The automobile fail, that is the Tucker 48

    Preston Tucker was an automobile designer in the late 40's. His idea, which was meant to revolutionize cars in general, was the Tucker 48. A car that promised to deliver what other cars of the time could not. This was considered to be a highly advanced car which was going to retail at an affordable price. However, the Tucker was not a success and this can be attributed to a numerous amount of reasons. Firstly, the market was already an Oligopoly, dominated by the big three (GM, Ford, and Chrysler). Additionally, the automobile industry was extremely competitive and costly for a new car maker. Tucker did not make things easy on himself by having all cars produced be handmade. In doing this, costs went up and time to produce increased. As we have learned, production in large scale, in a factory situation, is much more efficient in time and cost, than handmade. The fault was not only on the big three and the market however, Tucker created a car with suspension failures and a body that was taken from parts of an Oldsmobile.
     The biggest speculation among the failure of the Tucker 48, has to do with the big three. Allegedly, collusion between these companies occurred and they came to an agreement that they had to take down Tucker. This is because many thought he produced a car far more superior than of these three automakers. It is speculated that the big three got their part suppliers to stop selling to Tucker, therefore, rendering him unable to produce. However, there is no proof to back this up, but many believe this is true. If it is the case that the big three did push him out of the game, this is an example of collusion in Oligopolies and it shows how powerful it can be. Regardless, it is unlikely that Tucker would have succeeded even if suspected collusion was not present. He doomed himself with the lack of producing efficiency he achieved. Lastly, the Tucker 48 looked good on paper, but in reality did not perform well and had many issues. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Tucker 48 was a car that promised more than it truly could, and additionally, is possibly a victim of collusion.