Kjell Qvale

Kjell Qvale (pronounced “Shell Cavarley”) was born in 1919 in Trondheim, Norway and is the son of a Norwegian sea captain. He moved to the United States in 1929cite book |last=Browning |first=Peter |authorlink= |coauthors=Blunsden, John |title=The Jensen Healey Stories |year=1974 |publisher=Motor Racing Publications Ltd |location=Croydon, Surrey, UK |id=ISBN 0-900549-21-1] .

Car dealing and importing

On a trip to New Orleans, Qvale saw an MG TC, an English sports car made by Morris Garages. He decided to import MG cars into the United States, believing that since he found the car so appealing other people would too. He established a business near San Francisco and diversified by adding other car brands including Austin, Morris, Jaguar, and Rolls Royce. The business traded under the name 'British Motor Car Distributors'. Later Qvale further diversified his business interests by importing non-British brands including Volkswagen, Porsche, De Tomaso, Maserati and Lamborghini.

Jensen and the Jensen-Healey

Kjell Qvale was one of the key figures in the creation of the Jensen-Healey. By 1970, Qvale's organization was selling more than 160,000cite book |last=Browning |first=Peter |authorlink= |coauthors=Blunsden, John |title=The Jensen Healey Stories |year=1974 |publisher=Motor Racing Publications Ltd |location=Croydon, Surrey, UK |id=ISBN 0-900549-21-1] cars in the United States. The Austin-Healey, produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC), was popular with American buyers. BMC's announcement that it would end production of Austin-Healeys created a problem for Qvale, who stood lose sales. It was also unwelcome news for Austin-Healey's designer Donald Healey – who received a royalty on each Austin-Healey soldcite book |last=Browning |first=Peter |authorlink= |coauthors=Blunsden, John |title=The Jensen Healey Stories |year=1974 |publisher=Motor Racing Publications Ltd |location=Croydon, Surrey, UK |id=ISBN 0-900549-21-1] – and for English car manufacturer, Jensen Motors, who built the Austin-Healeys for BMC. This prompted discussions between these three parties which ultimately led to a plan for the design and production of a vehicle to fill the gap the Austin-Healey would leave. In 1970 Kjell Qvale became the majority shareholder in Jensen Motors. The first production version of the Jensen-Healey was completed in 1972 [cite web|title = 1972-1976 Jensen-Healey and Jensen GT - Auto How Stuff Works |url = http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1972-1976-jensen-healey-and-jensen-gt.htm|accessdate = 2008-08-06] .

Horse Racing

Qvale has spent a lifetime owning and racing Thoroughbred racehorses. He headed the board at Golden Gate Fields for 25 years (where his horses still run) and his breeding farm in the Napa Valley was the last home of the great Silky Sullivan.

References

External links

* [http://www.jensenhealey.com/ Jensen-Healey Preservation Society]
* [http://www.british-steel.org/ Jensen cars]
* [http://www.healeyracing.com/ Healey Racing]
* [http://www.qvaleauto.com/ Qvale Auto]