David E. Cole

Dr. David E. Cole is Chairman Emeritus of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was formerly Director of the Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation (OSAT) at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute and an engineering professor at the University of Michigan.He has worked extensively on internal combustion engines, vehicle design, and overall automotive industry trends. Dr. Cole's recent research has focused on strategic issues related to the restructuring of the North American industry and trends in globalization, technology, market factors, and human resource requirements.

Dr. Cole is a former director of the Automotive Hall of Fame and the Original Equipment Suppliers Association to name just a few of his many board activities and honors. David Cole is the son of Edward N. Cole (1909-1977), who served as President of General Motors from 1967 to 1974. Ed Cole was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1977.

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Dr. David E. Cole is one of the world’s foremost authorities on the automotive industry. Born in 1937, Cole is the son of former General Motors President and fellow Hall of Fame Inductee Edward Cole. His father was instrumental in developing some of GM’s major breakthroughs, like the small-block V8, and there is little doubt that his father’s position at GM had a strong impact on Cole’s life. Cole would attend the University of Michigan, where he would earn three mechanical engineering degrees and a doctorate. While at Michigan, Cole worked extensively on internal combustion engines and vehicle design. He would later teach engineering at the university and become the director of the college’s Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation.

In 2003, Cole helped launch the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan, an organization dedicated to research on important automotive industry issues like fuel economy, globalization, and manufacturing. Cole is also a former Director of the Automotive Hall of Fame and the Original Equipment Suppliers Association, and has helped found numerous automotive research and education start-ups, including Auto Harvest, a collaboration website for automotive industry personnel to help cultivate innovation within the industry. Cole also helped create an organization called Building America’s Tomorrow, a non-profit organization that aims to raise funds for developing educational programs for kids in grades K-12 to create a pipeline of manufacturing talent.

Cole is especially interested in nurturing new talent on the manufacturing side of the automotive industry. “Kids don’t have manufacturing on their radar screen”, Cole said in a 2013 interview with MLive.com. “As the baby boomers retire, we don’t have a pipeline of talent to replace them. We have failed to get the message to young people about where the opportunities are in manufacturing…. We’ve gotten away from the idea that manufacturing is important.” Despite having spent a lifetime working in, studying, and investing in the auto industry, Dr. David Cole has no plans to retire, and he remains a well-respected automotive luminary.

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David E. Cole is the Chairman Emeritus of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Chairman of Auto Harvest and Chair of Building America’s Tomorrow (BAT). He was formerly Director of the Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation (OSAT) at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute and an engineering professor at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Cole’s recent research has focused on strategic issues related to the restructuring of the international industry and trends in globalization, technology, market factors, and human resource requirements. He is chairman of Auto Harvest, a new organization being developed to facilitate the flow of intellectual property in and out of the auto industry. BAT is aimed at helping recruit K-12 students to pursue careers related to manufacturing.

Dr. Cole is active in SAE, including serving two terms on the Board of Directors. In February 1986, he was named a fellow of SAE. He is also active in the Engineering Society of Detroit and was elected to fellow status in 1990. In 2000, he received the Engineering Society’s highest award, the Horace H. Rackham medal. He is also a member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and was elected to fellow grade in 2009. He was elected to the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2014.

Dr. Cole received his B.S.M.E. and Mathematics, M.S.M.E. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and recently received an honorary doctorate from Cleary University.