The Automotive Hall of Fame is a museum and hall of fame honoring influential figures in the history of the automotive industry. Located in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, US. The Hall of Fame is part of the MotorCities National Heritage Area.
History The Automotive Hall of Fame was founded on October 18, 1939, in New York City by a group called the "Automobile Old Timers." Its original mission was to perpetuate the memories of early automotive pioneers and to honor people from all parts of the auto industry worldwide. For its first three decades, The Automotive Hall of Fame had four name changes. Its second iteration, "Automotive Old Timers," was adopted in 1957 to recognize a broader base, including automotive-related industries. In 1971, it became "The Automotive Organization Team." Finally, it became known as "The Automotive Hall of Fame," a name that led to further growth.
In 1946, the Hall participated in the "National Golden Jubilee" to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the automobile's invention and honor the industry's creators. The Jubilee committee president, William S. Knudsen, stated the selection to the Hall of Fame included "Ten pioneers whose engineering and administrative genius made possible the present day." The selection was done in cooperation with the Automobile Manufacturers Association. The ten were: Edgar Apperson, William Crapo Durant, J. Frank Duryea, Henry Ford, George M. Holley, Charles B. King, Charles W. Nash, Barney Oldfield, Ransom E. Olds, and Alfred P. Sloan Jr. were selected. The managing director of the Jubilee was George W. Romney. The events also initiated interest in older cars.
The organization moved to Washington, D.C. in 1960, sharing space in the National Automobile Dealers Association building. In 1971, it moved to Midland, Michigan, where it got its first home at Northwood University. In 1997, it moved to its present home, a 25,000-square-foot building in Dearborn, Michigan, adjacent to The Henry Ford; in addition to automobile history artifacts, it contains a small theater and a central enclosed building area for public events, meetings and other exhibits.
The Hall celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2014.
During the 2016 induction ceremony, the Hall of Fame's president announced that the museum was exploring a possible move to downtown Detroit. These plans never materialized.
Awards The Hall honors members of the automotive industry each year. There were 271 people inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame through 2016. These inductees include the founders of Benz, Bosch, Bugatti, Buick, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Citroen, Cord, Daimler, Dodge, Duesenberg, Durant, Duryea, Ferrari, Ford, Honda, Maybach, Olds, Peugeot, Porsche, Renault, and Toyota, among others.
Along with the Hall of Fame induction awards, the Hall also honors individuals with three other significant awards each year: Distinguished Service Citation Industry Leader of the Year Award Young Leader and Excellence Award For the Hall induction, the Distinguished Service Citation, and the Young Leader and Excellence Award, anyone can submit a nomination by filling out the form or sending a letter, along with reference materials that may assist the Awards Committee. The Industry Leader of the Year Award is nominated and awarded solely by the Awards Committee, so no external nominations are accepted.
Inductees
Giovanni Agnelli (2002) O. Donovan Allen (1974) John W. Anderson (1972) Betsy Ancker-Johnson (2024) Mario Andretti (2005) Zora Arkus-Duntov (1991) Clarence W. Avery (1990) Warren E. Avis (2000) Robert Bamford (2013) Béla Barényi (1994) Mary Barra (2023) Tom Barrett (2026) Fred T. Bauer (2023) Vincent Bendix (1984) Walter O. Bentley (1995) Bertha Benz (2016) Karl Benz (1984) Nuccio Bertone (2006) Nils Bohlin (1999) Alberto Bombassei (2017) Robert Bosch (1984) Charles A. Bott (1990) Ernest R. Breech (1974) Allen K. Breed (1999) Craig Breedlove (2009) Carl Breer (1976) Edward G. Budd (1985) Gordon M. Buehrig (1989) Ettore Bugatti (2000) David D. Buick (1974) Philip Caldwell (1990) Richard D. Caleal (2009) Frank J. Campbell (1996) Michael Cardone Sr. (1994) Walter F. Carey (1981) Francois J. Castaing (2010) Albert C. Champion (1977) Roy D. Chapin (1972) His son Roy D. Chapin Jr. was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1984 and his grandson, William R. Chapin, was named president of the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2010. Louis Chevrolet (1969) Walter P. Chrysler (1967) Chung Mong-koo (2020/2021) André Citroën(1998) J. Harwood Cochrane (1991) Edward N. Cole (1977) David E. Cole (2013) Archie T. Colwell (1988) Errett L. Cord (1976) James J. Couzens (2012) Keith E. Crain (2014) Frederick C. Crawford (1983) Lewis M. Crosley (2010) Powel Crosley Jr. (2010) Clessie L. Cummins (1973) Harlow H. Curtice (1971) Gottlieb Daimler (1978) Giampaolo Dallara (2026) Charles A. Dana (1978) Howard A. "Dutch" Darrin (2010) Richard E. “Dick” Dauch (2019) Edward "Ed" Davis (1996) Ralph DePalma (1973) Joseph Degnan (1997) W. Edwards Deming (1991) Rudolf Diesel (1978) Arthur O. Dietz (1983) Abner Doble (1972) Horace E. Dodge (1981) John F. Dodge (1997) Frederic G. Donner (1994) Harold D. Draper (1991) Fred Duesenberg (1970) John B. Dunlop (2005) William C. Durant (1968) Charles E. Duryea (1973) J. Frank Duryea (1996) David E. Davis (2025) Harley J. Earl (1986) Dale Earnhardt (2006) Joseph O. Eaton (1983) John E. "Jack" Echlin Vic Edelbrock Jr. (2024) Vic Edelbrock Sr. (2024) Thomas A. Edison (1969) Elliott M. Estes (1999) Henry T. Ewald (1996) Virgil M. Exner (1995) Juan Manuel Fangio (2023) Battista Pininfarina (2004) Enzo Ferrari (2000) Harvey S. Firestone Jr. (1975) Harvey S. Firestone Sr. (1974) Alfred J. Fisher (1995) Carl G. Fisher (1971) Charles T. Fisher (1995) Edward F. Fisher (1995) Fred J. Fisher (1995) Howard A. Fisher (1995) Lawrence P. Fisher (1995) William A. Fisher (1995) Walter E. Flanders (1994) Edsel B. Ford (1968) Henry Ford (1967) Henry Ford II (1983) William Clay Ford Jr. (2024) A.J. Foyt (2007) Bill France Sr. (2004) Bill France Jr. (2006) Herbert H. Franklin (1972) Carlyle Fraser (1981) Douglas A. Fraser (2000) Joseph W. Frazer (2010) Martin Fromm (1993) Thomas N. Frost (1970) August Fruehauf (2017) Takeo Fujisawa (2023) Thomas C. Gale (2012) Tom Gallagher (2020/2021) Paul Galvin (2008) Robert W. Galvin (2008) Don Garlits (2004) Pieter Geelen (2026) Joe Girard (2001) Giorgetto Giugiaro (2002) Harold Goddijn (2026) John E. Goerlich (1990) Martin E. Goldman (1981) Andy Granatelli (2003) Richard H. Grant (1971) Alma Green (2022) Victor Green (2022) Dan Gurney (2007) Janet Guthrie (2019) Zenon C.R. Hansen (1983) Elwood Haynes (2015) Donald Healey (2004) Phil Hill (2008) Maximilian E. Hoffman (2003) William E. Holler (1969) Earl Holley (1995) George M. Holley (1995) Soichiro Honda (1989) August Horch (2000) H. Wayne Huizenga (2006) Anton Hulman Jr. (1978) Lee Hunter (1992) J.R. Hyde III (2004) Lee Iacocca (1994) Robert W. Irvin (2008) Shojiro Ishibashi (2006) Alec Issigonis (2003) Mike Jackson (2018) Russ Jackson (2026) John A. James (2024) Thomas B. Jeffery (1975) Fred Jones (1994) Charles M."Chuck" Jordan (2012) Edward S. "Ned" Jordan (2010) Henry B. Joy (2003) Albert Kahn (2012) Henry J. Kaiser (2010) Wunibald I. Kamm (2009) Yutaka Katayama (1998) K.T. Keller (1971) Frank D. Kent (1989) Charles F. Kettering (1967) Charles B. King (2007) William S. Knudsen (1968) John W. Koons (1988) Eberhard von Kuenheim (2004) Ferruccio Lamborghini (2022) Edward C. Larson (1984) Elliot Lehman (1993) Henry M. Leland (1973) Jay Leno (2020/2021) Paul W. Litchfield (1984) Raymond Loewy (1997) Wilton D. Looney (1992) Lu Guanqiu (2022) J. Edward Lundy (2003) Roy Lunn (2016) Robert A. Lutz (2013) Sir William Lyons (2005) John M. Mack (1972) Ray Magliozzi (2018) Tom Magliozzi (2018) Sergio Marchionne (2019) Lionel Martin (2013) Wilhelm Maybach (1996) Frank E. McCarthy (2002) Denise McCluggage (2001) Robert B. McCurry (1997) Brouwer D. McIntyre (1975) Robert S. McLaughlin (1973) Robert S. McNamara (1995) Rene C. McPherson (1991) William E. Metzger (2008) André Michelin (2002) Édouard Michelin (2002) Arjay Miller (2006) Harry A. Miller (2003) William L. Mitchell (1993) Luca di Montezemolo (2015) Hubert Moog (1988) Jim Moran (2005) Charles S. Mott (1973) Alan Mulally (2016) Shirley Muldowney (2005) Thomas Murphy (1990) Ralph Nader (2016) Charles W. Nash (1975) Henry J. Nave (1992) Heinrich Nordhoff (1985) Taiichi Ohno (2022) Barney Oldfield (1968) Ransom E. Olds (1968) Carl Opel (1998) Friedrich Opel (1998) Heinrich Opel (1998) Ludwig Opel (1998) Wilhelm Opel (1998) Nikolaus A. Otto (1996) James Ward Packard (1999) William Doud Packard (1999) Wally Parks (2000) Charles Richard and Frederick Douglass Patterson (inducted 2020/21 - founded first African-American Automobile company) Peter-Frans Pauwels (2026) Roger S. Penske (2015) Thomas S. Perry (1996) Donald Petersen (1992) Richard Petty (2002) Armand Peugeot (1999) Ferdinand Piech (2014) Charles M. Pigott (1998) Charles J. Pilliod (1992) Sergio Pininfarina (2007) Harold A. Poling (1999) Ralph Lane Polk (2001) Ferdinand Porsche (1987) J. David Power III (2014) Heinz C. Prechter (2004) William A. Raftery (1997) Alice Huyler Ramsey (2000) Louis Renault (2003) Walter P. Reuther (1990) Edward V. Rickenbacker (1973) James M. Roche (1992) Willard F. Rockwell Sr. (1980) George W. Romney (1995) Helene Rother Ackernecht (2020/2021) Jack Roush (2017) Frederick Henry Royce (1991) Patrick Ryan (2019) James A. Ryder (1985) Bruno Sacco (2006) George N. Schuster (2010) Mort Schwartz (2008) Louis Schwitzer Sr. (1970) Wendell Oliver Scott Sr. (2024) Vivek Chaand Sehgal (2024) Kenneth W. Self (1994) Ayrton Senna (2025) Wilbur Shaw (1987) Carroll H. Shelby (1992) Betty Skelton (2025) Owen R. Skelton (2002) Alfred P. Sloan Jr. (1967) Arthur O. Smith (1988) Lloyd Smith (1988) John F. "Jack" Smith Jr. (2005) Charles E. Sorensen (2001) Hal Sperlich (2009) Clarence W. Spicer (1995) Lyn St. James (2022) Francis E. Stanley (1996) Freelan O. Stanley (1996) Sir Jackie Stewart (2013) Walter W. Stillman (1987) John W. Stokes (1970) William B. Stout (2001) Robert A. Stranahan Sr. (1979) Frank Stronach (2018) John M. Studebaker (2005) Harry C. Stutz (1993) Genichi Taguchi (1997) Ratan N. Tata (2015) Walter C. Teagle (1974) Ralph R. Teetor (1988) John J. Telnack (2008) Mickey Thompson (2009) McKinley W. Thompson Jr. (2023) Henry M. Timken (1977) Akio Toyoda (2026) Eiji Toyoda (1994) Kiichiro Toyoda (2018) Shoichiro Toyoda (2007) Alex Tremulis (2014) Preston Tucker (1999) Edwin J. Umphrey (1974) Corinne Vigreux (2026) Jesse G. Vincent (1971) Roy Warshawsky (2001) Elmer H. Wavering (1989) Edward T. Welburn (2017) J. Irving Whalley (1981) Rollin H. White (1997) Walter C. White (1997) Windsor T. White (1997) Charlie Wiggins (2020/2021) John L. Wiggins (1975) C. Harold Wills (1970) John N. Willys (2008) Charles E. Wilson (1969) Alexander Winton (2005) Larry Wood (2023) |title=Larry Wood |source=Automotive Hall of Fame Jiro Yanase (2004) Fred M. Young (1986) Frederick M. Zeder (1998) Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin (1998) Dieter Zetsche (2025)
Other similar institutions In 2001, the European Automotive Hall of Fame was established and inducted its first 13 members. Permanent plaques of honor will be emplaced at Palexpo, the home of the Geneva Auto Show.
See also List of motor vehicle awards
Citations
External links