Yet another Tucker 48 story

For a car that only had a total of 51 examples ever built, the Tucker 48 really secured a big chunk of automotive history.  The cars themselves were pretty interesting, but when you combine that with a charismatic founder, legal issues, and competitive pressures, you have end up with a compelling story.

The futuristic car was of course the brainchild of Preston Tucker, a man who was part visionary and part snake oil salesman.  Designed by George Lawson and Alex Tremulis, the Tucker really was quite advanced in its day. 

The King of stock car racing meets the King of Rock and Roll at the Tupelo Automobile Museum

If it seems like I didn’t get to any local car shows last weekend, you’d be right. I was in Memphis attending a wedding. But I didn’t forget about you. We actually took a whole extra day to shuffle on down to Tupelo, Miss., and check out the great collection at the Tupelo Automobile Museum.

The museum was the work of southern communications magnate and car aficionado Frank Spain and his pal Max Berryhill. Spain actually started buying cars in the early 1970s, and the collection became so big that the 120,000-sq/ft museum was opened in 2002.