Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca (/ˌaɪ.əˈkoʊkə/ EYE-ə-KOH-kə; born October 15, 1924) is an American businessman known for engineering the Ford Mustang and Ford Pinto cars, being let go from Ford Motor Company, and his revival of the Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s. He served as President and CEO of Chrysler from 1978 and additionally as chairman from 1979, until his retirement at the end of 1992.Iacocca was a passionate advocate of U.S. business exports during the 1980s. He is the author (or co-author) of several books, including Iacocca: An Autobiography (with William Novak), and Where Have All the Leaders Gone?Portfolio named Iacocca the 18th-greatest American CEO of all time.
William Allen High School, Lehigh University, Princeton University
Nationality
American
Spouse
Mary McCleary
Children
Kathryn and Lia
Parents
Antonietta Perrotta, Nicola Iacocca
Siblings
Delma Iococca
Star Sign
Libra
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Quote
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[on action] Action should not be confused with haste.
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Fact
1
Release of his book, "Talking Straight" by Lee with Sonny Kleinfield. [1989]
2
Release of his book, "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?" by Lee with Catherine Whitney. [2007]
3
Release of his book, "Iacocca: An Autobiography" by Lee with William Novak. [2007]
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Inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1994.
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While Iacocca is rightly famous for developing the Ford Mustang, which turned out to be one of Ford's best cars, it must be remembered that he was also in charge of developing the Pinto, which turned out to be one of Ford's worst.
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Member of Theta Chi Fraternity (Beta Sigma Chapter, Lehigh University)
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Though often called "The Father of the Mustang", his role was more supportive. in 1961 the idea that became the Ford Mustang was developed by Don Frey, and the design came from the Ford studio under Joe Oros, Gale Halderman and L. David Ash. They pitched the idea to Lee, who was the General Manager of Ford Motor Co.'s Ford Division at the time, and gave the the go-ahead to do it. There was still one problem: the project was to be done in relative secrecy. They still needed Henry Ford II's approval. Lee approached him with this idea of a "Youth Car" but Henry was skeptical because the Edsel disaster of 1958-1960 was still fresh in his memory and he didn't want a repeat of that fiasco. Lee assured Ford that he could sell 100,000 of the Mustang in its first year. Henry reluctantly gave his approval. The story goes that when Lee got up to leave Henry's office, Henry stopped him and asked, "Are you absolutely sure you can sell 100,000 of these things?" Lee looked him in the eye and said, "Yes." Henry said, "You better!" As it turned out 681,551 1964 1/2-1965 Mustangs were sold, shattering all quarterly and first-year model sales records, an accomplishment that still stands.
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Satisfied the Ford Thunderbird no longer needed a sporting image, Lee was looking for a replacement for the Thunderbird convertible. Stylist Bill Boyer said when Lee saw an artist's rendition of a four door Thunderbird, he stared at the picture while rolling his cigar in his mouth and said "That's the replacement for the convertible!" The four door Thunderbirds were built from 1967-1971.
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In 1979 he went to the administration of President Jimmy Carter to seek government loans to bail out Chrysler Corp., something that had never been done for a big company before. He was granted the loans because it was felt that if a major corporation like Chrysler failed, thousands upon thousands of Chrysler employees would lose their jobs and the ripple effect of a company that big closing down could cause possibly hundreds of thousands more job losses (it was also noted that it could be used politically to hammer the Carter administration by the Republicans in the 1980 elections). Lee used the money to develop the K-cars. Many auto enthusiasts believe that the fact that Iacocca could convince the public to buy those poorly made, underpowered and underwhelming cars is a testimony to what a great salesman he really is.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Miami Vice
1986
TV Series
Park Commissioner Lido
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Reagan
2011
Documentary
Himself - President, Chrysler Corporation
The Snake and the Stallion
2002
TV Movie
Himself
Late Show with David Letterman
1999
TV Series
Himself
60 Minutes Wednesday
1999
TV Series documentary
Himself - Former President, Ford Motor Company
Italians in America
1998
TV Movie documentary
Himself
Late Night with David Letterman
1993
TV Series
Himself
Liberty Weekend
1986
TV Special documentary
Himself
Bob Hope Buys NBC?
1985
TV Special
Himself
NBC Reports: Iacocca - An American Profile
1984
TV Movie documentary
Himself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Abstract: The Art of Design
2017
TV Series documentary
Himself
The '80s: The Decade That Made Us
2013
TV Mini-Series documentary
Himself - CEO: Chrysler
Known for movies
Reagan (2011) as Himself - President, Chrysler Corporation
$100 Million
$1
