That's It!
Eventually, Egan and the others in the design department came up with the design for the car that satisfied Tucker, and the Tin Goose was rushed to completion. For those of you familiar with the film, the last minute race to get the car completed for the unveiling portrayed in the film matches all the accounts I've read almost exactly. The car wasn't quite what Tucker had promised. The fuel injection had to be replaced with twin carbs, the car couldn't back up, and the interior was incomplete, but the crowd still loved it. Everyone with the company hoped that there'd be time to fix the problems later, but for now, that didn't matter. What mattered was the car was a success.
During all of this, Tucker was having to battle with the SEC over the stock sale. It had been hoped that the showing of the car would take place after the stock had gone on sale, but there were a number of details the SEC wanted ironed out before the stock could be sold. While some conflict with government agencies is to be expected, Tucker felt that he was being unfairly yanked around by the SEC. They'd approve a proposal submitted by the Tucker Corporation for the stock sale, only to turn around and demand changes a short time later. In the meantime, Tucker was being deprived of the cash he needed to continue operations and development of his car. Eventually, he would be given some breathing room, but it wouldn't be enough.
Another problem Tucker ran into was a shortage of steel. This was not limited to Tucker. The entire automotive industry was having problems with their suppliers getting parts and materials to them. Tucker's solution to the problem was to bid on steel plants being auctioned off by the War Assets Administration. Tucker figured that if the company owned a steel mill, they wouldn't have to deal with the problems that the other car companies were facing. Tucker submitted the high bid on one plant, only to have the WAA cancel the auction, claiming problems with the bidding process. The rules were quickly changed in favor of the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation (which was already producing cars at this point) and the mill was awarded to KF before Tucker had a chance to revise his bid.
It was also at about this time that Tucker found himself the subject of renewed attention by the SEC. Exactly why the SEC was so interested in Tucker is a bit of a mystery. True, the stock sale hadn't gone as well as planned, but the company had adequate capital on hand to cover expenses and Tucker had complied fully with SEC requests. Additionally, the company had paid it's rent on the plant on schedule to the WAA. For reasons unknown, one of the checks wasn't cashed immediately, but that's hardly Tucker's fault.
The Republican senator from Detroit, Homer Ferguson led the charge against Tucker this time. Ferguson's a bit of an enigma. With Truman's election to the Vice Presidency, Ferguson assumed Truman's seat on the Chairman of the Investigations Subcommittee of the Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments. It was on this committee that Truman's dogged efforts at pursuing defense contractors and others attempting to defraud the war effort came to public notice and propelled Truman into the spotlight, which directly led to him getting the VP nomination in '44. Ferguson didn't have time to accomplish much before the war ended. Of course, it's Ferguson's postwar actions which are interesting, to say the least.
