Semon Emil "Bunkie" Knudsen (October 2, 1912 – July 6, 1998) was an American automobile executive.
Early life
Semon Emil Knudsen was born on October 2, 1912, in Buffalo, New York.
After attending Dartmouth College in 1931–1932, Knudsen transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and graduated in 1936 with a Bachelor of Science in general engineering.
Career
General Motors
Knudsen began working for General Motors in 1939 with Pontiac Division and rose to management quickly, becoming general manager of the Detroit Diesel Division in 1955, a vice-president of the company and general manager of Pontiac Division in July 1956.
When appointed head of Pontiac, he was given the mission to improve the marque's sales. At that time Pontiac had a reliable but stodgy image. Knudsen brought in Pete Estes from Oldsmobile as chief engineer and hired John DeLorean away from Packard to be his assistant, with the assignment to create high performance versions of Pontiac's existing models. Reportedly, Henry Ford II sent Ford's vice president for public relations, Ted Mecke, to Knudsen's home the previous night to inform him that he would be fired, telling Knudsen that "Henry sent me here to tell you that tomorrow will be a rough day at work." When Ford made the decision official the next day, Bunkie said "I'm shocked" to which Ford replied, "I imagine you would be." Noted for his laconic replies to difficult questions, Mr. Ford told the media "Things just didn't work out", but later reports indicated many career Ford executives allied themselves with Iacocca and were working against Knudsen. His dismissal led to a widely circulated witticism in Ford circles as the hallmark phrase of Henry Ford, "History is bunk", was turned around to "Bunkie is history".
In 1971, Knudsen became president of truck manufacturer White Motor Company in Cleveland, Ohio, where he worked until he retired in 1980 (White also became defunct that year).
Personal life
Knudsen was married to Frances Anne McConnell for 58 years until her death in 1996.
Death
Knudsen lived in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan before he died on July 6, 1998, at a nearby hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan.
Sources
- "Semon Emil Knudsen." Encyclopedia of American Business History and Biography: The Automobile Industry, 1920–1980. Pages 260–264.
- "Knudsen, Semon E(mil)." Current Biography, 1974: 204–206.
- "Semon Knudsen, 85, Dies; Was Prominent Auto Executive." New York Times. (July 9, 1998. Section A, Page 25, Column 3)
- Article on Knudsen at Pontiac: http://www.pontiacserver.com/mtchiefs1.html