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Greetings 405 listener!
The 405 airs over KMMR Radio Station. At 5 Minutes past 4 PM. Normally each M-F week day of the year. Here on the website we'll get it posted for you within a few hours, normally.
Your neighbor and website maintainer,
D.J. Rasmussen
P.S. Oct 8th, 2025 Update. Finally back and published the Oct 3, 6th & 7th episodes, today on the 8th. We've had a recording equipment failure, hopefully fixed by tomorrow or very soon. Until then, I'm picking up the KMMR master recording copy and publishing that the day after The 405 airs or as soon as possible. Thanks for stopping by and listening.
I wanna again welcome you into The 04:05 Coffee Break. Hey. That sounds like it's recorded, Jordan. I'm right here. Get you a cup of coffee, glass iced tea, bottle of water.
OK Solberg:Let's see what's happening. Spring wheat, $5.14 a bushel. 550 pounds steer calf. I never thought I'd say this in my entire life, $3.41 a pound. A butcher hog in Iowa, 59ยข a pound, and a 100 pound lamb that's fat, in Billings, 202.
OK Solberg:But guys, there's more, much more. Guess what? Guess what? I got feedback from yesterday's episode and someone out there desired to hear about Preston Tucker, the designer of the 1948 Tucker torpedo automobile. Well, you gotta know, love hearing from all y'all, and I'd love to inform you about Preston Tucker, not Malcolm Tucker, Preston Tucker.
OK Solberg:How many of you have even heard of the Tucker automobile? Oh, it's a great story. Kinda sad in the end, but it's still a great story. See, here's the deal, If you know your history, you realize World War two got over officially on 09/02/1945. But because of that war, civilian automobile production was halted.
OK Solberg:From February 1942 till October 1945 in The United States, no cars were made. Well, once the war's over, people are happy and people are hungry for some new cars. They wanted to celebrate, saying hallelujah. Well, Preston Tucker had himself an idea. See, young Preston Tucker at the age of 16 began purchasing late model automobiles, repairing and refurbishing them to sell for a profit.
OK Solberg:Then shortly after that, he got a job for Cadillac Motor Company, where he used roller skates to make his rounds. In 1922, at the age of 20, 19 actually, he quit his job and went to work for the Lincoln Park Police Department. And guys, what drew him to this job was the desire to drive and ride the fast, high performance police cars. Now his mom threw a monkey wrench into his police plans because of his age, he wasn't 21 yet, and Preston had to leave that job with the police department, and he got a job at a gas station. And it wasn't long, and he began selling Studebaker cars.
OK Solberg:Anyway, Preston Tucker's life revolved around automobiles. Let's fast forward or I'll never get it all told. During the war, Preston Tucker joined the military effort by inventing, he really did, and manufacturing a highly mobile gun turret called the Tucker turret for the Navy. That's a whole story in itself, but after the war, this man, now 42 years young, secured, listen, the Chicago Dodge plant, which was one of the largest manufacturing building in the world at that time. It had previously been used by the US government to build B29's for the war effort.
OK Solberg:Preston Tucker had a dream and it was a dream for a state of the art automobile. Now guys with the clock ticking and my time running out, be sure to tune in again tomorrow as I continue this story, but here are some highlights. His new car was scheduled to have a rear mounted horizontally opposed six cylinder engine, a safety windshield designed to pop out during a crash so you wouldn't get cut by the glass. It also was going to have a third headlight, and it did have a third headlight nicknamed the Cyclops Eye, that turned with the steering wheel. The car was to have disc brakes, fuel injection, seat belts, and a roll bar integrated into the roof.
OK Solberg:Now realize Tucker's innovation and bold entrance into the market threatened the big three and their dominance, you know, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, though not directly proven, many believe these companies influence government regulators and the media to help stifle Tucker's efforts. But guys, he built a car. He built more than one car. In fact, there are still 47 Tucker cars still around today. 47 out of the 51 that were produced.
OK Solberg:Now I can only wet your appetite on this program today, but in 1988, Francis Ford Coppola directed the movie Tucker, the man in his dream. You go out and watch that movie. Oh, it turned into a big mess with all the legal troubles, and in the courtroom where he was charged with fraud for selling something that wasn't present. Outside the courtroom, they brought one of the automobiles coined the Tucker torpedo. It's sitting, guys, right outside the courtroom where this man is up for fraud charges.
OK Solberg:Tucker's defense attorney, William T Kirby, delivered a brilliantly sarcastic closing statement that became a legend, With that car actually sitting outside the courthouse, Kirby said, they call this fraud. Well, there's a car, gentlemen. Where's the fraud? In the glove compartment? It is a tremendous story.
OK Solberg:You guys will have to view one or more of the cars, they're still out there. There's one at the museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, one in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, there's one in the Museum of American Speed in Lincoln, Nebraska, and another at the Smithsonian National Museum in Washington DC. I'll close with a bible verse and then tune in again tomorrow for more about Preston Tucker. The verse comes from Psalm 118:22 It reads, the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
OK Solberg:Now, I realize this verse is talking about Jesus, but Tucker Preston was also rejected and now everyone wants a Tucker torpedo. Woulda, coulda, shoulda. So until next time, as you go out there, remember now, don't be bitter.