Lee Iacocca, father of the Ford Mustang and former chairman of Chrysler, has died of natural causes at his home in Bel Air, Calif., his family said Tuesday. He was 94.
Born in Allentown, Pa., on Oct. 15, 1924 as the child of Italian immigrants, Iacocca started working at Ford Motor Company in 1946 and is heralded as the leader of the team that created the first Mustang in 1964. He ascended to CEO of the company in 1970 but was fired by Henry Ford Jr. in 1978.
The auto mogul later slammed Ford, saying in his autobiography, “If a guy is over 25% jerk, he’s in trouble. And Henry was 95%.” Iacocca later reiterated the same sentiments to Time magazine in 2001, saying Ford was cruel, crude and paranoid.
THE 2020 FORD MUSTANG SHELBY GT500 WILL COST A LOT
The famed businessman moved on to Chrysler Corp. in 1978 and became the CEO a year later, pulling the company out of bankruptcy after taking it over. He persuaded the federal government to provide the company a $1.2 billion loan in 1979 and made major cuts to the workforce, slashing wages, including his own which he shrunk to $1 a year and closing plants. He also introduced fuel-efficient cars and the minivan.
His efforts were successful and Chrysler made a comeback, profiting $20 million. – READ MORE