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Lee Iacocca guaranteed his place among America's greatest businessmen with his orchestration of the remarkable turnaround of Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s.
Iacocca arrived at Chrysler after a distinguished career at Ford. At Ford, Iacocca was credited with the design of the Mustang, an accomplishment that helped propel him to the company's presidency. After a falling out with Henry Ford II, Iacocca moved on to Chrysler, a company on the verge of bankruptcy.
One of Iacocca's first moves at Chrysler was to go directly to the U.S. Congress, asking for (and receiving) an unprecedented loan guarantee of $1.2 billion. The loan allowed Chrysler to stay in business long enough for Iacocca to work his magic.
Using ideas that had been rejected by Ford, Iacocca first introduced the K-car in 1980. The K-car was not only inexpensive, but had excellent gas mileage. The enormous success of the K-car was followed up by the introduction of the mini-van, which was the vehicle that inspired the SUV. In the late 1980s, Chrysler acquired the American Motors Corporation, which gave Chrysler a key new brand, Jeep.
In the 1980s, he also served as chairman of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation and distinguished himself as an author. His 1984 autobiography was the best selling non-fiction book of both 1984 and 1985.
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