Hidden History: When the Tucker came to Ottawa

With its streamlined styling and innovative features, the American public was ready for the Tucker automobile in the 1940s – and so was Ottawa. Francis “Kay” Killelea, now 104 years old, remembers it well.

In 1947, home for a year after nearly four years in the Army serving in Europe and the Pacific, Killelea was ready to leave Ottawa and relocate to California. But his brother James, also a veteran, urged him to change his mind.

“He said, ‘You got to stay with me because I got this car franchise.’ It was the Tucker, so I ended up staying,” Killelea said.

The vehicle, proposed by Michigan automotive entrepreneur Preston Tucker, not only offered a head-turning appearance but also standard equipment including an automatic transmission, padded dashboard, a pop-out safety glass windshield and other features now standard on automobiles. It was a big difference from the new cars the big automobile manufacturers were offering. Those were based on their pre-war models they had discontinued in order to build the tanks and airplanes used to win World War II.

For the Tucker’s Ottawa showroom, the brothers remodeled a vacant building at 1401 La Salle St., now the home of TPM Stems florist shop. Built in 1885, the building’s uses had included a grocery store, meat market and feed supply.

They also visited the Tucker manufacturing plant on the South Side of Chicago near Midway Airport. Previously it had been a factory for WWII B-29 bomber engines.

“They had an assembly line set up and they let us test drive some of the finished Tuckers,” Killelea said.

Often called the Tucker Torpedo, the proper name for the vehicle was the Tucker 48. One of the Tuckers was brought to Ottawa for a week so potential customers and the curious could get a look. People crowded into the showroom for a view. One day when the Tucker was parked at the corner of Madison and La Salle streets next to the La Salle County courthouse, a crowd quickly gathered around.

Killelea was able to take the Tucker for some test rides.

“That thing would really fly,” he recalled. “I remember going out on Route 71, and that Tucker would hit 100 mph like nothing at all.”

The Tucker was powered by a rear-mounted helicopter engine that could accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 10 seconds with a top speed of 120 mph.

The Killeleas took in 50 deposits for new Tuckers. Unfortunately, only a prototype – The Tin Goose – and 50 cars were built before the factory had to close.

Preston Tucker’s operation was investigated by the federal government’s Securities and Exchange Commission, and the ensuing legal battles left Tucker broke and the assembly plant shut down. The finished cars were sold at auction. Tucker was working on a car to be manufactured in Brazil when he died of cancer in 1956 at age 53.

Today, almost all Tuckers are accounted for. They are prized exhibits in car museums and other locations where they are on display – including the Smithsonian Museum. Francis Ford Coppola, who directed the 1988 movie “Tucker: The Man and His Dream,” starring Jeff Bridges, is a Tucker owner.

Today the vehicles’ sales prices are in the millions of dollars.

The Killeleas returned the 50 Tucker deposits they had received and instead opened a Studebaker dealership. After Studebaker shut down in 1967, James Killelea moved to Texas and Francis Killelea opened a Lincoln-Mercury dealership in Ottawa.

“What happened to the Tucker was all political,” Killelea said, noting the charges against Preston Tucker later were dropped. “It was a threat to the other car companies.”

“But I still think it was a great car,” Killelea said.

HIDDEN HISTORY takes a closer look at interesting but lesser known moments in Starved Rock Country’s past. This column was originally published in the Summer 2024 issue of Starved Rock Country Magazine.