A thought: Lee Iacocca’s first work in the automotive field happened in 1946 when he was hired on at Ford Motor Company to work in their engineering department. Seventy-three years from that year that marks the end of his journey. What a journey it has been, as well. Look around…find something that doesn’t trace some kind of root to his work. You’ll be busy for a while. The man had his hands in just about everything at one point. He could run a marketing campaign like few could. He could spot trends a mile off. He had an eye for the future that many wish they could’ve seen, had the ability to work the political angle in ways that would surprise many, and in what many consider his biggest accomplishment, he managed to take a company that was sinking like the Titanic and not only refloat it, but make it shockingly successful. Love or hate him, you have to hand it to Iacocca…the man knew how to work Detroit to his will and he was successful in just about every aspect of his work.

A child born to Italian immigrants, Iacocca joined Ford with an engineering degree from Lehigh University before learning about politics and plastics at Princeton. He caught the attention of Ford’s management when his “56 for ’56” advertising campaign proved to be highly successful. Look at Ford in the 1960s and you can see his work: Mustang, Continental Mark III, GT-40 program, Mercury Cougar and Marquis, and he was the man who wrangled Carroll Shelby into wicking up hot versions of Mustangs. By 1970 he had taken over from Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen and even though he was creative and offering up sales hits like the Mustang II and ideas like the earliest concepts of a box on wheels, he was pissing off Henry Ford II so badly that on July 13th, 1978, Iacocca was fired from Ford.

No matter. Over at Chrysler, any problem that Ford could’ve dreamed of was a walk in the park compared to what was present. The company was bleeding cash so badly it wasn’t funny and it could barely move a car…and the ones that did move usually had to come back for some kind of recall. In September 1979, he wound up as Chairman and CEO of a company that had taken a $160 million loss in the third quarter after former CEO John Riccardo up and bailed the program. At the time the loan guarantees were approved by the government that year, Chrysler was about $4.75 billion dollars in the hole. By 1983, he paid back the loans and Chrysler was turning a profit. By 1987, under his leadership and celebrity power, he bought Lamborghini, Maserati, and in a knockout deal that is still paying dividends to this day, American Motors, whose Jeep division was the crown jewel achievement but only one part of a seriously big score. American Motors’ engineering team was a much-needed makeover that Chrysler benefitted from in dramatic form…the successes the company had in the 1990s were directly a result of the acquisition.

But life wasn’t all great and rosy…he had allowed the K-platform to linger well past it’s sell-by date and by the time he retired from Chrysler in 1992, the stock was back in the tank and starting to swirl. In 1995 he teamed up with Kirk Kerkorian to attempt a takeover of Chrysler and a battle ensued, which ultimately failed and left Iacocca with a gag order to not talk about the company he had built up for five years.

Outside of the automotive world, Iacocca was a busy man. He co-authored three books (Iacocca: An Autobiography, Talking Straight and Where Have All The Leaders Gone?). He was on the board of MGM Grand, Family Restaurants, and EV Global Motors. He helped raise the funds to restore the Statue of Liberty and to renovate Ellis Island. He supported research for diabetes after his first wife, Mary, passed on from the disease in 1983. He nearly ran for president in 1988 and declined a Senate nomination in 1991. He even starred in an episode of “Miami Vice” as Park Commissioner Lido.

What do you say about a man who, from the word “go”, read American car culture like a book and delivered? What do you say about a man who pulled off a Hail Mary with sheer will, charisma and charm? Nothing. You let his work speak for itself.