Lee Iacocca, the automobile industry executive who helped launch the Mustang at Ford and save Chrysler from bankruptcy, and whose cunning, ingenuity and swagger made him one of the most successful salesmen of his generation, died July 2 at his home in the Bel-Air area of Los Angeles. He was 94..
“We at Chrysler borrow money the old-fashioned way. We pay it back,” a beaming Iacocca said at a news conference. A bona fide celebrity, Iacocca socialized with Frank Sinatra, roused thousands of high school students to their feet at commencement speeches, led fundraising efforts to refurbish the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and was feted like a rock star at political gatherings.
Lido Anthony Iacocca was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 15, 1924. His parents, Nicola and Antoinette, had immigrated to the United States from Italy. In his sophomore year of high school, a bout of rheumatic fever led to paralysis in his legs for a time. This kept him out of competitive sports and later out of military service during World War II. He channeled his vigor into academics and the debating society. He became class president and a member of the National Honor Society.
“I was eager to be where the real action was – marketing or sales,” he said. “I liked working with people more than machines.” Ford approved his request for a transfer, on the condition that he find a new job himself, which he did – a low-level fleet sales job in Chester, Pennsylvania. In 1960, McNamara became president of Ford. Iacocca replaced him as vice president and general manager of the Ford car and truck divisions. He was 36, one year beyond the goal he had set for himself for achieving a vice presidency.
Buoyed by the continuing success of the Mustang, Iacocca earned a series of promotions that culminated in his appointment as Ford’s president in 1970. In addition, rising fuel costs during the Arab oil embargo and increasing competition from the Japanese and other foreign car industries that specialized in sporty and fuel-efficient vehicles were threatening Detroit.
After Iacocca, then 54, accepted an offer to run Chrysler, found a company badly mismanaged – “Nobody knew who was on first,” he said – and hemorrhaging cash. He was on national television newscasts asking Congress to approve federal loan guarantees for Chrysler, which the company eventually received. The exposure he received through these appearances and Chrysler commercials propelled Iacocca into a national celebrity.
There was an element of patriotism in the Iacocca message. By the 1980s, the American automobile industry was no longer the globally dominating colossus it had been. Foreign cars had established deep inroads. Iacocca liked to mention that the cars he was selling were made in America, which conveyed a less-than-subliminal thought that to buy a Chrysler product was to strike a blow on behalf of the U.S.A. against foreign intrusion.
Maybe show a Chrysler?
Will he be buried in a casket with fine Corinthian leather?
Fine looking Chrysler you got there folks.