2023 Automotive Hall Of Fame: Here Are The New Inductees

McKinley W. Thompson, Jr. made history by becoming the first African American industry designer in 1956 when he landed a job at Ford's Advanced Design Studio. The Blue Oval company's most iconic model, theMustang, was crafted with him as part of the design team.

Today, the pony car has spanned seven generations since 1964, with theS650 Mustang as the latest generation. Other models Thompson worked on were theBroncoand Thunderbird.

Juan Manuel Fangio has been inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame as the "greatest driver in the history of motorsports." Fangio earned the nickname El Maestro after mastering theNurburgring, a renowned German track deemed the most challenging course in the world. He was part of the first decade of Formula 1, winning five drivers' championships in the 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, and 1957 seasons.

He created the Juan Manuel Fangio Foundation outside racing to support his charitable work.

Takeo Fujisawa is an important character that helped shape what the Honda brand is today. He is the co-founder of Honda, said to be the "perfect match to Soiciro Honda's (founder) engineering acumen and vision for mobility."

In North America, Fujisawa made significant contributions - starting the Honda business in the US, creating an independent US dealer network, and establishing a separate company. Both Honda and Fujisawa retired in 1973, ending a 25-year partnership.

拉里·伍德is perhaps responsible for a generation of petrol heads thanks to his renowned diecast cars called Hot Wheels. Dubbed Mr. Hot Wheels, Wood had a 40-year career designing some of the most well-known and unique Hot Wheels Cars.

Today, the brand continues to expand, even joining the virtual world with video games, including the latest Hot Wheels Unleashed 2.何t Wheels also recently releasedthe Forza-inspired diecast collection consisting of thePorsche 911 GT3(996), Bugatti EB110 SS, and Jaguar F-Type Project 7.

Fred T. Bauer has built two companies that advance automotive components. The first company, Simicon Co., made electronic controls for heating and air conditioning products.

The other is Gentex, an American electronics and technology company that pioneered the world's first electrochromic auto-dimming rear mirror. Gentex's global revenue reportedly exceeded $1.8 billion in 2022.