Automotive Hall of Fame's 1998 Distinguished Service Citation Honorees
10 November 1997
Automotive Hall of Fame's 1998 Distinguished Service Citation Honorees
DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 10 -- From design to driveway, a new
car or truck succeeds in the marketplace through the skills exemplified in the
careers of six automotive industry leaders named recipients of the Automotive
Hall of Fame's 1998 Distinguished Service Citation.
The recipients will be honored at the Automotive Hall of Fame & Popular
Mechanics Annual Awards Luncheon Sunday, February 1, at the Hyatt Regency in
New Orleans, during the National Automobile Dealers Association Annual
Convention.
Distinguished Service Citation honorees are: Dale Craig, Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer, Craig Transportation Company, Perrysburg, Ohio;
Ronald H. Weiner, President, National Institute for Automotive Service
Excellence; Jay Wetzel, Vice President and General Manager, North American
Operations Design and Engineering, General Motors Corporation; Hiroyuki
Yoshino, President, Honda Research and Development, American Honda Motor
Company, Inc.; Roy S. Roberts, Vice President/General Manager, Pontiac-GMC
Division, General Motors Corporation; and Martin J. "Hoot" McInerney,
President, McInerney, Inc., Oak Park, Michigan.
As announced earlier, Alex Trotman, Ford Motor Company Board Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer, will be honored at the same luncheon as the
Automotive Hall of Fame's 1997 Automotive Industry Leader of the Year.
The Distinguished Service Citation recognizes men and women who have made
significant contributions to the automotive industry through either sustained
superior performance or a specific important achievement.
Dale Craig has devoted his working life to the trucking industry and its
people. His father bought a trucking company in 1927, the year Craig was
born, enabling him to learn the business from the ground up -- including
sweeping floors.
A graduate of Indiana University, Craig is a past president and current
director of the American Trucking Associations. He is one of only three
"truckers" to receive the Dove Award, the highest honor bestowed by the
American Trucking Associations.
Craig has represented the trucking industry in appearances before the U.S.
Congress and the Ohio House and Senate.
Martin J. "Hoot" McInerney is one of the most successful and respected
automobile dealers in the U.S., operating eight dealerships ranging from
Metropolitan Detroit, where he is headquartered, to Florida.
He has been in the automotive retail business for nearly 50 years,
starting at the age of 9 as a coal-furnace fire stoker at a Detroit dealership
for $1.25 a week.
McInerney served in the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II and in the
Korean War.
He is well-known for his charitable work and community involvement for
more than four decades.
Roy Roberts' career at General Motors Corporation includes top executive
positions in both its manufacturing and administrative staff operations.
Starting as a trainee at the former Diesel Equipment Division in 1977, he
became Plant Manager of Grand Rapids Plant #1 in 1981.
Roberts was elected a General Motors Vice President in charge of its
personnel administration and development staff in 1987. After brief service
at another company, he returned to General Motors in 1990, became a Vice
President in 1992 and was given the responsibility of merging the Pontiac-GMC
divisions in 1996.
A graduate of Western Michigan University, he performed graduate work
there and at Wayne State University.
Roberts has received numerous honors, including honorary doctorates and
awards for community service. He received an American Success Award from
President George Bush at the White House and serves on the boards of directors
of several companies.
Ronald Weiner is a pioneer in the support and promotion of automotive
service excellence, beginning with ownership of a repair facility in Denver,
Colorado, for 12 years.
A charter member of the Board of Directors of the National Institute for
Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), he has served as its President since
1982. Prior to joining ASE, Weiner was President of the Automotive
Information Council in Detroit for five years.
A graduate of Denver University, Weiner has received recognition awards
from various organizations, including Chrysler, Ford and General Motors.
Jay Wetzel is recognized as one of Saturn Corporation's "founding
fathers," joining the new venture as Vice President of Engineering in 1985.
He became General Motors' Vice President of the North American Operations
Engineering Center in 1993 and was named to lead NAO Design, Engineering and
Research Operations this year.
Wetzel is credited with decreasing General Motors' vehicle development
time through improvements in the design and engineering processes.
Wetzel is a graduate of the University of Michigan and earned a Master's
Degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Sloan Fellow. He
joined General Motors as a test engineer in 1963.
During Hiroyuki Yoshino's three-year tenure as President of Honda Research
and Development Company, Ltd., the company has stepped up its efforts to
develop vehicles that offer higher mileage and lower emissions. These include
development or the 1996 Honda Civic, the first car to receive "low emission
vehicle" certification from the California Air Resources Board, and
development of an engine slated for the 1998 model year and already recognized
by California as meeting "ultra low emission vehicle" standards.
A graduate of Tokyo University, Yoshino was a member of the Honda project
team charged with developing auto emissions controls in the late 1960s and
early 1970s, leading to introduction of the Honda CVCC engine, the first to
meet emission control requirements without the need of a catalytic converter.
SOURCE Automotive Hall of Fame
