Calling All Cars: Chrysler reportedly repo'ing Iacocca's company rides
Found in the "What have you done for me lately?" bin, Chrysler is apparently asking former CEO Lee Iacocca for the keys to his company cars. According to a FOX report, as part of their Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, Chrysler isn't allowed to provide vehicles to former execs, even if those execs once famously saved the company from bankruptcy. Therefore, poor Lido is being asked to return his minivan and Chrysler 300, or pay fair market value to keep them.Maybe the government should step in and allow Iacocca to keep the cars in exchange for some help in getting Chrysler out of its most recent financial mess. After all, Lee has some experience in this matter. He used (just) $1.5 billion in government loans back in 1979 to save Chrysler from the brink. He even repaid those loans seven years early in 1983, capping one of the most legendary turnarounds in U.S. business history. That's right, he repaid the loans. What a concept. Where Have All the Leaders Gone, indeed. You can see the letter sent by Chrysler, after the jump.
[Source: FOX Business]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Chris MacMillan 4:03PM (5/21/2009)
Interesting . . . Lee should call Ford about a Mustang.
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JN 4:07PM (5/21/2009)
I think he still gets a Ford product. Last time he was interviewed in print, there was a Town Car in his garage.
Real classy of Chrysler to send him a form letter. Not.
Vincenzo 4:18PM (5/21/2009)
There are exceptions to every rule. They wouldn't even have a job if it weren't for Lee I.
F U chrysler I hope you lose ... go GM go! or Ford...
Patrick 4:35PM (5/21/2009)
Lee is probably thinking, "I should have just let Chrysler die when I had the chance 25 years ago."
Fair market value for a Caravan and 300C wouldn't be too bad if he wanted to keep the cars. He's got that in his couch cushions.
dukeisduke 4:05PM (5/21/2009)
Some thanks he gets, huh?
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Level 4:08PM (5/21/2009)
Back in those days things were a lot easier, these days fads rules, being politically correct rules, "foreign oil" is bad propaganda rules, the government auto czars rule, Alec Baldwin rules, and the rest of the hypocrites i forgot to mention....
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Judy Zik 4:28PM (5/21/2009)
What Iacocca did was far from easy. Everyone suddenly wanted smaller more fuel efficient cars and he was stuck with a lineup of RWD boats that fell apart in no time and an automaker people didn't want to do business with. On top of that as a condition of the loan he had to transition the entire car lineup to FWD. He had one FWD platform to work with and a slew of foreign competition. What resulted was magic.
Iacocca has forgotten more about how to run a car company than most execs these days will ever know. The early 80's were full of trends and he capitalized on every one of them. From the return of convertibles to the Minivan and the smaller FWD sedan to cab forward and the cheap small American made car (Neon). The new Chrysler needs Lee's advice more than ever.
Level 4:42PM (5/21/2009)
Theres only one thing you can do in these times which is downsize and minimize cost at all angles.....If Toyota loosing billions just recently shows you anything is that it doesn't matter what you build, it just won't be enough to turn a profit...
Everyone just has to wait in till we ride this down turn....
Judy Zik 5:21PM (5/21/2009)
Wrong. Toyota lost so much money due to bad decisions and poor product just like everyone else. They only have 3 models that sell at volume in the US and some like the Tundra and FJ Fugly have been huge flops.
The similarities between now and the early 80's are striking. High gas prices have spooked everyone into fuel efficient vehicles. Quality is a problem at Chrysler and the world is in a recession. The difference is Iaccoca made a lot of cost cuts but he also spent money on new products people wanted. The clowns running Chrysler for the past few years have been busy cutting costs in a hack and slash fashion that has included their engineering and development departments. A car company is only as good as it's current and upcoming lineup.
Level 5:49PM (5/21/2009)
You think Toyota lost billions just because they Tundras and FJs in their portfolios? lol
There is enough fuel efficient cars on the market and they are still not being sold...We are in a recession, no matter how great of a product you have we still in a recession where the majority people wont buy..
The difference back in the 80's the fix to the problem was better product and they were in luck because they weren't dealing with the recession we are in today big difference...
jaguar879 5:54PM (5/21/2009)
@ Level
Wait...... there wasn't a recession in the early 1980's? You might want look in to that one...
SpaceGoatPriest 4:24PM (5/21/2009)
"... or pay fair market value to keep them."
$1 sounds pretty fair to me.
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Sea Urchin 4:25PM (5/21/2009)
By the way, i read that book, it's great, go buy it, or take it at the library.
He think a little too much of himself, but overall the man speaks the truth. Warning, will hurt fanboys.
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kvhd39 4:42PM (5/21/2009)
I read this book as well and was very impressed by his ability to really step back from certain situations and analyze them without too much input and person opinions. As far as I'm concerned, he should be pretty proud of himself. Lee Iacocca is among the best businessmen this country, and possibly world, will ever see. I think if more people would have read this book and paid a little more attention to the real details of this past election, we might not be listening to this "spend" broken record. "Change" is great if it's smart, but terrible if just for the sake of change as we are currently experiencing. Either way, I highly doubt Iacocca is sitting in his living room worried about losing his minivan and 300C. My guess is his wallet will be able to foot the bill for a better ride anyway.
Rob 4:28PM (5/21/2009)
That's cold. Brrrrh.
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PJ 4:33PM (5/21/2009)
More of a symbolic gesture than anything else, I'd imagine, considering that they're probably lending out less than $100,000's worth of product... but since it's not Chrysler's money, every dollar counts.
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karblogger 4:32PM (5/21/2009)
If Iacocca can find a better car, he now needs to buy it.
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Gregory Anderson 4:38PM (5/21/2009)
Paid back the loans... You can bet your tax dollars that won't happen this time.
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SpaceGoatPriest 4:57PM (5/21/2009)
Bet our tax dollars? Oh wait, too late. We already have :)
Who 'Dis? Who 'Dat? 4:40PM (5/21/2009)
How crass can one get? After all what Iacocca did for Chrysler they should have just simply signed off on those vehiches and given them to to him. And you'll note how they waited until they went into bankruptcy before asking for for their cars back.
Boo and hiss on you Chrysler. Even in these challenging times you could have shown a little more class.
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