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What orphan car will be the next Tucker?


nick8086

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You mean what car will be of little interest and not very valuable until a movie is made about its builder and vast conspiracy theories are expounded regarding its failure?
So you are buying DeLoreans? :eek: :D:)
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Closest in design and construction would be Corvair which was like a smaller, cheaper Tucker with an air cooled engine. Or DeLorean which also came with a rear mounted six cylinder engine.

Who Killed The Electric Car tried to trump up a conspiracy on the part of GM and other auto makers to scuttle the electric car, but when they started producing them and offering them for sale it kind of spoiled the fun.

By the way, I don't see Hollywood stars lining up to buy Volts or electric Focuses, in spite of all the palaver in the movie.

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I was actually addressing the profile described by Restorer 32..In addition to the somewhat unusual personality of the star performer, the movie could include the many controversial dramas relating to parts shortages and employee plots to undermine production. Disney might be interested.

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Guest Magoo

By the way, I don't see Hollywood stars lining up to buy Volts or electric Focuses, in spite of all the palaver in the movie.

Hollywood is full of Volts, Priii, Teslas, Leafs, etc. etc. etc.

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Guest AlCapone

I am sure the Tucker was attractive to some but to me it was an unattractive beast ! Without the movie what would it be ?

Wayne

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Tesla, there was an article recently in Business Week predicting they will be bankrupt by 2017.

That doesn't seem to show up in their BusinessWeek Profile ( http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=27444752 ) and their most recent feature in BusinessWeel was titled "Why Everybody Loves Tesla" ( http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-07-18/the-tesla-electric-cars-creators-chase-their-iphone-moment ). Also they posted their first profit in 2013, and their stock price is up over 40% so far this year.

Standard and Poor did just lower their bond rating, citing concerns for increasing competition ( http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveschaefer/2014/05/28/sp-gives-tesla-a-junk-bond-rating-cites-vulnerable-business/ ). At the same time, however, they had serious praise for the company and their products.

Still, the agency had praise for the high-profile electric car company, acknowledging elements in Tesla’s favor like “improving brand recognition, ongoing cost structure improvements…and lower logistics costs,” as well as the automaker’s “ability to command a price premium through its Model S product, design and technology.”

I think a far more likely candidate for the Tucker of the 2000s is the Fisker electric car. Currently bankrupt, it may be revived by a billionaire investor from China who may or may not be only interested in the company's patents. That said, the car itself was worthy of a better fate by any measure.

post-30638-143142539458_thumb.jpg

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  • 3 months later...

In the Checker Motors Corp world many owners hope the Tucker movie fame will someday do the same for them. Increase their value. 60 years of taxi manufacturing and most models have no survivors yet many people think they still roam the streets of NYC. As a fan of both Trabants and Checkers I think the Trabi will be the next Tucker before the Checker is.

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Using the movie to cult following concept, a range of cars could be presented attached to the most stereotypical personality trails of their owners. Unlimited possibilities there; Bermuda shorts with black socks and wingtips, gold men's jewelery, constant whining of the underdog, knuckle dragging Tim Allen wannabes. Each car could have (or does already) have its own cult following. I'm not immune. I have had Buicks for years and you know what they are like. And I just bought a Packard. Now you can "ask me".

Bernie

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Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I accept that. I just want to come out and state my opinion that I think the Tucker is a beautiful car and I'd love to have one. I've thought that if I had a Tucker and a Doble, I could sell the rest of my cars and be very happy with a two-car collection. It is true though that the Tucker was just another oddball obscure old car until the movie made it famous.

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The original question is too vague and nebulous to answer. What orphan car will be the next Tucker? The answer is, "None of the above". Stude??? Really??? Why? They made a jillion of them. For the most part, they are just old cars that are priced in the middle range. What is going to happen to cause their value to skyrocket? Same with Bugeye Sprites. They are pretty valuable, but there's no way to compare them to Tucker. Sunbeam, Crosley, Trabant (??????), Bricklin, DeLorean? Nope. It's like asking who the next Beatles will be. Some things happen just once. All the planets aligned when the Tucker was built. Not to make it a success, but a legend.

BTW, I think the Keller is cute as a bug. A bit quirky looking, but very cool

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regarding Teslas......... BMW is blowing them out in sales with their electric car................

You mean a $41,000-$45,000 car selling at over 300 dealerships is beating a $69,000-$93,000 car selling (online) at less than 100 showrooms? Shocking! :)

In fact the dollar figures if sales for both models are almost identical, and given that Tesla has deliberately reduced sales in the U.S. this summer to direct production to Asian markets (in order to establish themselves there) that's a pretty good track record.

Simply put the two cars aren't even in the same market, and the Tesla is 10x the car the i3 could be. The upcoming i8 sports car, while technically a competitor to the Tesla Roadster, is a hybrid electric like the Prius and therefore not in the same class.

I work at a Toyota dealership, and I can tell you that the corporate powers that be in car marketing are scared senseless over Tesla's marketing plan, so much so that our dealership went to a one-price system already (well ahead of the rest of the country) to keep abreast of the market. The Tesla vehicles themselves are proving quite robust and reliable.

BTW, if anybody has either an i3 or Tesla S they want to give away I know someone who'd accept it...:rolleyes::D

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