By George Evans Taylor, Jr
Note: Today, Feb/11/2001, while looking thru some of my old computer disks I found the following letter. The letter is self explanatory, I hope you enjoy reading it as I did after all of these years. Maybe you remember the Tucker automobile, it is still stylish today!
Feb 16, 1997
To: Mr. Frank Tucker, Curator
Tucker Automobile Club Archives
1335 Eastern Place, NE
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49505
(616)458-2282
Subject: Original Tucker Automobile Brochure
(Ref our previous communication.)
In 1948 I was a seventeen year old boy working in a local garage in my hometown of Malvern Arkansas. I don't recall any pre-publicity concerning the showing of the Tucker Automobile but somehow I knew about it. In a town of about six thousand people news travels fast.
Malvern was/is, located about forty miles south of Little Rock on US 67. It was at the time the main route from Little Rock Arkansas to Texarkana Texas.
As I recall the event in Malvern Arkansas happened as follows:
Forty or fifty people gathered at a vacant building on highway 67 East, on the north side of the highway. It had been designated as the new dealership location according to a sign in the window. Inside were brochures and this is where I got the one I am donating to the Archives. As you can see I have not taken special care of the brochure but over the years kept it with old car magazines. (The only other Tucker brochure I have seen was in a car museum on the "main drag" in Pigeon Forge Tennessee. The date was about 1975.)
In Malvern the Tucker Automobile was parked in front of the building where everyone could have a "hands on" look at it. The driver was there to show it and answer questions. As a young mechanic I gave it a good "looking over". I was very much impressed with all of it's details, especially the center turning headlight, the dash located shift lever and the type/location of the engine. I had never seen a rear engined car nor a flat six cylinder engine. (When the Chevrolet Corvair came on the market I remembered the Tucker engine.) The man said the six original cars were using engine blocks made of a bronze alloy, the production units were to have engine blocks made of aluminum.
After the crowd had gathered the Malvern Police blocked off US 67 and the driver made a fast run in each direction in front of the designated building. This was an experience to remember as I found out later my future wife Betty Sue Tillery (I didn't know her then) was in the crowd.
No, I did not continue to work as a mechanic altho cars continue to be one of my many hobbies. I worked for Ford Motor Company in Sheffield Alabama for twenty-seven years, retired as Engineering Supervisor.
I hereby donate the above described brochure to the Tucker Automobile Club Archives.
Signed: George E. Taylor