Lee Iacocca Was a C.E.O. for the Television Age

Missing in the description of how Mr. Iacocca "saved the US from Japanese auto imports" is the 20+ year period during which Chrysler sold re-badged Mitsubishis (the Dodge Colt and Plymouth Champ twins). He was the consummate salesman of "the sizzle, not the steak."

I enjoyed reading this review of Lee Iacocca’s legacy at Ford and Chrysler, as well as the description of his success in seeing minivans classified as light trucks for purposes of complying with federal emissions, fuel economy, and safety standards. The paragraph below, however, needs further explanation/elaboration in order to fully explain the nature of foreign competition in the U.S. minivan and SUV markets: “Best of all for Detroit, the federal government limited foreign competition: Japanese automakers were initially kept out of the minivan and S.U.V. markets by an obscure 25 percent tariff on imported light trucks that was imposed by President Lyndon B. Johnson.” I know that a 25 percent tariff (the “chicken tax”) was—and is—levied on imported pickup trucks and cargo vans, but I was unaware that such a tariff ever applied to imported SUVs. For purposes of clarity, the term “initially” should be quantified by referencing a specific time period. My impression was that imported SUVs (at least those with two rows of seats) were not subject to the 25 percent tariff. In addition, Toyota’s passenger vans (built in Japan) were first sold in the U.S. in late 1983/early 1984—the same time period in which Chrysler Corporation began selling its Plymouth Voyager and Dodge Caravan minivans. Chrysler faced competition from Toyota from the very start of Chrysler’s entry into the small-to-medium-sized van segment.

Thank you for being the first columnist writing about Mr. Iacocca not to have said he assisted Chrysler in obtaining federal loans. As you apparently correctly know, Mr. Iacocca assisted Chrysler in obtaining Federal Loan Guarantees, not Federal Loans. Big difference. A difference big enough for him to repeatedly make that point in his first book, "Iacocca," where he several times said Chrysler did not receive a single penny of taxpayer money. Chrysler received Loan Guarantees. Thank you for being one of the few to get his legacy right.

There's a reason why Iaccoca was fired from Ford... https://www.autonews.com/article/20030616/SUB/306160770/lee-iacocca-s-pinto-a-fiery-failure We should choose our heroes wisely.

Great article but anybody who thinks that Iacocca rather than Harold Sperlich was the father of the Mustang confuses birth with conception.....

I have read two obits today and neither mentioned his hand in the redo of the Statue of Liberty.

Amongst all the praise of Mr. Iacocca, do not forget that Lee Iacocca had blood on his hands, he was the force behind the deadly Ford Pinto, and the decision not to make it safer. See GRIMSHAW v. FORD MOTOR COMPANY, 119 Cal.App.3d 757 (1981). https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=18233262370572877988&q=lee Iacocca &hl=en&as_sdt=2006

I made a mistake of buying a K-car. Junk. And the last American built car I have ever purchased.

Lee Iacocca would have ruled the roost in this age of social media

What a great man and the son of IMMIGRANTS.

He was an American icon. He stood for all that was right with America. He would've made an outstanding president.Not like the poor excuse we have for one now. He was able to revive a dying, bankrupt company into an American success story. Unlike Trump who declared bankruptcy 3 times .He's squandered millions. I hate to use the term great because the orange Cheeto has destroyed it's meaning. But, Lee was what made America great and stood for greatness. How low America has sunk since those times.

Good article that focuses (as it should) on Iacocca's presence as a sort of celebrity executive. That description describes him well, and it certainly worked for Chrysler in the 1980s, a time when they needed that very sort of leader after (frankly) 30 years of hapless, poor top management that oversaw all kinds of remarkable gaffes and snatchings-of-defeat-from-various-jaws-of-victory. Iacocca's tenure at Ford was less stellar, but then, the Ford culture, at least in terms of issues like auto safety, was pretty bad. At a time when GM was doing positive things that it gets zero credit for (designing the original Hybrid series crash test dummies in 1971-76, offering the first optional airbags in Oldsmobiles, Buicks, and Cadillacs in 1974-76) Ford was spending its time arguing to Congress that $18 worth of fuel system safety equipment wasn't worth it because it would only save 500 lives per year. Possible correction: I believe that the first-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee was already well on its way at AMC at the time of the Chrysler purchase, and was largely an AMC product. Finally, if the Times is so formal about referring to people by their surnames, why does it so often refer to the Chevrolet Division of General Motors as "Chevy?" Doesn't Chevrolet deserve the same respect? Yes, Chevrolet uses that nickname in their sales, but I think using "Chevy" in a news item is a bit too breezy. Would you also use "Caddy" or "Merc" or "Beemer"?

Fact checkers? Iacocca did NOT borrow from the government, he got loan guarantees. As you can clearly see on the check he is stating in front of. The check is to the United States Trust Co, a private bank, NOT the US Treasury.

When I saw the news of his death, I thought of 2 things, one in the article and one not. Henry Ford's "Sometimes you just don't like somebody" and Frank Sinatra taking a primary role in advertising and promotion in exchange for Chrysler stock only. He made out far better than the government lol

Not one word from trump. It would be awkward for him to comment since Lee Iacocca was far more successful than the con man. In trump eyes he is the only person that exists.

Remember this guy for what he was. He got the Government to buy into his restructuring plan for Chrysler, with fed backed loans and contracts for vehicles in almost every city, state and federal agency. Weapon systems were also involved in the deal. The USA didn't want Chrysler to fail. His success was just another bailout. One of America's biggest scams, the K-car. His bestselling book should be shelved next to "The Art of the Deal".

Mr. Iacocca in many ways represents the promise of America, yes, as a historic person with so many impactful accomplishments, he did, does and will in the future. I read the news of his death with sadness and a sense of the bizarre. As a fiber and textile engineer, I don’t talk about Lido Iacocca often, but last night (Tue), I was telling my kids the story of Mr. Iacocca starting his sales job in Texas, when his boss there recommended to Lido, to change his name to Iacocca Lee, real American with a funny first name. I do recommend his autobiography as a summer read, in remembering it, it brought to life to me (an immigrant also) the realities and opportunities in the US, a record that instills hope and motivation for tackling America’s present challenges.

Unfortunately, government protection of the domestic auto industry has kept the economy of Michigan from naturally diversifying. We might have a more dynamic economy today if it weren't for tariffs and government bailouts. I wish current politicians and voters could learn this lesson.

Chrysler was bailed out by the federal government despite making poorly built cars then and now. It is the brand of choice for many Trump voters who despise any government handouts, except to themselves.

Mr. Iacocca was certainly among the top business leaders of the 20th Century, and had a wonderful last name, as an acronym: I Am Chairman Of Chrysler Corporation of America.