Where is Iacocca2.0?

[Stinky The Clown]

Iacocca has always been something of a hero to me.

He is a real smart guy and he loves cars.

He made his bones in 1964 with the Mustang. Ford got rich with that and Iacocca showed clearly that he knew what people would spend money for. And he invented a genre that is, quite literally, with us today. Not a bad run for a retooled Ford Falcon.

In the 80s he took the incentives and jumped over to the once and still troubled Chrysler. Back then, they were facing imminent death and at the time nobody cared except their shareholders. Iacocca did it again with a two-fer. He caused the K-car to be brought to market incredibly fast. It used parts, mostly motors and trannys, from (I think it was) Mitsubishi to save development costs and also for a modicum of instant credibility. He sold it cheap, raised cash, and, quite literally, saved the company.

He then parlayed that (to be honest) piece of crap K-car into the first minivan. Bang! As big as the Mustang. And more important, in many ways. It became a whole new genre.

Along the way, Iacocca brought us other good, fun stuff. Cake and candy. The Shelby Mustangs. Hooooyah! The Cobra. The (Cobra2.0) Dodge Viper.

Oh yeah, Iacocca lived and breathed cars. And he was a damned smart marketer and business man.

Sure, he might have done some stuff different, but by and large he had an extraordinarily successful career. Given his track record, I'd bet anything he would have had far greener cars on the road today ..... not for any big altrustic streak, but because they'd sell.

To be sure there are **many** systemic issues that the auto biz needs to address. But at the heart of any **real** change to any industry is a guy with lives and breathes that industry and its products.

The car biz needs a smart car guy.

Where is Iacocca2.0?






(And for what its worth, while Lee is a Republican, he has a book out saying what a failure is Idiot Son. And the book was out before such books were cool.)






(Disclaimer #2: the "guy" in "car guy" is intended to be gender neutral.)

[On the Road]

1. Maybe Iacocca Would Know

The industry certainly needs it.

If nobody in Detroit is up to restructuring and reinventing the industry, let the Japanse or Chinese try. There are certainly leaders over there.

[leftstreet]

2. I think he got tombstoned

[Deja Q]

3. No, he's just tapping his toe in an airport restroom somewhere...

:yoiks: