# Automotive Hall of Fame

The Automotive Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum 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 was "Automotive Old Timers" adopted in 1957 and intended to recognize its broader base, including automotive-related industries. In 1971 it became "The Automotive Organization Team." Finally, it became known as "The Automotive Hall of Fame" and that resulted in greater growth.
In 1946 the hall worked with the "National Golden Jubilee" (50th anniversary of the creation of the automobile). As General 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 "National Automotive Golden Jubilee committee of which Knudsen was president. 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 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 Hall induction, the Distinguished Service Citation, and 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)
* Mario Andretti (2005)
* Zora Arkus-Duntov (1991)
* Clarence W. Avery (1990)
* Warren E. Avis (2000)
* Robert Bamford (2013)
* Mary Barra (2023)
* Béla Barényi (1994)
* Vincent Bendix
* W.O. Bentley
* Bertha Benz
* Karl Benz
* Nuccio Bertone
* Nils Bohlin
* Alberto Bombassei
* Robert Bosch
* Charles A. Bott
* Ernest R. Breech
* Allen K. Breed
* Craig Breedlove
* Carl Breer
* Edward G. Budd
* Gordon M. Buehrig
* Ettore Bugatti
* David D. Buick
* Philip Caldwell
* Richard D. Caleal
* Frank J. Campbell
* Michael Cardone
* Walter F. Carey
* Francois J. Castaing
* Albert C. Champion
* Roy D. Chapin 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.
* Roy D. Chapin Jr.
* Louis Chevrolet
* Walter P. Chrysler
* André Citroën
* J. Harwood Cochrane
* David E. Cole
* Edward N. Cole
* Archie T. Colwell
* Errett L. Cord
* James J. Couzens
* Keith E. Crain
* Frederick C. Crawford
* Lewis M. Crosley
* Powel Crosley Jr.
* Clessie L. Cummins
* Harlow H. Curtice
* Gottlieb Daimler
* Charles A. Dana
* Howard A. "Dutch" Darrin
* Richard E. Dauch
* Nick Davidson
* Edward "Ed" Davis
* Ralph DePalma
* Joseph R. Degnan
* W. Edwards Deming
* Rudolf Diesel
* Arthur O. Dietz
* Abner Doble
* Horace E. Dodge
* John F. Dodge
* Frederic G. Donner
* Harold D. Draper
* Fred Duesenberg
* John B. Dunlop
* William C. Durant
* Charles E. Duryea
* J. Frank Duryea
* Harley J. Earl
* Dale Earnhardt
* Joseph O. Eaton
* John E. Echlin
* Thomas A. Edison
* Elliott M. Estes
* Henry T. Ewald
* Virgil M. Exner
* Battista Pininfarina
* Jim Farley
* Enzo Ferrari
* Harvey S. Firestone
* Harvey S. Firestone Jr.
* Alfred J. Fisher
* Carl G. Fisher
* Charles T. Fisher
* Edward F. Fisher
* Fred J. Fisher
* Howard A. Fisher
* Lawrence P. Fisher
* William A. Fisher
* Walter E. Flanders
* Edsel B. Ford
* Henry Ford
* Henry Ford II
* A.J. Foyt
* Bill France Sr.
* Bill France Jr.
* Herbert H. Franklin
* Carlyle Fraser
* Douglas A. Fraser
* Joseph Frazer
* Martin Fromm
* Thomas N. Frost
* August Fruehauf
* Thomas C. Gale
* Paul Galvin
* Robert W. Galvin
* Don Garlits
* Paul Gebhardt
* Joe Girard
* John E. Goerlich
* Martin E. Goldman
* Andy Granatelli
* Richard H. Grant
* Alma Green
* Victor Green
* Giorgetto Giugiaro
* Lu Guanqiu
* Dan Gurney
* Janet Guthrie
* Zenon C.R. Hansen
* Elwood Haynes
* Donald Healey
* J.E. Henry
* Phil Hill
* Maximilian E. Hoffman
* William E. Holler
* Earl Holley
* George M. Holley Sr.
* Soichiro Honda
* August Horch
* H. Wayne Huizenga
* Anton Hulman Jr.
* Lee Hunter
* J.R. Hyde III
* Lee Iacocca
* Robert W. Irvin
* Shojiro Ishibashi
* Alec Issigonis
* Mike Jackson
* Thomas B. Jeffery
* Fred Jones
* Charles M."Chuck" Jordan
* Edward S. "Ned" Jordan
* Henry B. Joy
* Albert Kahn
* Henry J. Kaiser
* Wunibald I. Kamm
* Yutaka Katayama
* K.T. Keller
* Frank D. Kent
* Charles F. Kettering
* Charles B. King
* William S. Knudsen
* John W. Koons
* Eberhard von Kuenheim
* Ferruccio Lamborghini
* Edward C. Larson
* Elliot Lehman
* Henry M. Leland
* Jay Leno
* Paul W. Litchfield
* Raymond Loewy
* Wilton D. Looney
* J. Edward Lundy
* Roy Lunn
* Robert A. Lutz
* Sir William Lyons
* John M. Mack
* Ray Magliozzi
* Tom Magliozzi
* Sergio Marchionne
* Lionel Martin
* Wilhelm Maybach
* Frank E. McCarthy
* Denise McCluggage
* Robert B. McCurry
* Brouwer D. McIntyre
* Robert S. McLaughlin
* Robert S. McNamara
* Rene C. McPherson
* William E. Metzger
* André Michelin
* Edouard Michelin
* Arjay Miller
* Harry A. Miller
* William L. Mitchell
* Luca di Montezemolo
* Hubert Moog
* Jim Moran
* Southwood "Woody" Morcott
* Charles S. Mott
* Alan Mulally
* Shirley Muldowney
* Thomas Murphy
* Ralph Nader
* Charles W. Nash
* Henry J. Nave
* Joseph Henry Nook Sr.
* Heinrich Nordhoff
* Taiichi Ohno
* Barney Oldfield
* Ransom E. Olds
* Rodney O'Neal
* Carl Opel
* Friedrich Opel
* Heinrich Opel
* Ludwig Opel
* Wilhelm Opel
* Nikolaus A. Otto
* James Ward Packard
* William Doud Packard
* C.R. and F.D. Patterson (1921, founded first African American Automobile company)
* Wally Parks
* Roger Penske
* Thomas S. Perry
* Donald Petersen
* Richard Petty
* Armand Peugeot
* Ferdinand Piech
* Charles M. Pigott
* Charles J. Pilliod
* Sergio Pininfarina
* Harold A. Poling
* Ralph Lane Polk
* Ferdinand Porsche
* J. David Power III
* Heinz C. Prechter
* William A. Raftery
* Alice Huyler Ramsey
* Louis Renault
* Walter P. Reuther
* Edward V. Rickenbacker
* James M. Roche
* Willard F. Rockwell Sr.
* George W. Romney
* Helene Rother
* Jack Roush
* Frederick Henry Royce
* Patrick Ryan
* James A. Ryder
* Bruno Sacco
* George N. Schuster
* Mort Schwartz
* Louis Schwitzer
* Kenneth W. Self
* Amnon Shashua
* Wilbur Shaw
* Carroll H. Shelby
* Owen R. Skelton
* Alfred P. Sloan Jr.
* Arthur O. Smith
* Lloyd R. Smith
* John F. Smith Jr.
* Charles E. Sorensen
* Hal Sperlich
* Clarence W. Spicer
* Francis E. Stanley
* Freelan O. Stanley
* Sir Jackie Stewart
* Lyn St. James
* Walter W. Stillman
* John W. Stokes
* William B. Stout
* Robert A. Stranahan Sr.
* Frank Stronach
* John M. Studebaker
* Harry C. Stutz
* Genichi Taguchi
* Ratan N. Tata
* Walter C. Teagle
* Ralph R. Teetor
* John J. Telnack
* Mickey Thompson
* Henry M. Timken
* Eiji Toyoda
* Kiichiro Toyoda
* Shoichiro Toyoda
* Alex Tremulis
* Preston Tucker
* Edwin J. Umphrey
* Jesse G. Vincent
* Roy Warshawsky
* Elmer H. Wavering
* Edward T. Welburn
* J. Irving Whalley
* Rollin H. White
* Walter C. White
* Windsor T. White
* John L. Wiggins
* C. Harold Wills
* John N. Willys
* Charles E. Wilson
* Alexander Winton
* Larry Wood
* Jiro Yanase
* Fred M. Young
* Frederick M. Zeder
* Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin
* Chung Mong-koo

## 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.