Folks Of Interest Iconic Detroit engineers/designers

Who would you put at the top of the list of OEM people who left a significant mark in automotive history?
Not the ones that their names adorn the cars but those that you hold in high esteem, those you consider your "North Star" in whatever category of car (or truck) that defines you.
I've always been a high performance engine kind of guy, for the most part, small block Chevys, but if it's got a "cam" in it, I'm all over it.

So to start this off; my choice would be Zora Arkus-Duntov "Mr. 30-30", can you just imagine the things he drove home at night after work.
Wonder what's under the hood, 3x2 348, fuelie 283????




Here's the MAN. Zora Arkus-Duntov, the
very first Corvette Chief Engineer with the
camshaft that bears his name.



https://t-rexsoftware.com/chazcone/corvette/ncm/index.htm

Looking Back At The Famous Duntov Small-Block Chevrolet Camshaft
https://www.enginelabs.com/engine-tech/cam-valvetrain/duntov-small-block-camshaft/




I'll even throw you Ford boys a bone.


Interview here:
http://speedtalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=33001&sid=1a5abf329b6e86cda83e924daf46364c


Some history here:
http://www.semahof.com/Zora_Arkus-Duntov_1973_Inductee

And here:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zora_Arkus-Duntov

 

Probably not a lot of fans on here of this guy since he gets started right about where we cut things off but my life would have been very boring without him, his genius and his daring to flip the middle finger to the suits.

You know why there was a DMC recall? The cars pulled toward the white line... and snorted.
Thanks for the fun John!

 

Harley Earl.
-Dave

 

One of my faves would be Larry Shinoda.... He helped design the 1963 Corvette.......
...... And the 1969 Z/28 plus the Ford BOSS ponys.....

 

Uh....Henry Ford. And, yes, Zora is at the tippy top of that list.

 

X2!
And he was a hot rodder too:

 

George A Lyon held over 2000 automotive and marine patents. My great great uncle.
Lyon white walls, Lyon Wheel covers, spring bumpers.......

 

Bill Mitchell

 

And how about Barney Navarro? Not exactly a 'Detroit' engineer but damn smart and I know he helped with development of a lot of good stuff...

 

Yep, Smokey too!

 

Lets not forget Raymond Lowey. First car designed was the 1932 Cycle Fendered Hupmobile. Studebaker Starlite Coupe, then Hawk. Streamlined Locomotives, and the Lucky Strike logo. Lots of other stuff too.

 

Raymond Loewy. While he wasn't 'just' an automotive designer, the ones he did all have a 'timeless' element to them. I saw an Avanti (a real one; '62-63) the other night and was again struck by how clean the design is and the fact that in a parking-lot sea of late-models it still didn't look dated.

 

Another designer... E. T. 'Bob' Gregoire at Ford. When you think about all the now-timeless 'classics' he had a hand in (working with Edsel Ford), he was a large influence at Ford up until his retirement in 1946. The Lincoln Zephyr and Continental, '40-41 Fords, and the car that comes to mind if you say 'custom', the '49 Mercury; all designed by Bob...

 

Let's not forget Tom Hoover at Chrysler.

 

He only missed that design by two missing tail lights. He was "that" close!