Preston Tucker essays

Preston Tucker essays Preston Tucker was man who revolutionized car design in the late 1940s, only to have his innovation squelched by the "big three" automakers in a legal battle between him and powerful political lobbies. The movie follows a trend very similar to what may still occur today, when dealing with marketing and mainstreaming an innovation. Tucker faced several hardships that point towards market barriers that need to be identified and analyzed in order to improve the success rate of an innovation. When Tucker began to visualize the conceptual model of his car, concerns of brand loyalty came to mind. The importance of how the consumer perceived his car, led to further progress in the development of his innovation. The flashy appearance and aerodynamic shape appealed to the population as it represented a car of the future. His attempt to advertise the car proved fruitful by the positive response that it received. Tucker faced a more challenging situation when it came to cost advantages. How cost effective would it be to produce the car on a larger scale? Preston Tucker had chosen to initially produce his prototype in a barn and eventually selected the largest warehouse in the nation for his full scale production. His main problem was with the availability of raw materials. Suppliers preferred to stay faithful to the Big Three car manufacturers rather then supply smaller quantities to Tucker. Another hurdle that followed was the capital requirements. Initially fifty thousand dollars was the production cost for each car that Tucker would produce. Keeping in mind that this was the forties for which such a price was more than just expensive. Preston Tucker had no money to front for his prototype and as a result required the financial backing and trust from an investment bank who in turn demanded that someone with a more reputable background in the automotive industry, run the business. This even ...