The Automotive Hall of Fame has tapped five individuals, including two well-known media personalities and three pioneers from different parts of automotive business, for induction this summer.
The list of this year’s inductees includes Michael “Mike” Jackson, the current chairman, CEO and president of AutoNation, the largest automotive retailer for 19 consecutive years. The outspoken Jackson has been a major force in reshaping automotive retailing.
Also on the list are Frank Stronach, founder of Canadian based Magna International, which has become one of the industry’s top suppliers during the past four decades and Kiichiro Toyoda, the Japanese entrepreneur whose decision to expand his father’s company, Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, into automobile manufacturing led to the creation of one of the industry’s global powerhouses, the Toyota Motor Corp.
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“From its inception as Multimatic, a one-man tool shop in Toronto, Mr. Stronach’s work ethic and vision ultimately generated Magna International, one of the largest automotive suppliers in the world. His innovation in creating a unique corporate culture and compensation system, driving competition and excellence, has changed the global landscape of the automotive supply base,” Stronach’s citation noted.
“Kiichiro Toyoda was the Japanese entrepreneur whose vision and perseverance expanded his father’s business, Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, into the world of automotive manufacturing in 1933. His technical and entrepreneurial skills resulted in the creation of one of the largest and most influential automobile companies in the world, Toyota Motor Corporation. Mr. Toyoda was the president of Toyota Motor Corporation from 1941 until 1950,” his citation noted.
Also scheduled for induction are Ray and Tom Magliozzi, co-hosts of the NPR weekly radio show Car Talk, which has been one of the longest-running shows about the ins and outs of owning and operating an automobile for decades.
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The citation supporting their induction noted that Tom and Ray Magliozzi – Also known as “Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers,” were NPR’s biggest entertainment hit. The show produced from 1977 until 2012 and continues to be distributed in syndication. In 1973, the MIT-educated Magliozzis also opened a do-it-yourself repair shop, Hacker’s Haven. The shop rented space and equipment to hackers trying to fix their own cars.
“We are pleased to honor these individuals, whose entrepreneurial spirit and automotive passion helped shape today’s global automotive industry,” said Ramzi Hermiz, chairman of the Automotive Hall of Fame and President and CEO of Shiloh Industries.
“Each made their unique vision a reality through tenacity, creativity and foresight; traits that still drive the industry’s evolution today. The Automotive Hall of Fame is proud to recognize these individuals and their achievements.”
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Induction into the Automotive Hall of Fame is reserved for noteworthy individuals who have made significant contributions to the industry. The induction ceremony will be held in Detroit, July 19.
Tom and Ray can still be heard on http://www.cartalk.com/ since NPR decided to stop broadcasting it in favor of ever increasing left wing drivel.
Actually, they haven’t been broadcasting for a few years, Dick, as Tom Magliozzi went off the air due to complications from Alzheimer’s and then died in 2014. The network had been rebroadcasting repackaged shows but listenership dropped off sharply after the “live” shows ended. You might have found that out by listening to some of the shows on the least biased and most informative news and information network on the air…NPR.