With the Mustang in the news again, remember Lee Iacocca. He was Ford’s executive who pushed for the Mustang, and the sales story of its decade. He was the right guy at the right time, with the right car.
However, there is a lot more to Iacocca than the Mustang. A deep thinker, he has been instrumental in many other spheres. He has had a lifetime involvement with Diabetes research as well as American politics, and is not afraid to speak his mind.
“Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up with what’s happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We’ve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we’ve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can’t even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, “Stay the course.” Stay the course? You’ve got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I’ll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!”
On December 3, 2007, Iacocca launched a website to encourage open dialogue about the challenges of contemporary society. He has introduced topics such as health care costs, and the United States’ lag in developing alternative energy sources and hybrid vehicles. The site also promotes his book Where Have All the Leaders Gone. It provides an interactive means for users to rate presidential candidates by the qualities Iacocca believes they should possess: curiosity, creativity, communication, character, courage, conviction, charisma, competence and common sense.
Even though he has the same forthright approach as Bob Lutz (ex-General Motors – “Global warming is a crock of shit”) the two big men in the auto industry were never buddies.
