Jim Smart: Tipping Our Hats To A Great Man Who Has Made A Difference


It really did take one man to make a difference. When he joined Ford Motor Company right after World War II, he was in a dream world — privileged to be doing what he did with a subject he loved. By the late-1950s, he saw a stodgy dated Ford Motor Company with a line-up of unexciting vehicles also short on power. With fresh eyes and a youthful spirit, he saw a youth movement coming — baby boomers coming of age that wanted exciting automobiles.

Iacocca, Ford's President in 1970.

The man was Lee Iacocca — and until Mustang’s introduction on April 17, 1964, no one had ever heard of him. Iacocca was a young Ford product planner and marketing executive who did great things for Ford Motor Company. His vision and passion brought us Mustang, however, these elements also brought us more.

On the Mustang’s fifth anniversary, April 17, 1969, Iacocca brought us Maverick. In the Mustang’s 10th year, he brought us Mustang II. He would also bring us Fox body — an all-new Mustang for 1979.

When you ask Iacocca how he feels about his success, he credits that success to following baby boomer trends. Young boomers coming of age wanted exciting sporty cars long on personal expression and Iacocca saw this. He launched Ford’s Total Performance campaign in the early 1960s, which would change the way buyer’s perceived Ford.

There was Falcon Sprint fastback and convertible in 1963 with V-8 power along with big Galaxie fastbacks with 427ci monster big-blocks. Then, Mustang for ’65, which eclipsed everything else in Detroit because there was nothing else like it at the time. Sexy sportiness and elegance for $2,368.00 – a marketing miracle. Ford sold more than a million of them in the first two years.

As boomers headed to college, graduated, and entered adult life, they wanted more practical transportation they could afford. Enter Maverick for 1970 for just $1,995 base sticker with a hardy six and a stick. Ford couldn’t build them fast enough, with sales numbers that outdid Mustang’s. Then — Pinto for 1971 for those with real fuel stingy requirements and young families. The more upscale Granada came along in 1975 for boomers who wanted more luxury than Maverick or Pinto could give them. LTD II, a downsized full-size Ford sedan, arrived in the mid-1970s.

As Iacocca amassed power at Ford in the late 1970s, it was no mystery Henry Ford II wasn’t happy with that. Tensions grew and Iacocca was fired by Ford in 1978. When Ford fired Iacocca, the logic was simple. Henry didn’t like Iacocca and his name was on the building. The firing was symbolic for HFII and a tremendous blow for Iacocca however; opportunity was waiting in the wings.

Ford Division General Manager Lee Iacocca (left) and his sidekick, Donald Frey, with Mustang in 1965.

Solid values and beliefs are what made Lee Iacocca the grand success he is and someone we will long remember in this car crazy culture.

Chrysler hired Iacocca out of pseudo retirement as company president in hope he could bring positive change to the failing automaker. His challenges in the years to follow would be enormous. Chrysler, right on the ragged edge of bankruptcy and ruin, needed imagination and cash. It had Iacocca, who came in and edged out Chrysler’s antiquated system of management and manufacturing. Old outdated product and manufacturing plants were phased out along with thousands of employees. It was likely one of the worst periods in Iacocca’s memory.


Iacocca Silver Edition Mustang

In 2009, Lee Iacocca teamed up with designer Michael Leone and the Gaffoglio Family Metal crafters to conceive the 2009 ½ Iacocca Silver Edition Mustang. Marketed by Galpin Ford in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California, the plan was to build 45 of these very special limited edition Mustangs, which would be purchased and owned by a coveted few. Iacocca can say with confidence there’s not another Mustang on the planet like it.

Iacocca went before Congress to solicit government-backed loan guarantees to help get Chrysler back on its feet again. Concessions from employees, the banks, suppliers, and more enabled Iacocca to position Chrysler for huge success in the 1980s. Following baby boomer trends, Iacocca’s team repositioned Chrysler with products people wanted and at quality levels never before seen at the nation’s #3 automaker.

In 1983, there was the LeBaron convertible signaling a comeback of open-air performance from fuel miserly automobiles. For 1984, there was the minivan. Chrysler continues to sell more minivans than any other automaker nearly 30 years later thanks to Iacocca’s vision. Carroll Shelby and Lee Iacocca teamed up again in the 1980s to build sporty cars like the Shelby GLH and later, Dodge Viper as a Cobra alternative. Of course the GLH was nothing like those Shelby Mustangs of the 1960s, but they were a step in the right direction.

While Lee Iacocca was piloting Chrysler, he was also heavily involved in the funding raising of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. There has also been the Iacocca Foundation to raise funds for diabetes research inspired by his late wife Mary’s long battle with this disease.

Today, Lee Iacocca spends his time on things he’s passionate about, such as the Iacocca Foundation, which remains near and dear to him. When last I met with Iacocca in 2009, he was razor sharp, yet frail as an accomplished man in his mid-eighties who had done so much for the world around him. His handshake wasn’t as firm and each step took careful navigation. However, he was still a man with both feet firmly planted who never lost sight of his Allentown, Pennsylvania roots and values. Solid values and beliefs are what made Lee Iacocca the grand success he is and someone we will long remember in this car crazy culture.

Iacocca mingling with an enthusiastic crowd at Galpin Ford in 2009 celebrating the limited production Iacocca Edition Mustang.

 

About the author

Jim Smart

Jim Smart cut his teeth on automobiles in the 1970s with a passionate interest in Ford and Chrysler musclecars. After serving in the United States Air Force, he transitioned into automotive journalism as editor of Mustang Monthly magazine in 1984. In 1990, Jim joined Petersen Publishing Company as a feature editor at Car Craft, and later as editor of Mustang & Fords, then senior editor at both Mustang Monthly and Mustang & Fords. Jim writes for a wide variety of automotive publishers and websites.
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