In July, we were honored to induct C.R. and Frederick Patterson into the Automotive Hall of Fame. This father and son team were the owners of the only known Black automobile manufacturer in North America. On November 16, 2021, AHF Principal Historian Brian Baker and Alumni Relations Specialist Nick Gargaro visited Greenfield, Ohio, the Patterson’s home town. They spent the day with Tom Smith, who has been collecting and restoring Patterson artifacts for more than 30 years, and Harold Shultz, past president of the Greenfield Historical Society. The
The two glass plate negatives below were recently discovered in our collection and feature 1997 AHF Inductees Walter, Windsor, and Rollin White. The brothers developed White Steamer cars and trucks that were known for their quality and performance in the early 1900s. A White Steamer car was The White House’s first automobile, put into service during Taft’s administration in 1909. The first image, dated 1904, shows a White Steamer car during the Sealed Bonnet Contest
Long before his days as television star, 2020/2021 AHF Inductee Jay Leno worked his way up from car detailer to mechanic at Foreign Motors in Boston. He learned to work on Mercedes, Citroen, and Rolls Royce automobiles. Although he worked in Boston, many of his customers who owned premium cars lived in New York City. When Leno worked on their cars, he would volunteer to return them to their homes in the city. Leno paid close attention to the schedule of open microphone auditions at the New York comedy clubs. Often, he would magically
1994 AHF Inductee Fred Jones established one of the world’s leading Ford dealerships. He also pioneered the remanufacture of automobile engines and power train components and established the largest parts remanufacturing business in the country. Today, his company is known as Hall Capital and is led by his three grandsons. Hall Capital, located in Oklahoma City, is currently celebrating its 100th anniversary and is now a national player in real estate and automotive investment. Fred