Miguel Sánchez
PHOTOS LEE IACOCCA: FORD / CHRYSLER
When a public figure is at the peak of his career, he is tempted to write an autobiography. At that moment the reader may start to tremble. Why? Because most of the time these books give off a cheap pamphlet stink. To tear easy and petulant self-satisfaction. Fortunately, there are exceptions settled in lives steeped in history or tragedy.
Policarpo Díaz allowed himself to title his 'A Golpes con la Vida'. It's like going into the ring with him, the work is justified. Winston Churchill made a colossus of thousands of pages out of his memoirs of World War II. When buying the last volume they should give you a bookcase. Each line is intense, all the words are worth their weight.
Lee Iacocca called his memories 'Autobiography of an Achiever'. Coming from another, this title would be a bombastic exaggeration. Yet Iacocca had reason to consider himself a victorious figure in motoring history. We owe cars like him to his ingenuity Mustang or Viper, but also familiar serene like the Travel.
All best sellers. Automobiles elevated to the category of myth that demonstrate the Lee Iacocca's enormous ability to sniff out new markets. The perfect example that in the automotive industry you not only have to design good cars, but also make them sell. Although it may seem pretentious, the title of his autobiography is more than justified.
AN ENGINEER AT THE SERVICE OF SALES
Born in Pennsylvania in 1924, Lee Iacocca studied engineering at Princeton University. In 1946 he knocked on Ford's doors with a good record under his arm. These were opened for him, although soon this young engineer proved more worthy by reading market needs than by calculating on a table. Far from being an introverted numbers worker, his was marketing.
In fact, about ten years after joining Ford Iacocca was already fully established in the sales area. He was so sure of his ads that he even starred in several of them under the slogan "If you can buy a better car, buy it". However, his expertise was beyond knowing how to position the product. He also knew what the market was going to demand.
Thanks to that instinct, he sniffed what the youths of the baby boom post-WWII. Released in the sixties these agreed to driving, demanding a practical car but at the same time sports. Something more cheeky and attractive than the huge cars of the fifties. Thus was born in 1964 the Ford Mustang. Without a doubt Iacocca's greatest success.
FROM FORD TO CHRYSLER. FROM SPORTS TO FAMILY
In a company you don't just have to do things right. You also have to like the boss. If you don't think so, we are going to tell you why Iacocca left Ford. Simply Henry Ford II did not swallow our protagonist, so he fired him in 1978. A decision he possibly regretted when he saw Iacocca's successes at Chrysler.
These successes helped save the company, which was in freefall sales until the Voyager minivan appeared. An idea born in Iacocca's mind when after the Oil Crisis knew how to read the need for a low-cost family member but great habitability. Henry Ford II rejected the idea at the time. Perhaps he considered it too innovative. But that's how Iacocca's creations were.
Years later he was one of the key men to understand the birth of one of the most authentic American sports cars: the Víper. A true muscular beast that brought the savage demeanor of the AC Cobra to the present day. Another extremely risky gamble that turned out to be a success. And that's how Iacocca was: a man for whom audacity was the norm.
