Would Tucker Have Embraced a Plastic Engine?

[Tuckerfan1053]

A recent piece in the NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/autom ... .html?_r=2) about an engineer who developed an engine made almost completely out of plastic back in the 80s, got me to thinking. Suppose the Tucker Corporation had managed to begin production and began to turn a profit. Do you think that they would have been more likely to buy the technology of a plastic engine than the Big Three? Preston would have passed on by this point, and whomever was running the company might not share the same philosophy as Preston when it came to innovation.

[Prototype]

I think it's safe to say that Tucker probably would have embraced anything innovative, including a "plastic" engine. Considering he was "way ahead of is time" on so many levels, He could have became very successful in being on the fore front of automotive technology had he not been taken down like he was. Whether or not if it was his own doing or actually sabotaged by the "Big Three" or the Government. He did pull off the then unthinkable feat of producing 51 of the best cars of the time (or all time, depending how you look at it). The small number of cars he did produce, were and still are quite good! He did what no other person had even attempted or has attempted with any resounding success (Okay, maybe Delorean) to speak of. Delorean's are still around because of caches of leftover parts to "rebuild" them. Tucker's on the other hand are still around because they were engineered and built very well. The percentage of surviving examples to "lost Tucker's" speaks volumes (8600+ built to 6000 or so Delorean's left). So, yes, I do think Tucker would have embraced a plastic engine, and could very well have perfected the hydraulic drive if given the chance. Preston and his ideas were snuffed out way too soon.