- Lee Iacocca, a major figure in the automobile industry, who previously served as president of Ford and chairman of Chrysler, died on Tuesday at the age of 94.
- Iacocca is best known for helping launch the Ford Mustang in the 1960s and for reviving Chrysler under his leadership and saving it from bankruptcy in the 1980s.
- His daughter confirmed to The Washington Post that he had died of complications from Parkinson’s disease at his home in Bel-Air in Los Angeles.
Lee Iacocca, a major figure in the automobile industry who previously served as president of Ford and chairman of Chrysler, died on Tuesday at the age of 94.
Iacocca’s daughter confirmed to The Washington Post that he had died of complications from Parkinson’s disease at his home in Bel-Air in Los Angeles.
"The Company is saddened by the news of Lee Iacocca’s passing," Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said in a statement. "He played a historic role in steering Chrysler through crisis and making it a true competitive force. He was one of the great leaders of our company and the auto industry as a whole. He also played a profound and tireless role on the national stage as a business statesman and philanthropist."
He is best known for helping launch the Ford Mustang in the 1960s and for reviving Chrysler under his leadership in the early 1980s, saving it from bankruptcy.
He first landed a job at the Ford Motor Company as an engineer, but soon realized that his talents were better suited to selling cars rather than making them, according to his personal website.
He soon moved up the ranks and became president of Ford, helping launch the Mustang and Lincoln Continental Mark III. But reported clashes with the company’s CEO, Henry Ford II, led him to be fired from the company in 1978.
Soon after he became chairman of Chrysler. To turn around the company on the brink of bankruptcy, he persuaded Congress to approve $1.5 billion in federal loan guarantees for new car, which the company paid back early and with interest. He also took a series of drastic cost-saving measures — including cutting executive salaries, closing factories, and more.
In addition to helping the company rebound, his larger-than-life status as a businessman extended into appearing in Chrysler commercials in the 1980s.
In 1992, Iacocca retired, though he still remained close to Chrysler in the years that followed, even promoting the company in ads through his famous catch phrase: "If you can find a better car, buy it."
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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Rosie Perper)