Lee's Latest Words

[Early B.]

I got this in an e-mail today. This attachment apparently came from Lee Iacocca. It doesn't matter if you agree or not -- it's interesting nonetheless...

[mhardy6647]

Well, it doesn't show up on Snopes. Yet.

[schwarcw]

It rambles on, in and out of sense. Some good points, but nothing of real substance or new here. Lee's a brilliant guy but he's running out of gas. I applaud him for his energy.

[unc2701]

It's real- that's an excerpt from his latest book.

[Early B.]

I really like how he gets straight to the point and doesn't BS. I also like the C's for leadership. Lee doesn't offer any real solutions, though, except to encourage people to get out and vote (which, IMO, is a weak option as evidenced by the debacles of the last two presidential elections).

[dorokusai]

After a couple sentences I became disinterested but that's just me. He had his chance at glory, and it happened but that was long ago. Some of the old people on the forum may recall the LI days.....to me, its forgetable as he's no automaker legend.

[shack]

Some of the old people on the forum may recall the LI days.....to me, its forgetable as he's no automaker legend.

You may not like him...but he is an automotive legend. He was the driving force behind the most popular American car model ever...the Mustang. He took Chrysler from the brink of bankruptcy with the K-Car and the Minivan. He ranks up there with an elite group of American automakers IMO.

I read the article and while he does ramble and doen't really have a solution...he has a point(s) and I tend to agree with him.

[bobman1235]

Is there a reason that this has to be a .doc? Can someone post it in a normal format? I don't like downloading random .doc files, they're rife with security holes.

[dorokusai]

Shack - I'm sure he's a great guy and the book is cool reading but he's a predominately a marketing executive from my perspective.

What era of Mustang was he involved in?

The K-Car platform is the equivalent of the Volkswagen Bug and there is no doubt that the Dodge Caravan created the pathetic/epic minivan segment. The revenue aspect is a given, as it certainly changed the face of the automotive industry, but how is he a legend?

Carroll Shelby is a Legend.

[Early B.]

Is there a reason that this has to be a .doc? Can someone post it in a normal format? I don't like downloading random .doc files, they're rife with security holes.

Here is a PDF version...

[shack]

Yes...Carroll Shelby IS a legend. The Mustang was the idea of Donald Frey as the two seat mid-engine prototype designed to compete with the Corvette. It was Iacocca who read the pulse of the auto buyer of the time...took the prototype, decided to add 2 seats and build a "sporty" car instead of a sports car. The Mustang as we know it WAS Iacocca's baby. He also kept the brand alive with the Mustang II. There are many Mustang purist who laugh at the Mustang II and say it really wasn't a Mustang. On the contrary it was the right car for the times of rising gas prices and the demise of the muscle car. They sold LOTS of Mustang IIs and kept the brand alive until the FOX bodied Mustang returned in 1979 as a "Pony" car rather than a compact car. Iacocca wanted to build the Minivan at Ford. He and Henry Ford II clashed over the idea and he was fired...taking the idea to Chrysler. The K-car was sort of a modern day Model T. It was a simple platform that was the basis for almost everything Chrysler built...including the Minivan.

You don't have to be an engineer or a driver to be an automotive legend. Henry Ford was more about marketing than design. If Lee Iacocca had not understood what the automotive buying public wanted, the Mustang especially and the Minivan may never have existed. Had the Ford executives of the time had their way we might have never seen a Mustang much less a Camaro, Firebird, AMX, Cougar, Baracuda, Challenger and so forth. He was the force behind not only a particuar model....but a whole automotive genre. IMO that consitutes a legend.

[hearingimpared]

Very interesting read. I agree with some of his points (you would have to be blind not to) but what's the point of all the bluster with no real or even thought of solution(s).

[dorokusai]

I appreciate the guts and history but I'm just going to set up camp. I don't believe there was much intellectual property involved, as opposed to bottom line, market driven involvement. The Mustang 2 is a dog, the Pinto of the line and an overall embarrasment to the purist.

John DeLorean had equal impact, depending on your allegiance, than Lee, yet the whole cocaine deal overshadows that legacy, don't ya' think?

[shack]

John Delorean was a great engineer who basically was the force behind the "design" of the the GTO which was the beginning of the muscle car era. That said...it was Jim Wangers (a marketing guy) who had the greater hand in making the GTO the legend that it ultimately became.

Wangers did something else for GM that few are aware of. He "promoted" a young engineer and got Chevrolet to back him to race at Pikes Peak. That young engineer ended up having a nice career at GM. His name was Zora Arkus-Duntov who would later become known as the "Father of the Corvette."

[dorokusai]

I'm a ground level fanatic, beings that's where I reside and work. Marketing has its place/function, and often overshadows the ugly, but I'll stick to the roots of things. Isn't marketing what almost killed the Corvette? Nothing directly on Mr. Duntov, but that line had dog like production years as well....some more recent than others.

I'm certainly not a challenge to overall automotive knowledge, just digging in my chicken legs.

[shack]

Then we will simply have to disagree on the various degrees of automotive legends. They all have their place in history. Building automobiles is a business. It is more than just "build it and they will buy." Somebody has to know what will sell and have the vision to direct the engineers in that direction or to take what the engineers have built and know how to make it a business reality. I guess I give a great deal of value to the hand Iacocca had in the making of the three Mustangs I own and convey legend status accordingly.

[dorokusai]

Either way, he's an American automotive icon. I won't argue that at all.....better?

[shack]

Sure...and Carroll Shelby is a legend...even if he was behind those POS Shelby MOPARs...what a travesty to have the Shelby name on a MOPAR product. Want to guess who hired Carroll Shelby to work at Chrysler?

[PolkThug]

The Mustang 2 is a dog, the Pinto of the line and an overall embarrasment to the purist.

Booo, purists are wimps. I slayed many GM and Mopars with my '77 Cobra II. The Mustang II's retained more 60's styling lines than the Fox body models. Yes, they did share some parts with pintos, which was great when you were looking for replacement pieces. The factory LSD was great, used by many for drag cars.

[cfrizz]

I love all styles of the Mustang! I wish they kept the horse on the top of the hood though, that was real cool!

I finally got to actually ride in one several years back. It was TOO damn low on the ground! By the time I got out of it I thought my back was going to break since you feel EVERY little bump!

For me Lee Iacocca put Chrysler back on the map & I will never forget his commercials. I never heard of Carroll Shelby.