Technological change and sociotechnical disputes around the Tucker 48

The main objective of this work is to explore and analyze the rise and fall of the Tucker 48 'car from a sociotechnical approach in the framework of the full development of advanced industrial societies, in which the car has the prerogative as it is configured as an emblem and representative of the triumph of modern subjectivity. Taking into account the marginality of historiographic studies focused on the treatment of technological innovations and "failures", this proposal aims to highlight the importance of the developments of Preston Tucker in the subsequent scaffolding and functioning of the car. Contrary to deterministic and instrumentalist notions that proclaim the autonomy, neutrality and independence of technology with respect to society, the approach of the Tucker 48 demands a multidirectional and systemic view in order to fully illustrate the complexity inherent in its behavior and functioning. The analysis from the sociotechnical perspective allows us to identify some of the fundamental links between technological power and economic power that influence the processes of change within capitalism.