Edsel B. Ford II has accepted the Robert E. Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of the Ford family. The award coincided with the 75th anniversary of the 1932 Ford, which was considered the seminal vehicle that spawned the hot rod and muscle car culture.
The great-grandson of Henry Ford and grandson of Edsel said the honor was a tribute to more than his relatives. “I accept this on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of Ford employees who preceded me, who work with me now and who will come after me,” said Ford. “It really was the entire Ford Motor Company that produced the ‘32 Ford.”
The award is named for the publisher of Hot Rod Magazine and founder of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. It’s presented annually at the Hot Rod and Restoration Trade Show, which brings together some of the most prominent hot rod and aftermarket businesses in the country. Past winners have included racing legends like Carroll Shelby and Andy Granatelli and automotive designers like George Barris.
“This is the first time the award has honored an entire family instead of an individual,” said Dick Messer, director of the Petersen Automotive Museum. “There are no more deserving recipients than the two men who literally started the performance industry, Henry and Edsel Ford.”
Seventy-five years after it was introduced, the ‘32 Ford is considered to be the first car that brought both power and style to the masses. With the world’s first mass produced V-8 engine, inspired by Henry Ford, and a new styling sophistication, from Edsel Ford, the “Deuce” would go on to spark the imagination of car enthusiasts who continue to personalize, customize and modify their vehicles inside and out. The hot rod culture and automotive aftermarket has since evolved into a $34 billion industry.
During an interview for the Speed channel’s “Car Crazy Television” Ford explained to host Barry Meguiar the unique talents of the men that made the “Deuce” an automotive icon. “It was an interesting mating of an engine and a design and a wonderful coming together of a father and a son,” said Ford. “Henry wanted to do a V-8; he was the engine promoter. But I think it was Edsel’s design that really made the ‘32 Ford.”
Ford added that he felt Edsel, who died in 1943 at the age of 49, never received the credit he deserved. “My grandfather had a huge impact on this industry that I think was very much underappreciated,” he said.
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