Seller Of Dreams

Lee Iacocca Passed Away on July 2, 2019, Aged 94. As One of the Automotive World’s Most Influential Figures, He Redefined Cars and How They Were Sold

- Tuhin Guha

If Europe was the birthplace of the car, the USA is where it was democratised. And this transformation from a plaything for the rich to an effective transportation tool was no more apparent than in the decades after the Second World War right up to the turn of the millennium.

There were a few good reasons for this. America had emerged as the world’s foremost nation at this time. There was money to be made and dreams to be fulfilled, and the car was the best medium for this. Then there were the car companies themselves. GM, Ford and Chrysler were the torchbearers of this growth, each with a unique sensibility and appeal. You took sides in this three-way fight for dominance and looked up to the slick, hardworking guys making this possible. And no one caught the people’s eye more than Lee Iacocca. By the late 1980s, he was popular enough to consider a serious shot at the US presidency, even appearing in Chrysler’s commercials when he wanted people to buy them, after having given Henry Ford II enough food for thought that he chose to fire him.

Iacocca worked at Ford for 32 years, starting in 1946. He started in the engineering division but quickly moved to sales, where he flourished. But his breakout year was 1956. He introduced the ‘56 for 56’ sales campaign, in the Philadelphia district, where he managed sales. The scheme offered buyers’ cars for as low as $56 in monthly payments. This was a huge success and was replicated countrywide. By 1960, he was heading the Ford division of the Ford Motor Company and by 1970 he had become president of the entire operation.