William Clay “Bill” Ford Jr. has been inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame, the Detroit-area shrine for prominent auto industry figures.
The great-grandson of Ford founder Henry Ford, Bill Ford has served as executive chair of Ford since 1999, making him the most prominent member of the Ford family with a continuing role at the automaker. He held lower-level positions within Ford before taking on the executive chair role.
1903 Ford Model A Rear Entry Tonneau and Bill Ford, Jr.
Ford also become CEO of the family automaker after the ouster of Jacques Nasser in 2001. He held that title until 2006, when former Boeing executive Alan Mulally replaced him. The move was widely credited with helping turn Ford around, with Mulally subsequently implementing policies that helped the automaker better weather the 2008 financial crisis.
Located next to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, the Automotive Hall of Fame was founded in 1939 to honor individuals who have had a significant impact on the auto industry. Other recent inductees include Ferruccio Lamborghini, designers Sergio Pininfarina and Nuccio Bertone, and Honda co-founder Takeo Fujisawa—the driving force behind Honda’s entry into the U.S. market.
Bill Ford Jr. is inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame (credit: Ford / Charlotte Smith)
The Automotive Hall of Fame’s 2024 induction ceremony took place September 19 at Michigan Central Station, a Detroit landmark that the Ford spent hundreds of millions of dollars to restore.
Other inductees for 2024 include: Betsy Ancker-Johnson, the first woman Vice President in the auto industry, aftermarket pioneers Vic Edelbrock Sr. and Vic Edelbrock Jr., Wendell Scott Sr., the first African-American to win a NASCAR race, John A. James, who broke barriers for African-Americans in the trucking industry, and Vivek Sehgal, founder of auto-parts firm Motherson Group.