space with Lustron.
As for the prototype, things were slightly better. The initial reaction to the ads and articles for the Tucker Torpedo, generated a great deal of positive response, but Tucker wasn't happy with the design of the car. To correct this, he hired Alex Tremulis, who had done design work for the military during the war and had been stationed at Wright-Patterson, which is where many of the captured “wonder weapons” of Germany were brought for study. It was also here that Tremulis designed a vehicle which decades later was to evolve into the space shuttle. Tremulis came up with the overall shape of the car, but credit for the front and rear belongs to the members of the J. Gordon Lippencott team Tucker brought into help.
