These Are The Ten Most Influential People In Automotive History According To Jalopnik Readers

The world of the automobile is a fast-paced and interesting place, and it has been molded and shaped in the image of a few hundred influential people. The stories written in the history books of the world of cars are typically stories about a small handful of people. Last week we asked our readers to tell us who they thought the most important and influential of these people were, and they did not disappoint. There are so many great folks to choose from, and I’m convinced we managed to narrow it down to the best and brightest. If you think we’re missing someone, feel free to let us know in the comments below. 

Ferdinand Piech, hands down. He introduced the first proper 4WD performance car (the Audi Quattro), showed a company can move upmarket into premium segment with Audi, re-wrote the homologation-special rulebook with the Porsche 917, showed everyone how to run an automotive group (VW Group re-organisation), saved Lamborghini, transformed Bentley into a true luxury brand and revived Bugatti as a modern-day technological masterpiece.

Suggested by Mirza Hatk

Dwight Eisenhower. The Interstate system was the major driver in the Automobile’s importance to the American consumer

Suggested by T A

Any answer other than Henry Ford is utterly preposterous.

Suggested by Datedude

While Carl Benz definitely deserves acknowledgement for essentially inventing the first practical modern automobile, I think we can go even further back to find someone who influenced the automotive world.

Enter French inventor Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot and his 1770 “Fardier à vapeur”. Now it wasn’t very practical. It was very unstable and very unreliable. But it was the world’s first self-propelled land vehicle. Cugnot essentially paved the way for every automotive figure afterwards, including Benz, with his brave attempt at engineering. If it weren’t for him, we would probably still be getting around by horse and buggy today.

Suggested by Nicholas Chuck

Thomas Midgley Jr. The man who discovered that Tetraethyllead was an octane booster for gasoline. Althought it was GM that subsequently made the various profit driven decisions which lead to leaded fuel proliferating, they couldn’t have done so without Midgley.

I would argue that leaded gasoline was the biggest public health disaster of the 20th century, and even though it has (finally) been banned in automotive engines by all countries, it’s still something which is affecting us today.

Suggested by Guest

Regrettably, I have to say Adolf Hitler for recognizing the need for a “people’s car” that became the VW Beetle which has been produced and used globally until fairly recent time.

Suggested by Michael Rosenfeld

This list needs more Bob Lutz

Suggested by FazCar

For influence outside of Cars, I would say

Kiichiro Toyoda.

You can’t work at any company in the world today that doesn’t read and try to make “The Toyota Way” work for whatever then do.

Suggested by hoser68

Alec Issigonis. Transverse engine FWD. How many vehicles have used this incredibly efficient layout?

Suggested by Soused

Without a doubt Lee Iacocca was the most influential motivator in the car business that I had the pleasure of working for in my 50 year career.

Suggested by James Stogdill