The Auto Channel
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
Official Website of the New Car Buyer

TUCKER CONVERTIBLE? The Tucker Autmobile Club of America responds


PHOTO

SEE ALSO: Response From Benchmark Classics, LLC

A TUCKER CONVERTIBLE?

Over the past twenty years, the Tucker Automobile Club of America, Inc.-recognized as the foremost authority on Tucker Automobiles-has been asked repeatedly to make an official statement or a detailed response in regards to the authenticity of a purported Tucker convertible.

With the upcoming public auction of a vehicle which the sellers contend is an actual uncompleted Tucker Corporation convertible concept car, we feel compelled to restate our long-standing position:

The Tucker Automobile Club of America, Inc. (TACA) has never been presented with-nor have been able to find-any credible evidence to prove the authenticity of this or any other vehicle as being a Tucker Corporation intended convertible and therefore we can not certify it as such.

While TACA is certainly not ready to completely dismiss the possibility that a Tucker convertible could have been built by the Tucker Corporation, we have never discovered nor been presented with sufficient evidence to prove such a car was planned for or started at the factory.

It is worth noting that TACA maintains the Tucker Historical Collection and Library, an archive collection of several thousand original company documents, factory photos, and other materials. This includes production records for the prototype, known as the Tin Goose, and the 50 pilot-production Tucker sedans completed prior to plant operations ceasing, as well as inventory documents identifying surplus bodies, engines, and various parts. The National Archives holds vast amounts of Tucker Corporation-related material: the SEC investigation papers, trial transcripts, bankruptcy proceedings, and lawsuit documents. There are two private collections containing multiple copies of original company records including over 60,000 original blueprints for the 1948 Tucker Sedan. Yet, to date, no evidence has been found in any of these materials to support the claim of a Tucker Corporation convertible.

TACA and independent historians alike have investigated this contention at great lengths. While many respect the visual appeal and presentation of this "Tucker convertible," the overwhelming consensus of individual opinions continues to be that inadequate evidence exists to support the claim of this being an original Tucker convertible (with many believing that the evidence to date negates the possibility of it being a genuine Tucker convertible).

TACA recognizes that this vehicle appears to have been built using many authentic Tucker parts, such as an engine, some body panels, and etc. It may well represent, as a tribute car, what a Tucker convertible would have looked like had one been produced by the Tucker Corporation.

This vehicle has never been presented to TACA for a comprehensive review per our certification / authentication process, nor has the seller responded to our request seeking the engine serial number and data plate information. TACA has insufficient evidence to otherwise authenticate this vehicle as being a genuine attempt by the Tucker Corporation to produce a convertible model or concept. As always, the burden of providing adequate evidence to establish authentication falls on the presenter. TACA can only rely upon Primary evidence-direct, uninterrupted historical documents and materials-and formulate an opinion accordingly. If other such documentation proving (pointing to, indicating) the existence of a convertible project existed, it has not (never) been made available to TACA.

This is not a case of TACA having an interest in the existence or non-existence of such a vehicle: either way, TACA neither gains nor loses anything. We have no financial stake in taking sides. Our position is clear: without credible evidence, we cannot rewrite history; we cannot state that Tucker Corporation planned for or started a convertible project; nor can we certify this or any other vehicle as being an authentic Tucker Corporation convertible.

The Tucker Automobile Club of America, Inc. would welcome both the current owner and any prospective purchaser to become members of our organization, share in the ongoing research and findings, and join together as we strive to preserve the fascinating history of the Tucker automobile and all those who contributed to it.

Respectfully,

Jay A. Follis, President
Officers and Board of Directors
Tucker Automobile Club of America, Inc

Jay A. Follis, President - Tucker Automobile Club of America, Inc. 

Director - Tucker Historical Collection and Library
at GILMORE CAR MUSEUM
6865 Hickory Road,
Hickory Corners, MI 49060
PH. 269-671-5089  ext. 13
FAX 269-671-5843
www.TuckerClub.org

The Tucker Automobile Club of America, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit
Corporation organized under the laws of the State of Indiana.