LEE IACOCCA, 94 ‘Father of the Mustang’ helped rescue Chrysler from bankruptcy in the 1980s
Automotive scion Lee Iacocca, known best for his hand in developing the Ford Mustang and for yanking Chrysler Corp. from the brink of bankruptcy in the 1980s, died on Tuesday at the age of 94.
His daughter Lia Iacocca Assad told The Washington Post that he died of complications from Parkinson’s disease.
Iacocca became a household presence in the United States in television ads for Chrysler in which he challenged consumers, “If you can find a better car, buy it.” The ads, aired as he worked to restore Chrysler’s profitability, highlighted Iacocca’s sales prowess, TMZ noted.
Born Lido Anthony Iacocca on October 15, 1924, Iacocca graduated from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, then earned a master’s degree in engineering from Princeton University in 1946, according to his biography on the website of The Iacocca Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to diabetes research.
Perhaps Iacocca’s bestknown accomplishment was the launch of the 1964 Ford Mustang, which spawned a generation of affordable sports coups and started an industry trend.
“Iacocca: An Autobiography” chronicled the career of this son of Italian immigrants as he rose through Ford Motor Company’s ranks from engineer to presMustang” ident. The “Father of the took the reigns at Ford in December 1970. He was fired eight years later by Henry Ford II, a move widely attributed to personality clashes.
Iacocca quickly stepped into the position of chief executive of Chrysler and turned the company around with a $1.5 billion bailout from Congress and stringent measures that included extensive job cuts and factory closings. He was credited with turning Chrysler into the number one auto manufacturer in the U.S. and retired from the company in 1992.
In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan appointed him to head fundraising for restoration of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
Tributes poured in Tuesday. “I’m devastated by the passing of an American icon, my dear friend Lee Iacocca,” tweeted Nasser J. Kazeminy, chairman of Ellis Island Honors Society, sponsor of the Ellis Island Medals of Honor. “In addition to his contributions to our nation, he was a founder of EIHS and served as vice-chairman for many years. He will be missed.”
“He was easily one of the greatest figures in the history of the automobile industry,” said David Lewis, a professor emeritus of business history and Ford expert at the University of Michigan, told the Los Angeles Times. “And he was second only to [the first] Henry Ford in the amount of publicity he generated.”