Automotive Hall of Fame Inducts First Journalist and First Salesperson

    DEARBORN, Mich., Feb. 15 From the printed word, to printed
catalogs, to bold innovation, a wide range of backgrounds figure prominently
among the 2001 Inductees into the Automotive Hall of Fame.

    Joe Girard and Denise McCluggage lead the list of visionaries who have
been selected as Inductees into the Automotive Hall of Fame for the year 2001.

    Girard, renowned for selling more cars on a one-to-one basis than everyone
else in the world, is the first salesperson ever to be inducted.  McCluggage,
an award-winning journalist and racecar driver is the first journalist to
receive the honor.

    Deceased Inductees include: Charles E. Sorensen, responsible for the
planning and construction of the Willow Run (Michigan) Bomber Plant; William
B. Stout, a pioneer in both the aviation and automotive fields; and Roy
Warshawsky, the inventor of the automotive catalog sales business.

    The Inductees were announced today by Hall of Fame Chairman James R.
Olson, Senior Vice President, External and Regulatory Affairs, Toyota Motor
North America.  The Hall of Fame Board of Directors, following research and
recommendations by an Advisory Panel of automotive historians and editors,
along with the Hall of Fame's Awards Committee, selected the Inductees.

    Joe Girard has sold more retail automobiles on a one-to-one basis than
anyone else in the world, including selling an outstanding 18 retail vehicles
in one day.  Girard has authored a number of sales columns, books and
audiotapes and is credited with setting sales standards for the industry.

    Denise McCluggage is an award winning journalist, author and racecar
driver.  She was included in the conception of Competition Press, now Auto
Week, and she has authored a number of books.  She has won trophies on three
continents in rallying and racing and at 70-plus years old she continues to
ride, review, race and report.

    Charles E. Sorensen (1881-1968) was responsible for the planning and
construction of the Willow Run (Michigan) Bomber Plant, producing giant B-24
bombers used in World War II, at the rate of one every working hour.  He was
also a major contributor to Ford Motor Company's early production achievements
and to the manufacturing process as a whole.

    William B. Stout (1880-1956) was a prominent and innovative pioneer in
both the aviation and automotive fields.  His developments include the first
all-metal airplane in America, a flying automobile called the "Skycab" and a
plastic-bodied car called the "Stout 46."

    Roy Warshawsky (1915-1997) is most notably known as the inventor of
automotive catalog sales and founded the largest and longest running
automotive aftermarket catalog business in the world under the name J.C.
Whitney.  In 1967, he orchestrated the first meeting of the Automotive Part
and Accessories Association, and was unanimously elected President.