Automotive Hall of Fame

The Automotive Hall of Fame is an American museum. It was founded in 1939 and has over 800 worldwide inductees. The facility is associated with The Henry Ford museum. It is part of the MotorCities National Heritage Area. The Automotive Hall of Fame includes persons who have contributed greatly to automotive history—defined broadly to include persons who may not be household words but who are automotive giants nonetheless. They include award recipients from advertising, car rental, dealerships, designers, racing, financiers, engineers, mechanics, drivers, executives, managers, dealers, inventors and union officials. It includes the automotive industry, suppliers, dealers, and support.

The Automotive Hall of Fame has conferred four different awards.

The Automotive Hall of Fame was founded on October 18, 1939 in New York City by a group called the "Automobile Old Timers." Its mission was to perpetuate the memories of early automotive pioneers and to honor people from all parts of the auto industry worldwide. It went through for adverse times for its first three decades, and 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 "The Automotive Hall of Fame" which resulted in greater growth.

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 in Dearborn, Michigan, adjacent to The Henry Ford museum. It is within the MotorCities National Heritage Area, an affiliate of the U.S. National Park Service dedicated to preserving and promoting the automotive and labor history of Michigan. The facilities with automobile history artifacts are in a 25,000-square-foot building containing a small theater and a central enclosed building area for public events, meetings and other exhibits. The Hall honors members of the automotive industry each year. There were 250 members to the Automotive Hall of Fame by 2015. 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.

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