Who Are Your Automotive Heroes?

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

What great people from the automotive world do you look up to or admire? For me it would be (in no particular order):

Yutaka Katayama- First President of Nissan North America, father of the Z car and 510. A true maverick in a conformist Japanese business culture.

Soichiro Honda- Founder of Honda Motor Corp, and one of the most amazing engineering minds ever to walk the face of the Earth. Also a maverick. Worked with a philosophy that the individual was more important than the corporation.

Hans Ledwinka- Designer of the Tatra, a revolutionary sedan from Czechoslovakia. Air Cooled Rear mount Hemi, anyone?

Abner Doble-Great engineer, lousy businessman. Worked with steam cars.

Smokey Yunick- Proprietor of "The Best Damned Garage in Town".That town was, of course, Daytona Beach Florida. Father of many racing car technologies we take for granted today, he did work in NASCAR, drag and road racing as well as development work for all of the Big 3.

 

[patmckinneyracing]

I know mine are Carol Shelby and Richard Petty. Those are the only two I really thought much of and Richard petty is the whole reason why I bought my 71' Roadrunner. I just loved his racing and the Roadrunner's sleek body style.

 

[1evilregal]

I know mine are Carol Shelby and Richard Petty. Those are the only two I really thought much of and Richard petty is the whole reason why I bought my 71' Roadrunner. I just loved his racing and the Roadrunner's sleek body style.

+1 😀

big-winged bird, and the little cobra that could...

 

[billyjack]

Smokey Yunick- an absolute genius. Among his many, many other accomplishments, his V-6 engine work for Buick in the early eighties helped turn a dog of a 231 V-6 into one of the best motors of all time with the 3800.

John DeLorean - constantly broke the rules at GM, especially the "big car-big engine", "small car-small engine rule" that gave us the musclecar era. If there were a few more of his type in the company now, GM wouldn't be in the precarious position it is today.

 

[2000.malibu.ls]

maybe not what your thinking of, but my role model is chip foose.

 

[Phoenyx]

I don't know, but I'll tell you who my automotive hero's aren't. Anyone and everyone who has worked for the big 3 in the last 15-20 years. Or any other car company. Kinda hard to respect companies that run themselves into the ground by making crappy disposable cars that nobody likes.

 

[custom442]

Bill Porterfield, for getting me interested in making something out of my cutlass.

 

[jrm81bu]

Can't say i really have any "heroes" but, Jon Moss comes to mind.

 

[Blake442]

Nobody's more of a baller than Mickey Thompson.

 

[CutlassGrandNational]

I look up to everyone on here. Thanks for all the help everyone. :wink: