Cora Cole (center) presents the Friend of Automotive History plaque to her husband Leroy, while Past President Taylor Vinson looks on.

Leroy D. Cole was presented with the Friend of Automotive History Award by the Society of Automotive Historians at the Society’s 37th Annual Awards Banquet October 7th in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Friend of Automotive History is the highest honor bestowed by the SAH, and recognizes outstanding service and contributions in the field of automotive history.

Cole, from Goodrich, Michigan, founded Cole’s Machine, Inc., a supplier of tooling to the auto industry, in 1967. Born in the shadow of the Buick factory in Flint, he has had a lifelong interest in the motor car and its history. He founded the Cole Motor Car Club of America to explore and further the history of his namesake (but unrelated) car, and edits its magazine Cole Bulletin. He has served as chairman of the Friends of the Library and Archives of Kettering University (formerly General Motors Institute) in Flint, and maintains his own extensive private archive of historic material, which he generously shares with fellow researchers. A former president of the Society of Automotive Historians, he served several terms on its Board of Directors and also headed its Henry Leland Chapter in Michigan. He has also chaired a number of Society committees and projects.

Presentation of SAH awards for service and publishing also were made during the annual dinner meeting. Out-going Society president Joseph Freeman chaired the proceedings.  The complete list of award recipients is:

E.P. Ingersoll Award - Excellence in non-print media

“Victory by Design,” Filmplan, Ltd., Tony Maylam, director and writer.

Richard and Grace Brigham Awards - Best treatment of auto history by a periodical

Horseless Carriage Gazette, published by the Horseless Carriage Club of America, John C. Meyer III, editor.

Aston, published by the Aston Martin Heritage Trust, David Burgess-Wise, editor.

Student Paper Award - Best paper by a thesis-level student

“The Fast and the Furious: The Victoria Police and Changing Definitions of Speed and Speeding 1900-1930,” by E. Rick Clapton, University of Melbourne, Australia.

Award of Distinction - "History of Chicago’s Motor Row," by David M. Kerr, Loyola University.

Carl Benz Award - Best periodical article on automotive historians

“1,000 Miles in Half a Day,” by Carl Goodwin, published in Vintage Motorsport.

Award of Distinction - “1960-62 Plymouth Valiant: Chrysler’s Unique Slant on the Compact,” by Jeffrey I. Godshall, published in Collectible Automobile.

Award of Distinction - “Bound by Tradition: The Coachcraft Story,” by Vince Manocchi, published in Collectible Automobile.

Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot Awards - Best books on automotive history

The Stanley Steamer: America’s Legendary Steam Car, by Kit Foster, published by Stanley Museum, Inc.

The Electric Vehicle: Technology and Expectations in the Automobile Age, by Gijs Mom, published by Johns Hopkins University Press.

Award of Distinction - The Story of Reo Joe: Work, Kin and Community in Autotown, U.S.A, by Lisa M. Fine, published by Temple University Press.

Award of Distinction, Language other than English - Sie Bauten Autos, by Michael Graf Wolff Metternich and Hans-Otto Neubauer, published by Verlag Hermann E. Sieger GmbH.

Award of Distinction, Language other than English - Ford en France et en Belgique, by Hubert Bonin, Thierry Grosbois, Nicolas Hatzfeld and J-L Loubet, published by éditions P.L.A.G.E.

James J. Bradley Distinguished Service Award - For preservation of archives

Stanley Museum, Inc. Kingfield, Maine, and Estes Park, Colorado.

Friend of Automotive History Award

Leroy D. Cole