Like any start-up industry, automotive bred its own showmen-impresario-tycoons, who amassed the large money and lived even larger. Naturally, there's Henry Ford, but he was kind of a stick in the mud. Who's the ultimate automotive mack daddy?
It was a tossup in our own minds (we'll let you decide who was the runner-up), but ultimately our pick is Lawrence P. Fisher, the most colorful of the seven Fisher brothers (you know, "Body by Fisher"). Fisher used his massive wealth and administrative power as the president of Cadillac for serious flamboyance. During the roaring '20s, Fisher traveled in his on luxury train car, with a separate car following behind just to carry the champagne. His mansion on Lake St. Clair had a boathouse large enough to park his 100' yacht indoors. Fisher also loved the ladies, and would often show up at the Cadillac plant, where he'd pick a car off the line that matched his outfit, use it Mr. Big-style for the evening's dalliance, then return it.
(QOTD is your chance to address the day's most pressing automotive questions and to experience the opinions of the insightful insiders, practicing pundits, and gleeful gearheads that make up the Jalopnik commentariat. If you've got a suggestion for a good Question of the Day, send an email to tips at jalopnik dot com.)