The Automotive Hall of Fame has added five new inductees to its ranks. A.J. Foyt, Dan Gurney, Charles B. King, Sergio Pininfarina, and Shoichiro Toyoda were honored with a formal induction ceremony on Tuesday, October 16th, having been named as inductees back in March at the New York International Auto Show. Foyt and Gurney are honored for their racing endeavors as teammates and owners. Charles B. King may be an obscure name to most, but he was a renaissance man who designed, built, and drove the first car Detroit's streets ever saw. Sergio Pininfarina's work speaks for itself; over fifty years of automotive haute couture. Pininfarina's son Paolo, vice chairman of the firm, accepted on his father's behalf, Sergio having a case of the flu. Toyoda, who has built an automotive giant, joked that halls of fame typically honor individuals in their twilight as he accepted the award. Toyoda, Pininfarina, Gurney, and Foyt are arguably not yet watching the sun set on their accomplishments yet.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

Although the actual award ceremony and induction won't take place until October, the Automotive Hall of Fame announced its class of 2007. Five legendary names from all facets of the automotive world were revealed during the International Motor Press Association meeting at the New York International Auto Show yesterday. The full release follows the jump, but here are the five inductees in brief:

• A.J. Foyt - One of the most versatile racers of all time. During his four decades behind the wheel he won in everything from Indy Car, to NASCAR, to Le Mans. Although Indy is where he is perhaps best known, his Le Mans win with co-inductee Dan Gurney in 1967 is one of the seminal moments in motorsports history.
• Dan Gurney - As a driver, Gurney had a fairly remarkable career, driving and winning in NASCAR, Indy Car, Sports Car, Trans-Am, Can-Am and Formula 1. But after retiring in 1970, Gurney went on to manufacturer his own race cars and street vehicles as well.
• Charles B. King - With a Mechanical Engineering degree in his pocket, King went to Detroit in 1891 and revolutionized the auto industry. Dozens of automotive patents still bear his name. He even was the first person to drive car on the streets of Detroit, a car he designed himself.
  
• Sergio Pininfarina - Descendant of company founder, Pinin Farina, Sergio began running the Carrozzeria in 1960. For more than 50 years he has led Pininfarina, turning it into one of the largest and most successful design firms around. He also oversaw many of the company's most famous projects, especially the Ferraris they are best known for.
• Shoichiro Toyoda - When Dr. Toyoda became managing director of Toyota in 1961, the automotive world began to change. With his focus on automotive technology, quality control and factory management he revolutionized Toyota, and with it the whole automotive world.
  

The big event will happen, on Tuesday, October 16, 2007 in Dearborn, Michigan.

[Source: Automotive Hall of Fame]

Legendary designer Nuccio Bertone (1914-1997) has been inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in Detroit, taking his place alongside other automotive icons, including Henry Ford, Giovanni Agnelli, Louis Renault and the Michelin brothers.

The Hall of Fame citation accompanying the award reads, in part, "For the influence he has had on car design, for having discovered and encouraged some of the world's best designers, for having contributed to the car industry for decades and for having created some of the best cars around, the Automotive Hall of Fame is proud to include Nuccio Bertone among its members." His tremendous impact on the design community has been honored by many other awards, including honorary doctorates from the Art Center College of Design and Turin Polytechnic, and induction into the European Automotive Hall of Fame in Geneva.

The Bertone Group traces its roots back to 1912, when Giovanni Bertone, then aged 28, opened a workshop specialising in the construction and repair of horse-drawn carriages. In 1914 Giuseppe, the second son in the Bertone family, was born. Everyone took to calling him Nuccio, a nickname which stayed with him for the rest of his life, and become synonymous with Italian style throughout the world. After his death in 1997, Nuccio Bertone was described by Fulvio Cinti, motoring journalist and automotive historian, as "one of the greatest coachbuilders of the century, and international Maestro of Italian style." One of the many seminal designs originating from Stile Bertone was the famous Lancia Stratos 0, shown above. Incredibly, the Stratos 0, which Bertone originally named the Stratoline, debuted nearly four decades ago in 1970.

[Source: Bertone via Car Body Design]

Harley Earl (1893-1969), considered by many as the Father of American Automotive Design, left an indelible mark on our nation's roads. And now, a collection of sixty-six photos that were on display at the Automotive Hall of Fame last year from May through July—is now available for purchase on eBay. The photos include family pictures and design patents for such memorable concepts as the Buick Y-Job (pictured) and LeSabre.

The auction can be found here and ends on March 23rd. A more thorough description of the pieces can be found through a link on the eBay page or here.


[Source: The Auto Channel]