Mustang's father leaves strong legacy
04-07-2010, 09:13 AM
#1
Team Owner
Thread Starter
Mustang's father leaves strong legacy
Last Updated: April 06. 2010 7:12PM
Mustang's father leaves strong legacy
Ford engineer from 1950-68 also oversaw birth of CD-ROM
Scott Burgess / The Detroit News
Donald Frey's legacy spans generations.
It began in 1962, when as a Ford Motor Co. vehicle line executive, Frey followed his kids' advice to create a car young people might enjoy.
"I clearly remember sitting around the dining room table and my kids saying, 'Dad, your cars stink. They're terrible. There's no pizzazz,' " Frey said in a 2004 interview with Northwestern University's magazine.
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So Frey pitched the idea of sporty coupe with a pony on the grille to Henry Ford II. "He told me, 'I'm going to approve your Mustang, and it's your *** if it doesn't sell,' " Frey said.
Less than two years later, Frey rolled out the 1964 ½ Ford Mustang at the World's Fair in New York. It was a home run.
Frey owned one of the original Mustangs until his death on March 5 in Evanston, Ill., following a stroke. He was 86 and is survived by five children.
"For more than a half-century Don Frey demonstrated repeatedly that he was a true engineer," said Stephen Carr, associate dean for undergraduate engineering at Northwestern, where Frey taught for 20 years. "Don saw the important technical challenges, made the key innovations and assured that the enterprise would be a success as a result."
Since the car's unlikely beginnings, Ford has sold more than 8 million Mustangs and the nameplate has become one of the most recognizable for Ford.
Frey began his career at Ford in 1950, and became vice president and chief engineer in 1964. He left Ford in 1968 to become president of General Cable Corp. and then in 1971 became president and chief operating officer of media manufacturer Bell & Howell, based in Wheeling, Ill., where he oversaw the development of the first CD-ROM.
"Don was an extraordinary engineer and businessman," said William J. White, professor of industrial engineering and management sciences at Northwestern. "During his time at Bell & Howell, he successfully repositioned the company from the shrinking microfilm and movie projector business into the emerging electronic era. At Northwestern, Don was a valued colleague who successfully used his industry experience to support his effective teaching style."
Frey's legacy continues at Northwestern, where he was professor of industrial engineering and management sciences until 2008. He began teaching at an age most people retire. Colleagues and students called him the Professor of Reality because of his ability to translate complex ideas and theories into real world applications.
"It is sometimes easy to get lost in abstraction," said Julio M. Ottino, dean of Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. "Having Don at Northwestern grounded us in reality."
Frey's name will live on. In 2001, he created the annual Margaret and Muir Frey Prize, honoring his late parents, which is awarded to undergraduate engineering students for the best innovative problem solving projects.
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz0kQ57oJ3m
Mustang's father leaves strong legacy
Ford engineer from 1950-68 also oversaw birth of CD-ROM
Scott Burgess / The Detroit News
Donald Frey's legacy spans generations.
It began in 1962, when as a Ford Motor Co. vehicle line executive, Frey followed his kids' advice to create a car young people might enjoy.
"I clearly remember sitting around the dining room table and my kids saying, 'Dad, your cars stink. They're terrible. There's no pizzazz,' " Frey said in a 2004 interview with Northwestern University's magazine.
Advertisement
Quantcast
So Frey pitched the idea of sporty coupe with a pony on the grille to Henry Ford II. "He told me, 'I'm going to approve your Mustang, and it's your *** if it doesn't sell,' " Frey said.
Less than two years later, Frey rolled out the 1964 ½ Ford Mustang at the World's Fair in New York. It was a home run.
Frey owned one of the original Mustangs until his death on March 5 in Evanston, Ill., following a stroke. He was 86 and is survived by five children.
"For more than a half-century Don Frey demonstrated repeatedly that he was a true engineer," said Stephen Carr, associate dean for undergraduate engineering at Northwestern, where Frey taught for 20 years. "Don saw the important technical challenges, made the key innovations and assured that the enterprise would be a success as a result."
Since the car's unlikely beginnings, Ford has sold more than 8 million Mustangs and the nameplate has become one of the most recognizable for Ford.
Frey began his career at Ford in 1950, and became vice president and chief engineer in 1964. He left Ford in 1968 to become president of General Cable Corp. and then in 1971 became president and chief operating officer of media manufacturer Bell & Howell, based in Wheeling, Ill., where he oversaw the development of the first CD-ROM.
"Don was an extraordinary engineer and businessman," said William J. White, professor of industrial engineering and management sciences at Northwestern. "During his time at Bell & Howell, he successfully repositioned the company from the shrinking microfilm and movie projector business into the emerging electronic era. At Northwestern, Don was a valued colleague who successfully used his industry experience to support his effective teaching style."
Frey's legacy continues at Northwestern, where he was professor of industrial engineering and management sciences until 2008. He began teaching at an age most people retire. Colleagues and students called him the Professor of Reality because of his ability to translate complex ideas and theories into real world applications.
"It is sometimes easy to get lost in abstraction," said Julio M. Ottino, dean of Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. "Having Don at Northwestern grounded us in reality."
Frey's name will live on. In 2001, he created the annual Margaret and Muir Frey Prize, honoring his late parents, which is awarded to undergraduate engineering students for the best innovative problem solving projects.
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz0kQ57oJ3m
04-07-2010, 01:21 PM
#2
Safety Car
He sure changed our world. Another great man most of us never knew anything about - I didn't. ...........
Just thinking about the early Gas Ronda/Russ Davis Ford AFX Mustangs gives me warm fuzzies (and NO I was not a Ford kid!).
Thanks for the post John!
http://www.dearbornflashback.com/65afxlog.asp
...........Just thinking about the early Gas Ronda/Russ Davis Ford AFX Mustangs gives me warm fuzzies (and NO I was not a Ford kid!).
Thanks for the post John!
http://www.dearbornflashback.com/65afxlog.asp
Last edited by Bink; 04-07-2010 at 01:29 PM.
04-07-2010, 06:01 PM
#3
Team Owner
Thread Starter
i thought Lee Ioccoca (sp?) was the start of Mustang I remember my uncle had a 66 fast back 289 and he was sliding it around the corners when I was 14. Guess he started my speed addiction with bike, boats, and cars!
I guess you could say then this guy started Mustang, then they need a Camaro, AMX, Javelin, Cuda.
I guess you could say then this guy started Mustang, then they need a Camaro, AMX, Javelin, Cuda.
Last edited by John Shiels; 04-07-2010 at 06:22 PM.