Automotive Hall of Fame Founded Six Decades Ago

           DEARBORN, MI, July 7, 1997 -- The new Automotive Hall of Fame, which opens August 16 in Dearborn, Michigan, traces its roots to a New York City gathering of 130 automotive leaders nearly 60 years ago .
           The date was October 18, 1939; the scene, the elegant Lexington Hotel. Auto industry's luminaries of the time saw a need to create an organization to perpetuate the ideas and spirit of early automotive inventors and entrepreneurs.
           Among the founders were Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, race car driver, World War I ace and builder of Rickenbacker motor cars; Charles B. King, credited with building and driving the first motor car in Detroit; M. J. Duryea, son of Charles Duryea, who, with his brother, Frank, gave rise to the American automotive industry by producing the first volume run of vehicles; Miller Reese Hutchinson, inventor of the electric horn, and Albert Reeves of the Automotive Manufacturers Association.
           Their charter was three-fold: preserve the history of motor vehicle pioneers; honor the living for their achievements, and construct a hall of fame building, a dream realized with the opening of the new Automotive Hall of Fame
           Over the decades since that first meeting, the Automotive Hall of Fame has, indeed, honored the contributions of the men and women of the motor vehicle industry.
           Hall of Fame Induction -- the highest honor bestowed -- is reserved for individuals who have made a significant, dramatic impact on the development of cars or trucks or who have made a historical change in products, processes or concepts. Other
           Hall of Fame awards include the Distinguished Service Citation, the Young Leadership and Excellence Award and the Industry Leader of the Year.
           To insure a steady crop of candidates for future citations, the Automotive Hall of Fame focuses heavily on education programs. More than 30 scholarship awards are granted each year through annual contributions and endowed funds to students in undergraduate degree programs. An Automotive Yearbook listing of college graduates seeking careers in the motor vehicle industry is distributed each year to 2,000 companies. Additional information about graduating students is available to companies from the Automotive Hall of Fame's Resume Bank.
           An attractive, four-color magazine, called the Chronicle, is also published by the Hall of Fame and read by influential leaders within the industry and beyond.
           The new Automotive Hall of Fame is designed and built to be a visitor attraction and educational resource. It celebrates accomplished people of the worldwide motor vehicle industry for the purpose of inspiring others, especially young people, to higher levels of achievement in their own work and lives. It is a unique "people place" of innovation and inspiration where interactive experiences and one-on-one demonstrations are entertaining and enlightening.
           Automotive Hall of Fame hours of operation and admission: through October, daily, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; November through Memorial Day, daily except Mondays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; admission, $6 adult, $5.50 senior 62+, $3 youth.

21400 Oakwood Boulevard
Dearborn, MI 48121 USA
Telephone (313) 240-4000
Fax (313) 240-8641