American Automotive Hall of Fame moves to . . . wait, Detroit?

The American Automotive Hall of Fame? Oh well, it has to be in Detroit, right? Turns out no, actually. It has moved around a bit over the 75- plus years it has been in existence, but never in Detroit, even during the 1950s, 60s and 70s when that city was the beginning, middle and end of the US carmaking industry.

That’s about to change though as Hall of Fame president William Chapin has announced it is returning . . . no, sorry; moving to Detroit. It just doesn’t sound right, does it? Then again, any institution moving to Detroit has, until recently, seemed an odd move in light of the city’s bankruptcy and mass abandonment. Things appear to be slowly swinging around, however, thanks in part to Ford’s investment in new facilities there, and a bit of hipster- led gentrification of some neighbourhoods.

Not to be confused with the rather excellent car museums you find in almost every corner of the US — such as Los Angeles’ Peterson Automotive Museum or the LeMay America’s Car Museum in Tacoma, Washington — the Automotive Hall of Fame celebrates individual achievement within the automotive sphere, rather than the cars themselves. So in a way it doesn’t seem so strange to have had the institution based in New York or Washington D. C., as it has been previously.

“We feel there is a need to develop a visitor destination downtown that will tell the global stories of automotive innovators and their innovations over the past 90- plus years, with a spotlight on Detroit’s automotive heritage,” Chapin said at this year’s induction ceremony, where the announcement was made.

Founded in 1939, the Hall of Fame has more than 800 inductees. This year’s honoured notables included safety advocate Ralph Nader, Carl Benz’s wife and business partner, Bertha, and Roy Lunn, the man behind the Le Mans- winning Ford GT40.