Italian-American Visionary Lee Iacocca Found His Legacy on the Open Road


The son of an Italian immigrant hot dog vendor, Iacocca rose to become one of the most powerful executives in Detroit.

Lido “Lee” Iacocca, who rose from humble beginnings to become an auto industry icon, died at the age of 94 on Tuesday morning after succumbing to Parkinson’s disease complications.

The son of an Italian immigrant hot dog vendor, Iacocca became one of the most powerful executives in Detroit and was the only executive to lead two of the Big Three Detroit automakers. He was a pioneer while president at Ford in the 1970s and a miracle worker for Chrysler in the 1980s.

He has been widely credited as the father of the Ford Mustang, and was integral in the launch of minivans and K-Cars.

Iacocca was always driven to achieve success for himself and his family:

“The Depression turned me into a materialist,” he wrote in his autobiography. “Years later, when I graduated from college, my attitude was: ‘Don’t bother me with philosophy. I want to make ten thousand a year by the time I’m 25, and then I want to be a millionaire.’ ”

Iacocca, an Italian-American icon, will be greatly missed.

 

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