![\"C.R.](\"https:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Patterson-shop-and-car-1024x576.jpg\")
Settling down in Greenfield, Ohio, Patterson partnered with a local businessman to open a coachbuilding company in 1873, eventually taking it over with son Frederick. In 1914, C.R. Patterson & Sons built its first automobile<\/a><\/span><\/strong>. And though the Patterson-Greenfield Automobile company lasted barely four years, it assumed a unique place in industry annals: the only black-owned manufacturer among roughly the 8,000 car companies formed in the U.S. since the 1890s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Long relegated to the dusty back shelf of automotive history, C.R. and Frederick Patterson came into the spotlight this week as they were inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. The splashy and well-attended induction ceremony, held in downtown Detroit, was an unusually diverse affair. Along with the Pattersons, the AHF honored a pioneering black racer and one of the industry\u2019s first female designers. Among others inducted were a former Hyundai Chairman, the longtime head of one of the world\u2019s largest auto parts chains, and comedian and auto collector Jay Leno.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s still a lot of debate\u201d about the early years of C.R. Patterson\u2019s life, acknowledged great-grandson Richard Patterson. Among other things, it\u2019s unclear whether he was born a slave nearly three decades before the Civil War. But he became an important figure in his adopted home town of Greenfield, Ohio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At a time when racism was truly systemic, Jim Crow laws covered much of the country, and the Ku Klux Klan openly recruited members and marched through the streets across many parts of America, C.R. and his son created a successful carriage business. Shortly after his father\u2019s death, Frederick started building cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was \u2014 and remains \u2014 the only black-owned car company. Among other things, C.R. Patterson & Sons was notably for the fact that it \u201cwas one of the few businesses in that era that used an integrated workforce,\u201d said Ayanna Howard, dean of the engineering department at Ohio State University during Thursday\u2019s induction ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The timing wasn\u2019t good, however, the Pattersons entering the car business the same year Henry Ford started up his first assembly line and slashed Model T prices. The last Patterson-Greenfield model rolled out in 1918. The company continued producing buses through much of the Great Depression, finally closing in 1939.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The AHF honors a far-flung field of automotive pioneers and influencers, from corporate to CEOs to race car drivers. But Charlie Wiggins is another name that could have been lost to history. Born in 1897, he was considered one of the best racers of his era. But the rules of his day meant he couldn\u2019t challenge the best white drivers like Frank Lockhart and Tommy Milton. He tried to enter the 1920 Indianapolis 500 but was turned down because of the color of his skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wiggins did find some measure of fame through the Colored Speedway Association, dominating the field and races like the Gold and Glory Sweepstakes with cars he built himself. Unlike white racers, blacks often had to settle for deeply rutted and potholed dirt tracks. That contributed to a 13-car pileup that severely crippled Wiggins. Despite his injuries, he continued to work as a mechanic \u2014 though, even then, he was banned from stepping out from the shadows after his team won the Indianapolis 500. Wiggins also served as a mentor for future generations of black racers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe was a strong, passionate man who, until now, had been erased from automotive history,\u201d said Ed Welburn, the auto industry\u2019s first black head of design \u2014 for General Motors. Welburn is now working on a film about Wiggins\u2019 life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Helene Rother was a designer\u2019s designer. Born in Germany, she first went to Paris to work on hat pins and later worked on furniture, jewelry, stained glass windows and, eventually, comic books, working for Marvel Comics. But Rother was also the first woman to join the interior styling staff at General Motors<\/a><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While living and working in Paris, Rother ran one step ahead of the Nazis when she fled Europe in 1941, eventually winding up in Detroit. There, she was recruited by GM\u2019s original styling chief, Harley Earl, who brought her in and put her at the helm of interior design. That was a neglected area, and Rother introduced new colors and fabrics, while also focusing on seat construction and even door hardware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1947, Rother left to form her own studio. She worked on all manner of design projects, from Nash-Kelvinator Appliances to automobiles, partnering with Italian legend Battista \u201cPinin\u201d Farina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rother became just the sixth woman to be inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the Automotive Hall of Fame was long centered around the U.S. auto industry, foreign leaders and influencers have gained a greater presence in recent years. The latest in Mong-Koo Chung, the longtime Hyundai chairman<\/a><\/span><\/strong> credited with transforming a small, regional player into what is now the world\u2019s fifth-largest automotive empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also helped shed Hyundai\u2019s early reputation for cheap, shoddy products, frequently declaring that \u201cQuality is the absolute benchmark of our product and brand competitiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n His son, Eusin, accepted the award on Thursday. He succeeded Mong-Koo as chairman in October 2020 and has focused on not only building the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands but expanding into other areas of mobility services, including a flying car venture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Patterson-poster-810x1024.jpg\")
Breaking Barriers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Charlie-Wiggins-black-racer-mechanic-755x1024.jpg\")
Discrimination on the dirt track<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A designing woman<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Helene-Rother-GMs-first-female-designer-1024x621.jpg\")
Building an empire<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Hyundais-Mong-Koo-Chung.jpg\")
Funny man<\/h2>\n\n\n\n