The Tuckers are going home.
Yes, we know, Preston Tucker built his cars in Chicago, but his home from 1939 was in Ypsilanti, Michigan, which is the site of the 41st annual Tucker Automobile Club of America convention September 16-18. On the 18th, Tucker will be the featured marque at the Orphan Car show in Ypsilanti’s Riverside Park.
The Tucker convention begins Friday with Steve Lehto signing copies of his book, Preston Tucker and His Battle to Build the Car of Tomorrow, and with a showing of the movie, Tucker, the Man and His Dream, with a panel offering commentary on the Francis Ford Coppola film.
There also will be opportunities to visit the Michigan Firehouse Museum, Ypsilanti Historical Museum, Depot Town and the Tucker home.
Saturday, the Tucker club members board a bus to visit the Ford Piquette Plant where the Model T was built, the Lincoln Park Historical Society and its Tucker display (Lincoln Park was Preston Tucker’s childhood home), and the Henry Ford museum in Dearborn. Lehto will be the keynote speaker that evening at the annual convention banquet.
Sunday, Tucker club members will be invited to show their vehicles at the 20th annual Ypsilanti Orphan Car Show, where Tucker will be the featured marque. Of the 51 cars built and the 47 that survive, at least five are expected for the convention weekend.
