Tucker club displays its ‘Tucker’ at National Automotive & Truck Museum of the U.S.

A movie star has joined the ranks of The National Auto & Truck Museum of the U.S. (NATM, formerly NATMUS) with a Tucker display loaned by the Tucker Club of America. The 1948 Tucker now on display at NATM is one of four full-sized 1948 Tucker replicas built and used in the 1988 film "Tucker:The Man and His Dream.” This red example on display was featured alongside star Jeff Bridges in most movie advertisements.

Francis Ford Coppola and George Lukas partnered to create the famous film depicting the life and vision of Preston Tucker. According to NATM, the movie required 26 different 1948 Tucker automobiles and twenty-two originals were used and four full-size Tucker replicas were made. The replicas had the same details and specifications as original Tuckers, and some of the replicas were destroyed for a movie scene depicting a historical event.The example loaned to NATM is a surviving replica that was part of a traveling spectacular featuring props from the film. In 2009, the widow of Frank Tucker, Preston’s nephew, donated this car to the Tucker Automobile Club of America, Inc.

NATM said, "This display is a perfect example of the museum's quest to provide accurate events in the automobile history of the U.S. Whether it is one of the 190 cars and trucks on display or display settings from days of the past, NATM is committed to the education of auto and truck heritage of the United States."