McKinley Thompson: Auto designer, HPV builder

McKinley Thompson Jr. and rider Brooke Linford, his then son-in-law, first showed up with this tricycle at the International Human Powered Speed Championships in Indianapolis in September 1985, but didn't race. The tricycle had suspension on each wheel. They next appeared, along with the Orca fairing, at the Maple City Metric ride in Adrian in May 1986.

By Mike Eliasohn

Us HPV old-timers remember McKinley Thompson Jr., who showed up at the Michigan HPV Rallies and other HPV events in the 1980s and early 1990s with some interesting vehicles he designed and built.

He likely is the only person to have created HPVs with two, three, four and five wheels.

I knew McKinley, who lived in Detroit, worked for Ford Motor Co., but I don’t remember if I knew what he did at Ford.

Then in February of this year, the Automotive Hall of Fame (automotivehalloffame.org) in Dearborn, announced six inductees for this year into its Hall of Fame, including:

McKinley Thompson is a 1956 graduate from Art Center College of Design and made history by becoming one of the first African American automotive designers. Upon graduation, he landed a dream job at Ford’s legendary Advanced Design Studio, and went on to spend the next 28-years of his career as a designer for Ford. He was pivotal in shaping some of the company’s most iconic consumer products ever– including the Thunderbird, Mustang and Bronco. His acumen and aesthetic left an indelible mark on the automotive world and his timeless designs have been studied by generations of automotive designers.

The other inductees will be Mary Barra, General Motors Corp. chairman and chief executive officer; five-time world Formula 1 champion Juan Manuel Fangio; Honda Motor Co. co-founder Takeo Fujisawa; Larry R. Wood, who designed Hot Wheels cars for 50 years; and Fred Bauer, founder of Gentex, manufacturer of auto-dimming rearview mirrors and automotive electronics.

The induction ceremony will be July 20 at the Fillmore in Detroit.

Here's Brooke racing Orca at the 4th annual Michigan HPV Rally on Aug. 9,1986 at Waterford Hills, the first rally held at the track in Clarkston.  Brooke, from Northville, finished 6th overall and participants voted Orca "most popular" vehicle. There weren't different vehicle classes in 1986, so all 31 participants were, in essence, racing in the same class, regardless of age, sex or type of vehicle. Then from Aug. 26-29, he and McKinley were at the International Human Powered Speed Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Brooke and Orca finished 28th overall of 39 entries. He competed in the 200 meter flying start sprints (25.36 mph), 15-kilometer criterium and commuter vehicle event.  

McKinley was born in 1922, grew up in Queens, New York, and had a keen interest in cars from when he was young, according to a Ford news release. “He served in the Army Signal Corps during World War II, learning drafting and working as an engineering layout coordinator. After the war, that work provided for him and his growing family, but Thompson’s love of cars and his dream of being a designer persisted.” In 1953, he entered a design contest in Motor Trend magazine, submitting a design for a gas turbine car with a reinforced plastic body,

He won the contest, the prize for which was a scholarship to the ArtCenter College of Design in  Pasadena, Calif. After graduating with a degree in transportation design in 1956, he started working for Ford.

He retired from Ford in 1984 and eventually moved with his wife, Theresa, to Arizona, where he died in 2006 at age 83. (If you want to read more about McKinley and his automotive design career, type in “McKinley Thompson Jr.” in Google, Yahoo or other search engine and you will find several articles.)

Going through my photos and what I wrote on the backs and Michigan HPV Association newsletters, McKinley and one of his pedal-powered creations – a recumbent tricycle – first appeared at the 11th annual International Human Powered Speed Championships in Indianapolis in September 1985. (Photo at top of this article.)

This was Rolling Thunder at the Michigan HPV Rally at Waterford Hills in August 1987.  It had single wheels front and rear, which was the drive wheel, and two outrigger wheels midway. Frame was made of aluminum tubing. Body was made of Lexan polycarbonate plastic, pop riveted together. With any vibration, the body panels rattled, hence the vehicle name. Rolling Thunder was selected "most popular entry." 

The final time was at the Michigan HPV Rally at Waterford Hills in June 1993, where McKinley showed, but didn’t race his Eagle Duo, a side-by-side two rider tricycle (two wheels in front).

McKinley and International Human Powered Vehicle Association President Marti Daily on his Parallel at the International HP Speed Championships in September 1989. Photo was probably taken at Michigan International Speedway, where most events were held. The other events were in Adrian.

McKinley entered Alien at the IHPSC in 1989.  Hollis Harris pedaled it to 28th place, 34.92 mph, in the 200-meter speed trials; 19th in the one-hour time trial (24.58 miles); and 23rd in the 9.5 mile LeMans start road race.

This "open" view of Alien shows the layout of the short wheelbase streamliner.

The then Michigan Human Powered Vehicle Association took part in the Red Flannel Festival in Cedar Springs in October 1990, with McKinley's Gemenoid among the participating vehicles. (Notice the MHPVA banner on the front.) Gemenoid carried two riders, side by side. Originally a 3-wheeler with the single wheel in the rear, it was unstable. Rather than a complete rebuild to make it into a 4-wheeler, McKinley added two small outrigger wheels to add stability, making it a 5-wheeler. Body was made of ABS plastic, vacuum formed in a mold, then split vertically, with widening panels inserted.

How many people did it take to get two riders inside Gemenoid? Photo was taken prior to the start of the Red Flannel Festival parade in 1990. (Prior photo of Gemenoid apparently was taken in McKinley's driveway at his home in Detroit.)

According to his step-daughter, Trish Buzzone, Tom, as she called him, did most of the work on his HPVs himself, but when needed, had welders and  fiberglass/plastic specialists to help him.

“At the end of his journey, that (developing HPVs) was his greatest passion,” she said.

When he and his wife moved to Sun City, Arizona, Buzzone said, he took a couple of his creations with him that were best suited for pedaling around in a senior citizen community.

She said the rest he sold or gave away, but doesn’t know if any still exist or who has them.  (If anyone knows, please contact the author.)

In October 1992, the MHPVA returned to the Red Flannel Festival in Cedar Springs, with five vehicles in the parade, including McKinley's latest, Eagle Duo. Frame was welded aluminum tubing. Tires were 26x2.125. Each crank had a 42 tooth chainring, with the chains going to a jackshaft with three chainrings, with the center sprocket chain driving the rear wheel. Eagle Duo weighed about 100 pounds.

This was apparently McKinley's final racing entry at the Michigan HPV Rally, at Waterford Hills in June 1993. Unfortunately, I (Mike E.) didn't write the name of the rider on the back of the photo.