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BigRedChief
03-29-2010, 10:30 PM
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-donald-frey30-2010mar30,0,1658014.story

Donald N. Frey dies at 86; one of the fathers of the Ford Mustang
http://movie-poster.ws/movies/actors/images/Bullitt_mustang.JPG
He received the go-ahead for production from Henry Ford II. The car became one of the great successes in automotive history and Frey a revered figure among its many devotees.

By Trevor Jensen
March 30, 2010
Donald N. Frey, one of the fathers of the Ford Mustang and later president and chief executive of Bell & Howell, died March 5 at an Evanston, Ill., hospital after a stroke, said his son Christopher. He was 86.

Frey was the product planning manager for the Mustang, a sports car launched with equal parts fanfare and trepidation at the 1964 World's Fair in New York. He conceived the prototype in 1962 and wrung a go-ahead for production out of Henry Ford II.

The Mustang, of course, was one of the great successes in automotive history, and Frey became a revered figure among its many devotees.

Frey left Ford in 1968, in part because of differences with Ford executive Lee Iacocca. He worked as president of General Cable Corp. before joining Bell & Howell as president and chief executive.

During his 17 years at Bell & Howell, he steered a sweeping transformation of a company still known for film and microfilm as the video era dawned, said William J. White, Bell & Howell's chairman and chief executive from 1990 to 1998.

He initiated ground-breaking moves into video cassettes for movies in the 1970s and CD-ROM information systems in the 1980s.

"It was changing the emphasis from technologies that were dying to technologies that were emerging," said White, like Frey a professor of industrial engineering and management sciences at Northwestern.

His work at Ford and Bell & Howell, as well as his teaching and research at Northwestern, was recognized in 1990 when he received the National Medal of Technology (now the National Medal of Technology and Innovation) from President George H.W. Bush.

Frey left Bell & Howell in 1988 as it was taken private by Texas investor Robert Bass. He began teaching full time at Northwestern's Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Born in 1923 in St. Louis, Frey served in the Army during World War II and received undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Michigan. He earned his doctorate in metallurgical engineering in 1951.

Besides his son Christopher, Frey is survived by his wife, Kay; another son and three daughters; a brother; and nine grandchildren. He was divorced three times
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ClevelandBronco
03-29-2010, 10:37 PM
That means Glenn Henley wins.

healthpellets
03-29-2010, 11:06 PM
All of Independence sheds a tear.

FAX
03-29-2010, 11:13 PM
RIP Mr. Frey.

Some of my best memories have to do with the interior of your automobile.

FAX

BigRedChief
03-30-2010, 06:17 AM
All of Independence sheds a tear.Independence = Camero reference get your CP lexicon correct, n00b!:)

Over-Head
03-30-2010, 06:48 AM
Got my first BJ in a Mustang :D

Bane
03-30-2010, 07:34 AM
Never liked mustangs anyway.

Dartgod
03-30-2010, 08:09 AM
Anybody responsible for this is ok in my book. RIP

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/BOSS429.JPG/800px-BOSS429.JPG

BigRedChief
03-30-2010, 08:11 AM
Anybody responsible for this is ok in my book. RIP

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/BOSS429.JPG/800px-BOSS429.JPGholy friggin chit. Man, I want to drive that sucker so bad...:doh!:

ChiTown
03-30-2010, 08:20 AM
Anybody responsible for this is ok in my book. RIP

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/BOSS429.JPG/800px-BOSS429.JPG

I would like that car....a lot.

What sort of money would it cost to have that car, in that condition?

gblowfish
03-30-2010, 08:23 AM
A friend of mine who's a chiropractor owns 7 Mustangs. He's going to be very blue on this news.

Dartgod
03-30-2010, 08:35 AM
I would like that car....a lot.

What sort of money would it cost to have that car, in that condition?
Only about $200 grand :eek:

http://happycarz.com/pics_and_descp.php?id=829

Rain Man
03-30-2010, 08:46 AM
My dad used to have a business restoring Mustangs, so I got to drive a lot of them. As a 17 year-old, it really helped my cool factor.

Never got to drive a Boss or a Shelby, though. Those were a little beyond our means.