IACOCCA

AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

The definitive first-person account of an American legend

A Full-Length Recreation

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INTRODUCTION

In the following pages, I tell the story of my life—not as a historian would, but as I lived it.

From the smog of the Ford factories to the marble halls of Washington, this is my account of

the decisions, the fights, and the cars that defined an era of American industry.

PART I: FROM ALLENTOWN

TO THE IVORY TOWER

The Roots of a Salesman

was born Lido Anthony Iacocca in 1924, in the heart of Allentown, Pennsylvania. My

parents, Nicola and Antoinette, were Italian immigrants who believed in the American

dream with a fervor that defined our household. My father was my first teacher in the

art of the deal; he ran a car rental business called 'U-Drive-It' and taught me that a person’s

word and a firm handshake were the currency of life.

Growing up during the Depression left a mark on me that never faded. I saw people who

worked hard all their lives lose everything. It instilled in me a drive to succeed—not just for

the sake of money, but for the security of never having to look back. I wasn't the best athlete,

especially after a bout with rheumatic fever, but I used my head. I plowed through Lehigh

University and eventually earned my master's from Princeton on a fellowship. I was an

engineer by training, but my heart was in the front office.

The Ford Training Grounds

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n 1946, I started at Ford Motor Company as a student engineer. I hated it. I spent my

days in a drafting room, and I realized quickly that the machines didn't talk back. I

wanted to be where the action was—in sales and marketing. I begged for a transfer to

Chester, Pennsylvania.

It was there I came up with '56 for '56'—a brand-new 1956 Ford for $56 a month. It took off

like a rocket. Sales in my district went from last to first. That campaign was my ticket to

Dearborn. Robert McNamara noticed, and suddenly, the kid from Allentown was sitting at

the big table.

PART II: THE MUSTANG AND

THE FALL

Galloping to Success

y the early sixties, I was the General Manager of the Ford Division. I saw a market

that the older guys were missing: the youth. They wanted style, they wanted

performance, and they didn't have a lot of money. I gathered a group of rebels at

the Fairlane Inn, and we dreamed up the Mustang.

When we launched it at the 1964 World's Fair, it was pandemonium. We sold over 400,000

in the first year. It put me on the covers of Time and Newsweek. I thought I was on top of the

world. By 1970, I was President of the company. But the higher you climb, the harder the

wind blows.

The Firing

y relationship with Henry Ford II was always complicated. He was the king, and

I was the crown prince who was getting too much press. In July 1978, he called

me into his office and ended my thirty-two-year career. He didn't have a

business reason. He just said, 'Sometimes you just don't like somebody.' It was the lowest

point of my life. I had the keys to the castle one day and was out on the street the next.

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PART III: THE CHRYSLER

RESURRECTION

Taking the Reins of a Titanic

joined Chrysler because I wasn't ready to retire at fifty-four. But when I got there, I

found a mess worse than anything I could have imagined. There was no discipline, no

quality control, and the accounting department didn't even know how much cash we

had left. We were losing billions.

I had to fire thirty-three out of thirty-five vice presidents. I brought in my 'Ford refugees'—

guys I knew could get the job done. But then the gas crisis hit, and the economy tanked. We

were out of options. I had to do something I never thought I'd do: I went to Washington to

ask for a loan guarantee.

The Battle for the Loan

hey called me a 'welfare queen' in a three-piece suit. I told Congress that if Chrysler

went down, the unemployment bill would cost the government far more than a

guarantee. I spent months testifying, pleading, and explaining. We got the $1.5

billion, but it came with strings—I had to cut my own salary to one dollar a year to show I

was in the trenches with the workers.

PART IV: THE FINAL

TURNAROUND

K-Cars and Minivans

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e bet the whole company on the K-Car. It was fuel-efficient, front-wheel drive,

and it worked. Then came the minivan—the T-115. I had tried to build it at

Ford, but Henry turned me down. At Chrysler, it became our gold mine. It

created a whole new category of vehicle.

In 1983, we did the impossible. We paid back the government loans—every cent, plus

interest—seven years early. I stood there with a check for $813,487,285. It was the proudest

moment of my professional life.

The Legacy

stayed on to buy AMC and bring Jeep into the fold, and I took on the job of restoring

the Statue of Liberty. It was my way of saying thank you to the country that gave my

father a chance. I've been called a hero and a tyrant, but at the end of the day, I just

wanted to build great cars and keep people working. That's the Iacocca way.

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AFTERWORD

"Lead, follow, or get out of the way."

— Lee Iacocca

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