Hall of Fame Award
Purpose
The Import Vehicle Community Hall of Fame award is intended to honor outstanding individuals in the import automotive industry whose creativity, dignity, integrity, industriousness and accomplishments have enhanced the stature of, and significantly contributed to, the import industry segment and its overall growth and progress.
Qualifications
2022 Hall of Fame Award Winner
Aaron Lowe
Senior Vice President, Regulatory & Government Affairs, Auto Care Association (retired)
Aaron Lowe was with the Auto Care Association and previously with the Automotive Parts and Accessories Association (APAA) for 40 years. He currently oversees the Auto Care Association’s federal and state legislative and regulatory efforts, focusing on a wide range of environmental, vehicle safety, workplace-health and safety and international trade issues. He also served as liaison to the Upholstery and Trim International Segment of the Auto Care Association.
Lowe coordinated the Auto Care Association’s successful effort in 2012 to obtain enactment of the Motor Vehicle Right to Repair Act in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Right to repair ensures that independent service entities have effective and affordable access to the information, tools and software to work on today’s highly sophisticated computer controlled vehicle systems. He also was part of the team that successfully negotiated a 2013 national agreement on right to repair that is modeled after the Massachusetts law.
Lowe also spearheaded the Association’s successful initiative in Massachusetts to amend the 2012 right to repair law in order to ensure that vehicle owners could access and control their diagnostic and repair data that is transmitted from both on-board diagnostic port and wirelessly through telematic systems. Known as Question 1, the initiative was approved by voters in 2020 by an overwhelming 75-25 percent margin.
Lowe was the recipient of the Northwood University Automotive Aftermarket Management Education Award in 2003. He has been on the board of directors and steering committee for several aftermarket coalitions aimed at ensuring the economic future of the auto care industry.
Prior to the Auto Care Association, Lowe worked for an energy consulting firm specializing in renewable fuels legislation and regulation. Lowe has a bachelor’s of art degree in economics from George Washington University and recently moved with his wife to Yarmouth, Massachusetts.
Previous Award Winners
- Irving Beck (1985)
- Peter Morris (1985)
- George Neuwirth (1985)
- Bjarne Qvale (1985)
- Earl Nisonger (1986)
- Albert Wepper (1986)
- William Arnowitz (1987)
- Harold Schrier (1987)
- Stephen Herrick (1988)
- Len Meyers (1988)
- William Owen (1988)
- Dave Williams (1988)
- Chuck Schwartz (1989)
- Randy St. John (1989)
- Al Moss (1990)
- Ruben Tarno (1990)
- Louis Berg (1991)
- Peter Neuwirth (1991)
- Fred Olefson (1992)
- George Doefler (1993)
- Leroy Zeigner (1993)
- Steve Patkin (1994)
- Marty Holtz (1994)
- Ken Miller (1994)
- Michael Pace (1995)
- Eli Garfien (1995)
- Steve Kirby (1996)
- Mel Marks (1996)
- Karl Schwartz (1997)
- Bob Romanow (1997)
- Knut “Ben” Bendixen (1998)
- Barry Breslow (1999)
- ** (2000)
- ** (2001)
- Barry Cohn (2002)
- Hanns Hederer (2003)
- Karl H. Flicker (2004)
- James A. Law (2005)
- Henry P. Allessio (2006)
- Tom B. Babcox (1919-1995) (2007)
- Bill Babcox (2007)
- Tom O’Hare (2007)
- E.P. (Ed) Lynch (2008)
- Dino Crescentini (2009)
- Hans Bierdümpfel (2010)
- Lee Kadrich (2011)
- Anthony “Tony” Perticari (2012)
- Hans Joachim Kopecky (2013)
- Mort Schwartz (2014)
- Kathleen Schmatz (2015)
- Bob Cushing (2016)
- Ira D. Davis (2017)
- Martin “Marty” Gold (2017)
- W. Michael Brown (2018)
- Bob Clark (2019)
- ** (2020)
- Steven Sharp (2021)
- Hans Wulff (2021)
**Award not presented.