1948 Tucker 48 Sedan

The only American car that received more publicity than the Kaiser in the post-World War II years was the Tucker Torpedo. Preston Tucker was determined to build a new car with more forward-looking features - 'the first completely new car in fifty years as the Tucker brochures stated. At his side, the flamboyant Tucker had Alex Tremulis, the renowned auto stylist who had learned his craft from E.L. Cord. The original design for the new car featured a center-placed steering wheel and front fenders that would turn with the wheels. In the original design, the car used a horizontally opposed engine with hydraulically actuated valves, and an integrated crankshaft driving an automatic transmission. This engine could not be made functional in time for production, so a Franklin helicopter engine, modified from air to liquid cooling, was used to drive a redesigned Cord front-wheel drive transmission replacing the Tuckermatic (which was not developed in time to be installed in the production Tuckers).

In place of the moving front fenders, Tucker installed a third headlight that turned with the steering wheel. The 'Cyclops Eye' headlight was just one of the several safety features that were placed in the tucker. The dash area was padded, the windshields could be popped out, and all controls were grouped in front of the driver. The area ahead of the front seat, called the Safety Chamber, was a large carpeted box that the driver and front-seat occupants could drop into if a crash was imminent. Tucker had considered safety belts, but they were abandoned because designers felt that they might imply his car was unsafe. The disc brakes planned for the car were abandoned because of cost, but the car retained the all-independent suspension and tubular shocks. Though not built with uni-body construction like Hudson, the Tucker had a step-down passenger compartment, which gave the car a very low center of gravity. This, in turn, allowed the 4200-pound car to handle surprisingly well.

Source - SDAM