saving Chrysler, buying Jeep, minivans

Lee Iacocca transformed the auto industry during a career that stretched from the birth of the Ford Mustang through the death of American Motors.

The automobile icon, best known as “Lee,” died on Tuesday at the age of 94.

According to his longtime colleague Bob Lutz, who worked with Iacocca for almost two decades, “Lee was a change agent. He could be tough, but when he was on, he was fabulous.”

Here are Iacocca’s three greatest achievements in the auto business according to Lutz:

“Lee made the right decisions financially to save Chrysler, but that bailout also required constantly putting himself out front as the face of the company, working tirelessly,” recounted Lutz. The early days of Iacocca’s tenure at Chrysler also required bold decisions.

“We would be in a meeting discussing our next move at Chrysler and Lee would listen patiently. Then, he’d take a puff of his cigar, pound his fist on the table and say ‘Everyone shut up! This is what we’re gonna do and this is how we’re gonna do it.'”

After stabilizing Chrysler in the early 80’s, Iacocca was not content to stand still.

He set his sights on American Motors, an automaker that was partially owned by Renault and struggling to stay relevant. What did Iacocca see in American Motors that was worth spending $1.5 Billion? Jeep.

“Lee was an intelligent risk-taker,” said Lutz. “Look at the decision to buy American Motors. If we had not done that deal, Chrysler never would have acquired the Jeep brand, which would go on to become a big part of Chrysler’s success.”

Looking back now, it’s hard for many to appreciate just how much the minivan changed the auto industry.

Prior to the first minivan, families that wanted space and room were primarily driving station wagons or full-size vans. All of that changed in 1984 when Iacocca and his team introduced the first minivan.

“The minivan basically saved the company,” said Lutz.

Even Chrysler executives could not fully appreciate the minivan’s popularity.

“We were producing 200,000 minivans at one plant and Lee wanted to open a second plant to double production,” said Lutz.

He remembers many inside the company were against the idea, “but Lee kept saying it will work, it will work. So we transformed the plant in St. Louis and once it was up and running, we sold out of production almost immediately. Lee was right.”