Lee Iacocca died yesterday at the age of 94.
When I was a child, Iacocca was the first businessman of whom I became aware. He was an outsized personality and I recall our family telling jokes with the loud punchline of "I'm Lee Iacocca!!".
Mom, in particular, used to talk about him a lot. I think she admired his self-confidence and positivity. I noticed in his obituary that he was born in Allentown, so perhaps she also liked the Pennsylvania connection. I'm curious to ask her why she was fascinated by Iacocca.
According to the article in this morning's Post (here), Iacocca was a central figure in the American economy of the 1970's and 1980's. He first worked for Ford, where he was noticed and promoted by Robert McNamara. Here's a great anecdote that helps explain Iacocca's knack for sales and marketing:
“I decided that any customer who bought a new 1956 Ford should be able to do so for a modest down payment of 20 percent followed by three years of monthly payments of $56,” Mr. Iacocca wrote in his memoir. “I called my idea ’56 for ’56.’ ”
The plan was so successful that in three months, sales of Fords in the Philadelphia district shot to first place from last. McNamara so liked the idea that he made it part of Ford’s national marketing strategy. The company later estimated that the idea was responsible for selling 75,000 additional cars.After clashing with Henry Ford II, Iacocca became the chairman of Chrysler in 1978. He convinced Jimmy Carter to approve a bailout of Chrysler in 1980, and then he promptly repaid the government's loan seven years ahead of schedule!
Iacocca's death, along with George Bush's death last winter, marks the passing of a generation of American leaders. For all his cockiness and bravado, I greatly admire his work ethic and old-fashioned values (such as his pride that Chrysler repaid its loan early).
