Brought to you in part by:

.


NOTICE! The old Mustangsandmore.com is a read-only archive.
Currently the Search function is inoperative, but we are working on the problem.

Please join us at our NEW Mustangsandmore.com forums located at this location.
Please notice this is a brand new message board, and you must re-register to gain access.

  Mustangsandmore Forum Archive
  '69 to '73 -- The Musclecar Mustang
   Great website for little known Ford insider info!

Post New Topic  Post A Reply
profile | register | preferences | faq | search

next newest topic | next oldest topic
Author Topic:   Great website for little known Ford insider info!
cobravenom71
Gearhead

Posts: 1349
From: Poinciana, Fl USA
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 12-19-2005 09:09 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for cobravenom71        Reply w/Quote
Found this cool site with interviews with lots of Ford designers and such.

http://www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/Oral_histories.htm


It's a lot of reading but there are some interesting things to find out!

Such as:

Apparently, Bunkie Knudsen was not as disliked around Ford as has been the general feeling over the years. The designers generally loved the guy, for he was a real 'car guy', and spent a lot of time with them and encouraging them, and not so much time being an 'executive'. HFII supposedly got rid of him becuase he was engendering far too much support from the 'troops', which always tended to bother him.

Most surprising to me was the stuff about Larry Shinoda. He was not well liked within the Ford ranks. He was thought of as a good designer, but very uncooperative and not a team player. Did not work well with others, and had a very rigid and limited idea of what he thought was the right way to do things.
Considered a 'whiner', when he didn't get his way, he would go directly to Knudsen, his old buddy from GM, and plead his case, ignoring his direct supervisors. This must have really pissed them off.
When Bunkie was fired, Shinoda's boss couldn't wait to fire him. Shinoda was at a company function in Germany, and he was called at a car show presentation and told he had been fired, and that his expense account was cancelled and that he had to find his own way home. He wasn't allowwed on the company flight!

Gail Halderman and Larry Shinoda had such bad blood between them that when Shinoda was given the 71 Mustang design (Halderman's) to do the final trim design work, he purposely left almost all 'FORD' nomenclature off of the car, signifying that he didn't think was a car Ford should be selling! Shinoda supposedly claimed he was going to become head of design (or something like that) and bring all of GMs design 'rules' into play at Ford. Clearly, a lot of Ford guys didn't care for that!


Check out the site, it's cool.

SteveLaRiviere
Administrator

Posts: 48752
From: Saco, Maine
Registered: May 99

posted 02-23-2006 11:13 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for SteveLaRiviere        Reply w/Quote
That is cool, thanks for posting this.

------------------
'70 Mustang Mach 1 - '70 Mustang Convertible - '72 Mustang Sprint - '94 F-150 XL

mustangs68
Moderator

Posts: 27681
From: Hampton Va MCA#39406 M&M #12 Member Mustang Club of Tidewater
Registered: May 99

posted 02-23-2006 11:43 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mustangs68        Reply w/Quote
Good one,
I dropped in my Favorites file
Sam

All times are ET (US)

next newest topic | next oldest topic

Administrative Options: Close Topic | Archive/Move | Delete Topic
Post New Topic  Post A Reply
Hop to:

Contact Us | Mustangsandmore Front Page

Copyright 2006, Steve LaRiviere. All Rights Reserved.


Ultimate Bulletin Board 5.47d

Amazon Honor System Click Here to Pay Learn More

[Members' Pics]

[Tech Articles]