I thought there might be a thread on this topic, so I am cutting/pasting what I posted on FB and a few other sites...
With the sad passing of Lee Iacocca, I will tell two personal stories that you will not hear in the coverage of his death. They should be known because they aren’t about Mustangs or Minivans, but the man’s character.
As an early-teens student, I wrote a book report on Lee Iacocca’s autobiography. My father worked for Chrysler; not an executive; nor even in management. However, he did know Mr. Iacocca’s secretary and casually mentioned the book report to her. She insisted that he bring my copy to work and have it signed. When it was done, she suggested I come along to pick it up. As it turned out, he was not at the headquarters that day. As a consolation prize, she brought us into his wood-paneled office.
The office was filled; to the point of being cluttered, with items that employees hand-made over the years expressing gratitude. Folk-art like an engine piston turned from walnut that said “In appreciation for believing in us”. They were not displayed in formal cases and by then they were years old. You would not find many executive offices like this in 2019, or even perhaps in the late 1980s, when I was there.
Years after and now an employee myself, we were hip deep in trouble at “DaimlerChrysler”. I wondered what a man who cared so much, (He'd even helped restore the Statue of Liberty!) thought of the current situation. In the days of internet 1.0, it wasn’t hard to find a current address, so I decided to gamble a stamp and ask. A couple weeks later, I’d almost forgotten until my phone rang on a Saturday afternoon in August of 2001. It was the chairman himself. The phone call was very long and it wouldn’t be our last, over a period spanning several years. But what stood out was his concern for the employees of the company. He explained that he was taking a risk by even talking to me, under the terms of a Federal court gag-order which forbade him from discussing the company. His voice cracked with sad emotion when he recalled being compared to a corporate-raider; after a failed attempt to take back leadership from Robert Eaton. He termed Eaton's hire “his biggest mistake”. As a friend told me; it was obvious he wanted this off his chest, but couldn’t do it publicly.
He also retired gracefully. Rather than disappearing into a guarded villa on the Florida coast, he lent his name and expertise to start-ups and charitable causes, most notably diabetes research. Rest in peace Lee, a life well-lived."
Now I didn't go into much detail on this because it's really not appropriate in something meant to memorialize, but I'll flesh a few things out here among friends.
Some simple-minded observers (like Paul Niedermayer from TTAC) have an obsession with tearing down Iacocca. Their points are generally these:
1) Iacocca fought CAFE standards. Of course he did, it was/is a dumb supply-side idea and knee-capped US industry by eliminating their most profitable products... the most obvious example being GM forced into building ridiculous FWD Cadillacs while Mercedes was free to ship in as many 12 MPG S-Classes as they could sell.
2) Iacocca opposed airbags in the 70s. True, because they were first intended to restrain un-belted adults. What ended up being the problem with 1st generation airbags? They killed/injured children and small adults. Only when computer technology evolved to the point of staging deployment did that danger go away.
3) He let his ego get in the way of promoting Bob Lutz to CEO. The truth is, Iacocca had valid reasons for hiring Eaton; who had just done what no one before or after him had been able to do... turn a profit with GM's operations in Europe. What was Chrysler trying to do in the early 90s? Move back into Europe, with the Jeep as the leader. Iacocca also told me (in 2001, before moving back to GM) that Lutz was too focused on "halo cars" as a solution to everything. What were Lutz's first moves as GM? Halo cars! Pontiac GTO, Chevy SSR and HHR, Saturn Sky/Pontiac Solstice, Pontiac G8... every one a sales dud that did nothing to solve GM's core problems. And I say all that as a fan of Lutz, as a human being and enthusiast.
Iacocca realized that Eaton was setting up the company for takeover in '95 by buying stock, hoarding cash and slashing engineering budgets in the middle of critical launches. That's why he launched the takeover. And this didn't result in Eaton reaching out to Schrempp/Daimler. Daimler was courting FORD (who's family said "no"). Only after failing there did Schrempp reach out to Eaton and found weakness.
All of this is verifiable with a little research and a willingness to question "experts" with axes to grind.
Just wanted to add context.