(EXPANDED FROM 1/17/2024)
More than two years ago we pointed out that the Automotive Hall of Fame posted remarkably inaccurate information about former Ford Motor Company executive Robert McNamara. Their fact errors still haven’t been fixed. This is particularly problematic at a time when people increasingly rely on artificial intelligence that draws from sources such as the Hall of Fame.
McNamara was inducted way back in 1995, so I wonder how long these inaccuracies have been hanging out there — and whether other inductees have received similarly sloppy treatment. But even if this represents an unusual editorial lapse, how could such basic fact errors be published by an organization that is supposedly devoted to honoring automotive history?
This is not some random car blog produced by a volunteer. The Automotive Hall of Fame has a fancy website, a big building and lots of very important people on its board of directors. In asking for donations, the group states that its mission is to “honor and celebrate the accomplishments of individuals in the global motor vehicle industry through awards and educational programs that challenge young and old alike to higher levels of personal achievement.”
Presumably the Hall of Fame could better accomplish that mission if it got basic facts correct about its inductees. I do not expect them to be perfect, but I do expect that errors will eventually get caught and fixed. That hasn’t happened in this case.
Timeline of McNamara’s tenure at Ford is screwed up
Consider this whopper: “McNamara retired from Ford in 1963 to accept President John F. Kennedy’s invitation to serve in his cabinet as Secretary of Defense” (AHF, 2024). McNamara actually joined the administration on Jan. 21, 1961 (OSD, 2024). And why say that he “retired” when he was in his 40s (Weiner, 2009)?
Is there no one at the Hall of Fame old enough to remember the year that Kennedy took office — and that McNamara was one of his first appointees?
Also see ‘How might McNamara have influenced Ford if he had stuck around longer?’
But wait — there’s more. “McNamara encouraged the development of Ford’s first compact cars, the reliable Falcon and Comet.” This is true, but here’s where things go south: “The successes of these two models paved the way for the 1957 Fairlane, which was primarily responsible for Ford outselling Chevrolet for the first time in 30 years” (AHF, 2024).
Of course, the Falcon and Comet were introduced three years after the 1957 Fairlane. And since we’re nitpicking, an Automotive News reporter stated that Ford had last outsold Chevrolet 22 years earlier (Sherefkin, 2009) while other sources point to 20 years (auto editors of Consumer Guide, 1993; Wikipedia, 2023).
Career summary leaves out a key role at Ford
The Hall of Fame is all about resume polishing, so you’d think that it would at least thoroughly cover an inductee’s career arc within the auto industry. That wasn’t the case here. The website states, “McNamara was appointed Controller in 1949 and advanced to General Manager of Ford division in 1949. In 1960, he was selected to serve as President” (AHF, 2024).
Aaron Severson (2008, 2013) has offered a more complete — and accurate — overview: McNamara became Ford’s controller in mid-1948, the Ford Division’s general manager in January 1955, vice president of the Car and Truck Group in May 1957, and president in November 1960. Severson’s timeline aligns with that of Thomas Bonsall’s (2002).
It’s odd that the Hall of Fame doesn’t mention VP of the Car and Truck Group because there McNamara arguably had his greatest impact on the Ford Motor Company, such as by opposing the Edsel and championing compact cars (MacKenzie, 2009). And how much could McNamara have accomplished as president when he reportedly held that position only five weeks before accepting an invitation to join the Kennedy administration (OSD, 2024)?
It doesn’t take an automotive historian to fact check
In the original version of this story I wondered why the Hall of Fame did not draw upon someone to edit the content of their website for factual accuracy. As a case in point, an automotive historian would likely have caught all of these errors.
That said, I don’t subscribe to the idea that historians have a better lock on the truth than journalists. For example, I think that one of the best books about Ford was written by journalist David Halberstam (1986). Meanwhile, Indie Auto has pointed to fact errors in books written by established automotive historians.
What most matters is whether there are quality-control mechanisms in place to catch errors. There is nothing exotic about having a skilled copy editor on tap — and to update and improve older content every once in a while.
So my final question: When we check in again in a few years, will the McNamara entry still be riddled with basic fact errors?
Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.
RE:SOURCES
- AHF; 2024. “Robert S. McNamara: Inducted 1995.” Automotive Hall of Fame. Accessed Jan. 17.
- Auto editors of Consumer Guide; 1993. Encyclopedia of American Cars. Publications International, Lincolnwood, Ill.
- Bonsall, Thomas E.; 2002. Disaster in Dearborn: The Story of the Edsel. Stanford General Books, Stanford, CA.
- Halberstam, David; 1986. The Reckoning. William Morrow & Co., New York, NY.
- MacKenzie, Angus; 2009. “Robert McNamara: Before Vietnam, There Was Ford.” MotorTrend. Posted July 7.
- OSD; 2024. “Robert S. McNamara.” Historical Office, Office of the Secretary of Defense. Accessed Jan. 17.
- Severson, Aaron; 2009. “The Salesman and the Statistician: Robert McNamara, Lee Iacocca, and the Ford Falcon.” Ate Up With Motor. Posted Nov. 2.
- ——; 2013. “A Historical Note: Ford General Managers.” Ate Up With Motor. Posted March 13.
- Sherefkin, Robert; 2009. “The rise of the bean counter: Robert S. McNamara.” Automotive News. Posted July 6.
- Weiner, Tim; 2009. “Robert S. McNamara, Architect of a Futile War, Dies at 93.” The New York Times. Posted July 6.
- Wikipedia; 2023. “U.S. Automobile Production Figures.” Page last edited Sept. 5 (no longer online).
ADVERTISING & BROCHURES
- oldcaradvertising.com: Ford (1957); Ford Falcon (1960)
PHOTOGRAPHY:
- Banner image: Official portrait of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara dated Jan. 12, 1961 via Wikipedia (public domain).
- fordheritagevault: Ford Edsel (1958)
I know I am preaching to the choir here, but I am for honesty, warts and all. I have a very good friend who is a great media reporter, writer and racing circuit historian, except for some very ugly truths, which he chooses to keep hidden to himself and upon which he will never share. On some observable facts, many local sports journalists know the score, but are truly of an older generation and never report or judge in public. (Some may share this information aloud when well-lubricated, however.) Having worked in and around Indianapolis media for over 45-years, I too have witnessed many local people in less than their optimal condition, making poor decisions and representing themselves and their organizations in less-than-ideal circumstances, especially in conversations with professional sports franchise owners “on-the-record”.
There are raging debates, for example, among local historians about Indianapolis automobile dealer, Prest-o-lite owner, co-founder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and real-estate entrepreneur (Miami, FL) Carl G. Fisher. One of the best historians locally refuses to discuss his years-long research about the more alleged sordid aspects of Fisher’s life. Fear of retaliation from vested, established interests is one of those fears. (Just ask any serious biographer who tried to interview Henry Ford the First and Hank the Duece !)
I am a student of histories: Civilization, science, radio, mechanical contrivances and conveyances, politics and people. I want honesty and detail. I want to look into the eyes and hearts of the souls. I don’t necessarily need the gory details on one’s sexual peccadilloes, but I want understanding, if at all possible.
When it comes to historical subjects, l’ll “vote” for more historians and fewer journalists. Journalists can put forward many inaccuracies and make them sound good – and in a very entertaining way, too – kind of like some politicians. And both those professions often make big messes.
Hi Steve – you are right to raise this important issue, but did you take it up with the AHM directly? If so, were they unresponsive?
Their phone number is +13132404000
Sarah Cook, President of the Automotive Hall of Fame, has staff who should be concerned with such things:
Margarite Fourcroy
Director of Development And Alumni
M Kathleen Donald
VP Operations & New Programs
Michael-Thomas Sweeney
Digital Asset Manager
Matt Wolfe
Media Coordinator
My guess is that Robert Macnamara’s bio was outsourced to a journalist at the time and it hasn’t been reviewed since, because nobody complained.
In my experience, polite enquirers with good intentions generally yield positive results.
Perhaps I’m wrong and you’ve had a bad experience.
I think you are the perfect candidate to help get their house in order. Your meticulous attention to details deserves to be utilised and if possible for you, monetised.
Your points are well taken. I should add that I’m not trolling for work. I see my role as that of a media critic — not a consultant on the make or a reporter who runs around doing interviews. The main reason why is that even though I am retired, I have a lot of demands on my time and so need to draw some firm boundaries around what I can and can’t do. I try to make Indie Auto as professional quality as I can, but in the end this is a weekend-warrior project done in my spare time with my left hand.
I understand, Steve – I retired and I’ve never been busier!
I’m currently in Xinjiang province, northwestern China, on the border between Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia. So it’s not practical for me to give the AHF a call during business hours.
As an experiment, would you mind if I emailed a link for this page to the AHF to check whether they are interested in fixing their errors?
I think it might be newsworthy to report whether the AHF cares about their historical accuracy, even if nobody actually reads their website bios.
They obviously don’t read your website, but I find it is a great place to discover new facts and to learn fresh perspectives.
No, I wouldn’t mind you sharing the page.
Hi Steve –
The Automotive Hall of Fame website indicates that my enquiry should be directed to:
Siddharth Parashar
Director of Marketing
and Brand Strategy
sparashar@thedrivingspirit.org
I don’t expect him to be aware that his website carries a bio of McNamara.
You posed the question: “Is there no one at the Hall of Fame old enough to remember the year that Kennedy took office?”
I’d be surprised if anyone at the AHF was born when Kennedy took office. It was 65 years ago, and it’s not a date that’s remembered in the way that the assassination in Dallas is remembered by oldies like us.
Anyway – here’s the text of the email I sent to Mr Parashar:
“There are factual errors in the biography of AHF inductee Robert McNamara at:
https://automotivehalloffame.org/honoree/robert-s-mcnamara-2/
1
Mr McNamara joined the Kennedy administration on Jan. 21, 1961 not 1963.
2
Falcon and Comet were introduced three years after the 1957 Fairlane, not prior.
3
He became Ford’s controller in mid-1948, not 1949.
4
The bio omits his most significant roles: Ford Division’s general manager from January 1955, and vice president of the Car and Truck Group from May 1957.
I hope that the appropriate person at AHF will correct these errors promptly.
Please take this as a polite enquiry with good intentions.
I look forward to a positive outcome.
The errors were recently addressed here at IndieAuto, with source references:
https://www.indieauto.org/2026/06/15/automotive-hall-of-fame-post-on-robert-mcnamara-is-still-riddled-with-fact-errors/
Sincere regards from
Anthony Boddy
Automotive Research Consultant
Sydney Australia &
Shanghai China
Thank you for sharing that with me. Regarding when Kennedy become president, I’m 69 years old, so was only four when he assumed office. However, I quite vividly remember as an 11 year old the 1968 presidential election. Back in those days they still did civics education. In my school that included learning things such as how often presidents were elected. I remember seeing posters of the presidents and when they were in office.
I attended schools that were decidedly unexceptional, so have assumed that a goodly portion of my generation knew basic things such as when Kennedy took office. Maybe that’s not true. I should also factor in that people in the auto industry can be rather inward focused. New York Times reporter Bruce McCall went so far as to call Detroit “a self-isolated world, a kindly way of saying its worldview matches that of any West Virginia hollow for insularity” (go here for further discussion).
I know what you mean, Steve –
When I retired, the average age of the people in my departments was two decades younger than me. For them, the 1960s and 1970s was a mysterious time before they were born, when their dads had long hair and their moms didn’t have jobs.
I had to regularly remind myself that my staff had no first hand knowledge of political history, cultural values, and social expectations prior to their birth years.
Their educations had prepared them for the future, but they carried with them very few insights or lessons learned from the past.
It’s likely that many AHF employees aren’t particularly interested in automobile industry history. They were employed for their skills in marketing, events management, business development and digital assets.
Most people in the car business aren’t even into cars. It’s just a job to them. They think that their colleagues who memorise model names and specifications are a bit weird. One of my old bosses loved golf and fishing. He derided car enthusiasts such as myself as “exhaust sniffers”, yet he was running a huge automotive operation. He had great people skills and financial knowledge, but he had no love for the business he was in.
In my experience of developing websites and publishing online, I found that most of what is published is read once then forgotten. I enjoy your policy of republishing and expanding upon your past work. This level of curation makes previous content more accessible to newcomers such as myself.
I cannot overestimate my admiration for Robert Mc Namara. First Bob was a mathmatical genious of sorts – and whose mind operated something like the relatively new inventions – the computor.
How this translated into his automobile clairvoyance is not easily explained. His early championing of safety features in car – seat belts – is a case in point. Lower maintence and simpler cars with a maximum of parts sharings were other valuable additions to the family car.
His eye for automotive winners and losers also was unerring. While he disagreed with Mark II he noted thats its elegance and quality were just what Lincoln needed to compete with Cadillac. 1961 He arguable saves both Lincoln AND the Continental franchise.
Edsel is a harder call. Whether or not he agreed with a 4th car division is a topic to discuss. Perhaps he disliked the excess of Jack Reith’s fantasies. Possibly Bob’s battles with Reith contributed to his sad demise a few years later. The Edsel overall was Mcnamara’s blind spot.
OF course expanding the Tbird and the successful intro of Falcon/Comet – while the others car makers flailed around – cemented his legacy as an extraordinary model niche visionary. All this led the to the advent of Lee Iacocca – whose boss was Mc Namara.
McNamara worshipped efficiency. Wherever he went, he utilised his skills to improve logistics, reduce costs, streamline processes and eliminate duplication.
Safety features in cars made sense to him, because injuries and death were tragically wasteful.
According to automotive historian Adam Wadecki, McNamara didn’t like four barrels carburettors because they didn’t deliver optimal efficiency. So, Bob wasn’t a car guy.
I see his time at Ford as an aberration. He was brought in to fix a lot of operational problems, which he did, so he got promoted but he never desired to be the president of FoMoCo.
He thought that a Falcon was all that most people genuinely needed.
When Kennedy offered him the chance to sort things out at the Pentagon, McNamara realised it was an opportunity to resume his life’s work, which had begun during WW2.
To McNamara, who you bomb was more important than what car you drove.
McNamara accepted the need for killing during wartime, but he recognised after his third visit to Vietnam in 1966 that bombing civilians was ineffective and was squandering resources. When his proposals for peace talks were rejected by LBJ, McNamara resigned because he couldn’t abide by waste.
He spend 1968-1981 at the World Bank, helping third world countries to build water, power and transportation infrastructure for their impoverished people. This was a noble and fitting conclusion to his career.
THGis website has given me a new perspective on McNamara. I always hated him, and still do, for his role in the Vietnam Conflict. I was aware that he had been with Ford beforehand but didn’t know any details. This site has presented him as someone I agree with on most points during his tenure at Ford Motor Company. Now more than ever, I wish that he had stayed at Ford.
I have similar feelings about George Romney, another auto exec who left for political reasons.
McNamara’s opposition to the carpet bombing of North Vietnam caused him to resign from the Pentagon in February 1968, to become president of the World Bank.
His top-secret investigation into US activities in Vietnam was later published as “The Pentagon Papers”.
In 1995 McNamara published his memoir, “In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam”. He described the anticommunist political climate, foreign policy mistakes, and military misjudgments that created the Vietnam debacle.
A bit OT, but Edsel just came out at the wrong time, in the wrong slot, idiotic pre-introduction marketing, and unflattering jokes that became memes. C’est la vie.
Thank you for posting perhaps the most important and relevant article about the intersection of Detroit, circa 1960’s, and the political establishment. There is so little commentary about this that it is shameful, but you have done a superlative job of highlighting it. It might be apple polishing to praise McNamara for whatever he did or did not do at FoMoCo, but the in reality and in retrospect, he was evil. I hope he rots in hell, and I have hardly ever said this before, but it is deserved here.
As a retired journalist I think that robust debate is central to the survival of democracy. That said, I’m not into hate. That may be an increasingly unpopular notion in our rage-powered social media, but there you go.
My wife and I will be in Hanoi in August to take a vacation and to visit family.
A lot of my fellow Australians were killed while fighting in Vietnam between 1965 and 1975. Some Aussies resent the USA for starting the whole mess, but I’d be surprised if many remember McNamara’s role.
The World Bank (based in Washington, DC) is investing heavily in Vietnamese infrastructure, in competition with China. Old rivalries might remain, but now they are building stuff instead of blowing it all up.
I agree that this story is important and relevant to the history of Detroit and US politics.
Perhaps I’d feel differently about McNamara if I’d lost a son in the war, but I found it possible to forgive McNamara because he regretted the horrific decisions he made. He tried to redress the damage he’d done. He resigned on principle because the politicians and generals didn’t want peace. They knew they were in a hole, but they wanted to keep digging. McNamara was the first to lay down his weapons.
In July 1971, Australian politician E.G.Whitlam became the first Western leader to visit China and normalise relations with a long-standing Cold War enemy. This prepared the way for Nixon’s meeting with Mao in February 1972.
These were momentous and controversial meetings, but they ended the conflict and undermined the power of the Soviet Union, which was threatening every nation on earth including China with nuclear annihilation.
The continued criticism of McNamara was that he and other officials had concluded that the war was unwinnable years before, yet persistently defended it, lied about it, and slandered the war’s opponents. McNamara and others lied to Congress, which was a usurpation of Congress’s Constitutional war powers. It wasn’t a momentary lapse.
“Former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara systematically lied to Congress and the American public regarding the scope, progress, and fabricated justifications for the Vietnam War, most notably the Gulf of Tonkin incidents.McNamara’s deception of Congress is historically documented through several major events:The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: In August 1964, McNamara testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, denying that the U.S. Navy was aware of or associated with South Vietnamese covert raids on North Vietnam (OPLAN 34A). This testimony, combined with fabricated claims of an unprovoked North Vietnamese torpedo attack on the USS Maddox, led Congress to swiftly pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which provided the legal authority for widespread U.S. combat operations in Southeast Asia.The Pentagon Papers: A classified internal history commissioned by McNamara himself in 1967 (leaked and published in 1971 by Daniel Ellsberg) revealed that the Johnson administration had lied to both lawmakers and citizens. The papers proved that the U.S. had secretly expanded the war and that policymakers possessed internal doubts about winning while publicly maintaining relentless optimism.Later Admissions: In his 1995 memoir In Retrospect and the 2003 documentary The Fog of War, McNamara ultimately admitted that the second reported Tonkin Gulf attack on August 4, 1964, was imaginary and that the administration’s actions and justifications were “wrong, terribly wrong”.”
Thanks, Scampman – your post is really illuminating.
I searched in all the usual places to see whether McNamara was pardoned afterwards, but it appears that he wasn’t even charged with lying.
So it’s all good then. Nothing to worry about.
McNamara was heavily involved in planning the firebombing the civilian populations of 67 Japanese cities in 1945, which killed millions of non-combatants, mostly women, children and the elderly.
General Curtis LeMay said afterwards, “If we’d lost the war, we’d all have been prosecuted as war criminals.”
It appears to me that every presidential administration plus the CIA and the FBI have systematically lied to Congress.
Situation normal.
I guess everyone prefers things this way. I presume that this is how politics works. McNamara knew what he was required to do when he took the job at the Pentagon. Lying to the representatives of the American people was part of his job.
I should have posted my references, so here we go:
https://pophistorydig.com/topics/firebombing-japan-1945/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-robert-mcnamara-came-regret-war-he-escalated-180961231/
This blog is called ”Indie Auto” not 1960’s ”Cold War tales”. We should’ve never been in VietNam according to many and even today there is no clear consensus that it was-to many- a catastrophic failure of leadership.
So with that spirit in mind – McNamara’s post Ford career should not really be discussed at length here. But Bob being Bob – he was simply being the same board room brawler that he was hired to be- in the interests of a higher power.
We all know – there are grim realities of war – which Bob had no part in starting – ask Allan Dulles about that.
That said – In the recent movie all about Ted Kennedy and Chappaquiddic and Kopechne – Mc Namara appears in a hilarious turn as the prime fixer of the trajedy. Whether fact or fiction – MC Namara fixes the whole sorry affair.
Hi Steve – I apologise if I’ve said too much about RSM. I’ll shut up now and let you know whether I get a reply from the Automotive Hall of Fame.
Meanwhile, here’s a great story idea. Let’s discuss that crazy guy who started Volkswagen – Adolf Hitler. On second thoughts, let’s not.
My academic and professional background tilts far more toward the political realm than the auto industry. That’s why I’m more comfortable writing about politics than automobiles. However, I largely do that elsewhere unless there is a specific tie in with the auto industry. Interestingly, even then, I often get pushback from regular Indie Auto readers about being too “political.” It feels like a no-win situation because, when you get right down to it, the auto industry is a fundamentally political beast.
For example, I think it is entirely appropriate for me to write about how Elon Musk’s political forays have impacted Tesla. What then of McNamara? His political engagements didn’t overlap with his leadership at Ford so I steer clear of those discussions.
But since we’re talking about the overlap of politics and the auto industry, one thing that I’ve noticed is that when people cast a judgment about someone’s politics, they can have trouble talking accurately about their automotive industry leadership. I can’t tell you how often I have seen people roundly dismiss Musk’s leadership of Tesla because they hate his politics. That doesn’t strike me as reality based — like him or not, Musk has been one of the most significant auto execs of the 21st Century.
I think that journalistic honesty requires putting facts before feelings. That doesn’t mean I have to buy a Tesla, but I do feel the need to report on Musk accurately.
Hi Steve,
As a result of my direct approach, the Automotive Hall of Fame changed Robert S McNamara’s bio to include all the points you raised.
You can check the new wording here:
https://automotivehalloffame.org/honoree/robert-s-mcnamara-2/
I thanked AHF Marketing Director Siddharth Parashar for his prompt action. He’s a young man with a bright future.
I’d also like to acknowledge and thank all IndieAuto commenters who contributed to the discussion of McNamara’s professional legacy.
Indie Auto attracts readers who are courteous and fact-driven, which is rare on internet Comments pages.
Steve – I really admire the effort you put into referencing all your sources. You don’t just publish your opinions, you seek the truth and you join the dots to an arrive at sometimes surprising conclusions.
You’ve certainly given me fresh perspectives on subjects I thought I was quite familiar with.
Thanks and regards from
Anthony Boddy
Automotive Research Consultant
Shanghai China &
Sydney Australia
Thank you for weighing in on this — and letting us know about the changes that the Hall of Fame made. I will update the story when I get a moment.
You’re welcome, Steve – it was satisfying to get a rapid reply accompanied by a positive outcome.
Go easy on them – they’re people just like us, except younger and less experienced.
They don’t have the time or resources to fact check every bio, but they do care about accuracy.
There are hundreds of AHF inductees, going back to the 1950s.
Here’s the full list, in alphabetical order:
https://automotivehalloffame.org/induction-and-awards/inductees-honorees/
I don’t know what it means to “go easy on them.” A Hall of Fame should have as a basic goal presenting accurate information. This particular Hall of Fame would appear to have a meaningful amount of resources to do so.
Beyond that, I subscribe to the journalistic dictum of writing “with neither fear nor favor.” For example, I didn’t hold back from criticizing some of the reviews in Speedreaders.com because it is an all-volunteer media outlet (go here).
Critique can be awkward but is a necessary part of advancing a field of knowledge. That’s why it is an integral part of scholarly discourse. Unfortunately, the auto history field doesn’t have much of a foothold in the academic realm (go here for further discussion).
A 2023 review of the AHF is here:
https://www.motorcities.org/story-of-the-week/2023/the-automotive-hall-of-fame-where-the-pioneers-are-honored
Note that visits must be booked in advance:
https://automotivehalloffame.org/visit-the-hall/
A 2023 review of the AHF is here:
https://www.motorcities.org/story-of-the-week/2023/the-automotive-hall-of-fame-where-the-pioneers-are-honored
Note that visits must be booked in advance:
https://automotivehalloffame.org/visit-the-hall/