Lee Iacocca



Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca (October 15, 1924 – July 2, 2019) was an American automobile executive best known for the development of the Ford Mustang and Ford Pinto cars while at the Ford Motor Company in the 1960s, and for reviving the Chrysler as its CEO during the 1980s. He was president and CEO of Chrysler from 1978 and chairman from 1979, until his retirement at the end of 1992. He was one of the few executives to preside over the operations of two of the Big Three automakers.

Quotes

 * We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course." Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic.
 * Where Have All the Leaders Gone? (2007), Scribner, ISBN 1416532471


 * We were on a joyride, on free energy almost. [...] It seems to me we need something like the Manhattan Project. We need some urgency saying, "Here's what we should be doing. We've got to get off fossil fuels."
 * "The Long View: Iacocca Says Detroit Is Living in the Past", Morning Edition, NPR, 26 April 2007


 * It pains me to see my old company, which has meant so much to America, on the ropes. But Chrysler has been in trouble before, and we got through it, and I believe they can do it again. [...] Let's face it, if your car breaks down, you're not going to take it to the White House to get fixed. But, if your company breaks down, you've got to go to the experts on the ground, not the bureaucrats.


 * Safety doesn’t sell.
 * In 1972.