Memorial Tributes Volume 23 (2021) / Chapter Skim
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LEE IACOCCA
LEE IACOCCA
Pages 148-153
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From page 149... ...
Lee came from a strong and nurturing family, his father introduced him to entrepreneurship, and he learned from the deprivations of the Depression to hate waste. He also benefited from a twist of fate: He contracted rheumatic fever at 15 and the lingering effects of the disease led to his ineligibility for military service when he graduated from high school in 1942, when he would otherwise certainly have been drafted for duty in World War II.
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From page 150... ...
As assistant sales manager in the Philadelphia district, he gained national recognition with his "56 for '56" campaign, offering loans on 1956 model year cars with a 20 percent down payment and $56 in monthly payments for 3 years. The campaign went national and he was called to the Ford headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, where he rose through the ranks: vice president and general manager, Ford Division (1960)
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From page 151... ...
Bearing a strong resemblance to the Volkswagen Rabbit, these frontwheel drive cars were instantly popular, selling over 300,000 units each in their first year and showing what was to come for Chrysler. The Omni was a derivative of Chrysler Europe's Horizon, one of the first deliberately designed "world cars," which resulted in the American and European cars looking nearly identical externally, although there were significant differences in design and components internally.
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From page 152... ...
He also introduced what was to become his trademark phrase: "If you can find a better car, buy it." He retired as president, CEO, and chair of Chrysler at the end of 1992 and for the remainder of the decade dabbled in a variety of businesses, from gaming and casinos to an olive oil company, a restaurant chain, and electric bikes. In July 2005 Iacocca returned to the airwaves as Chrysler's pitchman, along with celebrities such as Jason Alexander and Snoop Dogg, to promote the company's Employee Pricing Plus program; the ads reprised the "If you can find a better car, buy it" line.
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From page 153... ...
Of the four issues, the need for mandatory seat belt laws is the only one effectively addressed in the decades since. The other three chapters foreshadow current debates about health care, unfair trade practices by other countries, and the reliance of the US economy on financial instruments rather than real goods and services.
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