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105-662: Chrysler Europe was the American automotive company Chrysler 's operations in Europe from 1967 through 1978. It was formed from the merger of the French Simca , British Rootes and Spanish Barreiros companies. In 1978, Chrysler divested these operations to PSA Peugeot Citroën . PSA rebadged the former Chrysler and Simca models with the revived Talbot marque , but abandoned the brand for passenger cars in 1987, although it continued on commercial vehicles until 1994. Among

210-913: A crossover vehicle . The last new model launched before the demise of Chrysler Europe was the Chrysler Horizon (1978–87), which was also sold as the Chrysler-Simca Horizon and soon renamed the Talbot Horizon in 1979. Like the larger Alpine, the Horizon was another pan-European model built simultaneously in France, Spain and the UK (Ryton, from 1980), and it also won the European Car of the Year Award for 1979. The Horizon

315-425: A better car, buy it." Iacocca retired as president, CEO, and chairman of Chrysler at the end of 1992. In 1995, Iacocca helped billionaire Kirk Kerkorian attempt a hostile takeover of Chrysler, which was ultimately unsuccessful. The next year, Kerkorian and Chrysler made a five-year agreement which included a gag order preventing Iacocca from speaking publicly about Chrysler. In July 2005, Iacocca returned to

420-526: A book meant as a counterbalance to Akio Morita 's Made in Japan , a non-fiction book praising Japan's post-war hard-working culture. Talking Straight praised the innovation and creativity of Americans. On April 17, 2007, Simon & Schuster published Iacocca's book, Where Have All the Leaders Gone? , co-written with Catherine Whitney. Iacocca partnered with producer Pierre Cossette to bring

525-430: A car, and prefer other modes of transport. Other potentially powerful automotive markets are Iran and Indonesia . Emerging automobile markets already buy more cars than established markets. According to a J.D. Power study, emerging markets accounted for 51 percent of the global light-vehicle sales in 2010. The study, performed in 2010 expected this trend to accelerate. However, more recent reports (2012) confirmed

630-481: A casino operator led by his friend Allen Paulson , becoming a major shareholder and later a member of the board of directors. Iacocca founded Olivio Premium Products in 1993. Olivio's signature product was an olive oil -based margarine product. Iacocca appeared in commercials for Olivio. Iacocca joined the board of restaurant chain Koo Koo Roo in 1995. In 1998, he stepped up to serve as acting chairman of

735-565: A consortium of workers, plant managers and dealers to come up with real solutions. These are the folks on the front lines, and they're the key to survival. Let's face it, if your car breaks down, you're not going to take it to the White House to get fixed. But, if your company breaks down, you've got to go to the experts on the ground, not the bureaucrats. Every day I talk to dealers and managers, who are passionate and full of ideas. No one wants Chrysler to survive more than they do. So I'd say to

840-579: A corporate mascot since the early 1990s. Iacocca's image was also invoked by rival automaker Ford in the marketing campaign for the 1993 Mercury Villager minivan , which depicted a competing car company led by an unhappy boss with a physical resemblance to Iacocca viewing the Villager with consternation because it is outselling their minivan. Fictional businessmen and middle managers, such as Michael Scott on The Office , have been shown reading Iacocca's books and attempting to emulate his methods. In

945-551: A group of major car manufacturers including GM , Ford , Volvo , BYD Auto , Jaguar Land Rover and Mercedes-Benz committed to "work towards all sales of new cars and vans being zero emission globally by 2040, and by no later than 2035 in leading markets". Major car manufacturing nations like the United States, Germany, China, Japan and South Korea, as well as Volkswagen , Toyota , Peugeot , Honda , Nissan and Hyundai , did not pledge. The global automotive industry

1050-510: A manner similar to Ronald Reagan , period pieces produced in subsequent decades have used images of Iacocca and the Chrysler K-car to invoke the 1980s. The 2009 film Watchmen , which is set in an alternative history 1985, took this in a unique direction by showing Iacocca (portrayed by Walter Addison) being assassinated by the film's antagonists, which has been said to have angered Iacocca when he learned about it. In Ordinary People,

1155-657: A national grassroots campaign, to bring Faustman's research to human clinical trials in 2006. Iacocca was an advocate of "Nourish the Children", an initiative of Nu Skin Enterprises , since its inception in 2002, and served as its chairman. He helped donate a generator for the Malawi VitaMeal plant. Iacocca led the fundraising campaign to enable Lehigh University to adapt and use vacant buildings formerly owned by Bethlehem Steel , including Iacocca Hall on

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1260-523: A production of The Will Rogers Follies to Branson, Missouri , in 1994. He also invested in Branson Hills, a 1,400-acre housing development. In 1993, he had joined the board of MGM Grand , led by his friend Kirk Kerkorian . He started a merchant bank to fund ventures in the gaming industry, which he called "the fastest-growing business in the world". In 1995, he sold his interests in several Indian gaming projects to Full House Resorts ,

1365-467: A song from Neil Young released in Chrome Dreams II and Bluenote Café , Lee Iacocca is quoted in the lyrics as a notable representative of the capitalistic world. Iacocca, portrayed by Jon Bernthal , is a major character in the 2019 film Ford v Ferrari , which is a dramatization of the 1960s Ford GT40 program. The film was released shortly after Iacocca's death. Tom Paxton wrote

1470-492: A stationary car, to a conveyor belt system where the car passed through multiple stations of more specialized engineers. Starting in the 1960s, robotic equipment was introduced to the process, and most cars are now mainly assembled by automated machinery. For many decades, the United States led the world in total automobile production, with the U.S. Big Three General Motors , Ford Motor Company , and Chrysler being

1575-500: A top producer 1950s : United Kingdom, Germany, and France restarted production. 1960s : Japan started production and increased volume through the 1980s. United States, Japan, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom produced about 80% of motor vehicles through the 1980s. 1990s : South Korea became a volume producer. In 2004, Korea became No. 5 passing France. 2000s : China increased its production drastically, and became

1680-456: A year, after reaching 29 million for the first time in 2017 and 28 million the year before. From 1970 (140 models) over 1998 (260 models) to 2012 (684 models), the number of automobile models in the U.S. has grown exponentially. Safety is a state that implies being protected from any risk, danger, damage, or cause of injury. In the automotive industry, safety means that users, operators, or manufacturers do not face any risk or danger coming from

1785-643: Is a major consumer of water. Some estimates surpass 180,000 L (39,000 imp gal) of water per car manufactured, depending on whether tyre production is included. Production processes that use a significant volume of water include surface treatment, painting, coating, washing, cooling, air-conditioning, and boilers, not counting component manufacturing. Paintshop operations consume especially large amounts of water because equipment running on water-based products must also be cleaned with water. In 2022, Tesla's Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg ran into legal challenges due to droughts and falling groundwater levels in

1890-463: Is a primary mode of transportation for many developed economies. The Detroit branch of Boston Consulting Group predicted that, by 2014, one-third of world demand would be in the four BRIC markets (Brazil, Russia, India, and China). Meanwhile, in developed countries, the automotive industry has slowed. It is also expected that this trend will continue, especially as the younger generations of people (in highly urbanized countries) no longer want to own

1995-507: Is considered one of the best practice frameworks for achieving automotive functional safety . In case of safety issues, danger, product defect , or faulty procedure during the manufacturing of the motor vehicle, the maker can request to return either a batch or the entire production run. This procedure is called product recall . Product recalls happen in every industry and can be production-related or stem from raw materials. Product and operation tests and inspections at different stages of

2100-432: The 2008 U.S. presidential election . In the 2012 U.S. presidential election , he endorsed Mitt Romney for president. On December 3, 2007, Iacocca launched a website to encourage open dialogue about the challenges of contemporary society. He introduced topics such as health care costs, and the United States' lag in developing alternative energy sources and hybrid vehicles. The site also promotes his book Where Have All

2205-604: The Chrysler/Talbot Avenger was kept in production alongside to cater for more traditional buyers. Prior to the sale of Chrysler Europe to Peugeot in 1978, Chrysler had begun development of a large flagship saloon as a replacement for the slow-selling 180/2 Litre range, to compete with cars like the Ford Granada and raise the image of the Chrysler brand. This car would eventually be launched in 1980 as

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2310-618: The Dodge Dart in Villaverde (Madrid) from 1965 to 1970, followed under Chrysler ownership by the revised Dodge 3700 (1970–77). In Switzerland AMAG had also assembled various American Chrysler and Dodge models between 1948 and 1972, the most popular model being the Chrysler Valiant . None of these models sold in large quantities because even 'compact' American cars of that period were too large and fuel-thirsty to sell well in

2415-499: The Greek autos (self), and Latin motivus (of motion ), referring to any form of self-powered vehicle. This term, as proposed by Elmer Sperry (1860–1930), first came into use to describe automobiles in 1898. The automotive industry began in the 1860s with hundreds of manufacturers pioneering the horseless carriage . Early car manufacturing involved manual assembly by a human worker. The process evolved from engineers working on

2520-761: The Lehigh Valley in eastern Pennsylvania . Members of his family opened a restaurant, Yocco's Hot Dogs , which has since grown to include four popular store locations in Allentown and its suburbs. Iacocca was reportedly christened with the unusual name "Lido" because he was conceived during his parents' honeymoon in the Lido district in Venice . However, he denied the basis for his christened name in his autobiography, calling it romantic but untrue; his father, Iacocca wrote, travelled to Lido long before his marriage with

2625-540: The Obama administration , don't leave them out. Put their passion and ideas to work. Because of the Chrysler bankruptcy, Iacocca lost part of his pension from a supplemental executive retirement plan, and a guaranteed company car during his lifetime. The losses occurred after the bankruptcy court approved the sale of Chrysler to Chrysler Group LLC , with ownership of the new company by the United Auto Workers ,

2730-467: The PSA Group had been in the top 8 1999 to 2012, and 2007 to 2012 one of the eight largest along with the seven largest as of 2017) and the five largest in the top 5 positions since 2007, according to OICA, which, however, stopped publishing statistics of motor vehicle production by manufacturer after 2017. All ten remained as the ten largest automakers by sales until the merger between Fiat-Chrysler and

2835-524: The Philadelphia district as assistant sales manager, Iacocca gained national recognition with his "56 for '56" campaign, offering loans on 1956 model year cars with a 20% down payment and $ 56 (~$ 628.00 in 2023) in monthly payments for three years. His campaign went national, and Iacocca was called to the Dearborn headquarters, where he quickly moved up through the ranks. On November 10, 1960, Iacocca

2940-831: The Talbot Tagora under Peugeot's ownership. However this model was not a strong seller either, and finished production after just three years and less than 20,000 sales. Peugeot added a saloon version of the Alpine - the Talbot Solara (1980–86) - to the former Chrysler range, and also made use of its own Peugeot 104 underpinnings to develop the Talbot Samba (1981–86) supermini as the Sunbeam's replacement. However, thereafter there would be no new Talbot models. The rear-drive Talbot Sunbeam and Avenger and were axed when

3045-610: The U.S. Senate in 1991 after the death of Senator John Heinz , but Iacocca declined. Politically, Iacocca supported the Republican Party candidate George W. Bush in the 2000 U.S. presidential election . In the 2004 U.S. presidential election , he endorsed Bush's Democratic Party opponent, John Kerry . In the 2006 Michigan gubernatorial election , Iacocca appeared in televised political ads endorsing Republican candidate Dick DeVos , who lost. Iacocca endorsed New Mexico governor Bill Richardson for President in

3150-777: The Volvo Group since 2001, relocated from the former Rootes site to a new building. The former factory has since been demolished. Chrysler, on the other hand, retained the design rights to the Avenger and those of the US-version Horizon. Peugeot was therefore compelled to retain the Chrysler "Pentastar" badge on the Avenger, whilst allowing Chrysler to sell the design along with its entire operations in Argentina to Volkswagen which continued production until 1991 under

3255-446: The fuel tank to be punctured in a rear-end collision , resulting in deadly fires. In 1978, all 1971–76 Pintos were recalled and had safety shielding and reinforcements installed to protect the fuel tank. Iacocca was strongly courted by Chrysler at a time when the company appeared to be on the verge of going out of business and had just sold its loss-making Chrysler Europe division to Peugeot in an effort to generate cash because

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3360-485: The value chain are made to avoid these product recalls by ensuring end-user security and safety and compliance with the automotive industry requirements. However, the automotive industry is still particularly concerned about product recalls, which cause considerable financial consequences. In 2007, there were about 806 million cars and light trucks on the road, consuming over 980 billion litres (980,000,000 m ) of gasoline and diesel fuel yearly. The automobile

3465-627: The "Mini-Max" project, which, in 1983, bore fruit in the highly successful Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager . Henry Ford II had wanted nothing to do with the Mini-Max, a restyled version of the minivan, which Toyota was selling in huge numbers in Asia and Latin America, and his opinion doomed the project at Ford. Hal Sperlich, the driving force behind the Mini-Max at Ford, had been fired a few months before Iacocca. He had been hired by Chrysler, where

3570-752: The 1970s, and continued in production until re-branded as Renaults in the 1980s. Chrysler UK had several plants in Coventry, including the Ryton assembly plant, the Stoke Aldermoor engine plant, the design, engineering and development site at Whitley and Hills Precision, the plastics factory in Canterbury Street, as well as the vehicle manufacturing plant at Linwood in Scotland. Automotive industry The word automotive comes from

3675-584: The 1985 Bob Hope TV special Bob Hope Buys NBC? while concurrently it was common to see depictions of elderly, bespectacled businessmen with charismatic, salesman-like personas, such as in an ad campaign by the Rainier Brewing Company . Iacocca's success serving as Chrysler's pitchman influenced other companies to feature executives in their marketing, such as how fast food chain Wendy's has successfully utilized company founder Dave Thomas as

3780-447: The 1993 model year, the same year that Iacocca retired. Throughout the 1980s, Iacocca, with the help of his longtime friend and advertisement executive, Leo-Arthur Kelmenson , appeared in a series of commercials developed by Kenyon & Eckhardt for the company's vehicles, employing the ad campaign, "The pride is back," to denote the turnaround of the corporation. He also voiced what was to become his trademark phrase: "If you can find

3885-613: The European market. Inherited Rootes and Simca car models still in production beyond 1967 were: The first new European Chrysler was the large Chrysler 180 range (1970–82), including the 160 and 2 Litre. The 180 was the result of combining two projects that were previously being developed independently by Rootes and Simca as successors to their largest models (the Humber Hawk/Super Snipe and Simca Vedette, which had been discontinued in 1967 and 1961 respectively). This

3990-615: The French-based Simca in 1958, buying 15% of the company's stock from Ford. In 1963, Chrysler increased their stake to a controlling 63% by purchasing further stock from Fiat . Chrysler acquired a 35% share of the Spanish Barreiros in 1963, and it became part of Chrysler Europe in 1969. Barreiros was renamed Chrysler España, S.A. in 1970. Also in 1963, Chrysler acquired the Greek company FARCO (founded in 1961 by

4095-842: The Horizon became the Peugeot 309 on its launch at the end of 1985, and in 1983, Peugeot sold the shares in Matra Automobiles it had inherited when it acquired Chrysler Europe back to Matra and a Chrysler-initiated design of an MPV to Renault , where the design lived on as the Renault Espace . Production of the Samba and Alpine/Solara finished in May 1986, while the Horizon remained in production in Spain and Finland until 1987; French and British production had finished during 1985 when

4200-672: The Hunter to Linwood), but a mid-life facelift in 1976 coincided with Avenger assembly moving to Linwood as the Chrysler Avenger. from 1979 it was renamed the Talbot Avenger following the sale of Chrysler Europe to PSA. The British car designer Roy Axe , who originally started his career with Rootes, was responsible for unifying the designs of the new European range starting with the Simca 1307 (1975–86) family hatchback, which

4305-515: The Iacocca Foundation for type 1 diabetes research. In an April 2009 Newsweek interview, Iacocca reflected on his time spent at Chrysler and the company's current situation. He said: This is a sad day for me. It pains me to see my old company, which has meant so much to America, on the ropes. But Chrysler has been in trouble before, and we got through it, and I believe they can do it again. If they're smart, they'll bring together

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4410-629: The Imp, Hunter, Sceptre and Rapier, and the residual Hunter assembly moving to a CKD operation in Ireland. The Avenger and Hunter were both facelifted at this time and re-badged as Chryslers. Production of the Chrysler Hunter finished in 1979 just after Peugeot took over, although the tooling was subsequently sold to Iran as the Paykan , which was built until 2005. To replace the small Hillman Imp at

4515-551: The Italian carmaker Fiat and the governments of the United States and Canada. In 1984, Iacocca co-wrote an autobiography with William Novak : Iacocca: An Autobiography . It was the best selling non-fiction hardback book of 1984 and 1985. The book used heavy discounting, which would become a trend among publishers in the 1980s. Iacocca donated the proceeds of the book's sales to type 1 diabetes research. In 1988, Iacocca co-authored (with Sonny Kleinfeld) Talking Straight ,

4620-687: The Kontogouris brothers to produce the Farmobil ), which it renamed Chrysler Hellas S.A. after the acquisition. However, production there ended in 1967 without much success. After failing to acquire an interest in the British-based Leyland Motors in 1962, Chrysler bought a 30% share in Rootes Group in 1964. Rootes was formally taken over by Chrysler following purchase of the remaining shares in 1967. In 1970, Rootes

4725-621: The Leaders Gone . It provides an interactive means for users to rate presidential candidates by the qualities Iacocca believes they should possess: curiosity, creativity, communication, character, courage, conviction, charisma, competence and common sense. The high amount of publicity that Iacocca received during his turnaround of Chrysler made him a celebrity and gave him a lasting impact in popular culture. In addition to his acting role in Miami Vice , Iacocca also made appearances on Good Morning America , Late Night With David Letterman and

4830-629: The Linwood plant closed in 1981. Peugeot continued production of the Talbot Samba, Alpine and Solara until 1986, and the Horizon until 1987, but then phased out the Talbot brand in favour of expanding its own brand by producing new Peugeot models in the former Rootes factory near Coventry and the former Simca plant at Poissy . Chrysler had developed its own line of British-built trucks which were assembled at its Kew (London) factory until 1967, when

4935-672: The Matra P18 prototype, which would later be developed into the MK1 Renault Espace and the Matra Rancho , which influenced the styling of the 1989 Land Rover Discovery . The 1307/Alpine was a five-door hatchback with front-wheel drive, in a market sector which was still almost exclusively populated by rear-wheel drive saloons like the Ford Cortina / Taunus and Opel Ascona / Vauxhall Cavalier . Therefore, although

5040-527: The Mountaintop Campus of Lehigh University. Today these structures house the College of Education, the biology and chemical engineering departments, and The Iacocca Institute, which is focused on global competitiveness. Iacocca played Park Commissioner Lido in "Sons and Lovers", the 44th episode of Miami Vice , which premiered on May 9, 1986. The name of the character is his birth name, which

5145-641: The Omni until the 2.2L engine from the Chrysler K-Car became available. Ironically, some later year base model U.S. Omnis used a French Peugeot -based 1.6L engine. Realizing that the company would go out of business if it did not receive a large infusion of cash, Chrysler approached the United States Congress in 1979 and requested a loan guarantee . Chairman and CEO John J. Riccardo resigned on September 17, 1979, because he believed that

5250-537: The PSA Group in early 2021 ; only Renault was degraded to 11th place, in 2022, when being surpassed by both BMW (which became the 10th largest in 2021) and Chang'an . These were the twenty largest manufacturers by production volume in 2012 and 2013, or the 21 largest in 2011 (before the Fiat-Chrysler merger ), of which the fourteen largest as of 2011 were in the top 14 in 2010, 2008 and 2007 (but not 2009, when Changan and Mazda temporarily degraded Chrysler to 16th place). The eighteen largest as of 2013 have remained in

5355-413: The Peugeot 309 went into production. American versions of this car were produced until 1990. Peugeot took little interest in heavy commercial vehicles and the production of former British and Spanish Dodge models passed to Renault Trucks . The Rootes factory in Dunstable, England ceased manufacture of trucks, ending with the Renault Midliner in the mid-1990s. In 2009, the staff of Renault Trucks, part of

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5460-420: The Simca dealer network (as Matra-Simca). Following the introduction of the 1970 Avenger , Chrysler showed little investment or interest in the technologically conservative Rootes line-up, concentrating instead on the advanced front wheel drive Simca models instead. Confused branding resulted from trying to concurrently sell the mismatched pairing of the Simca and Rootes product families, contrasting heavily with

5565-423: The U.S. was overtaken by Japan and then became a world leader again in 1994. Japan narrowly passed the U.S. in production during 2006 and 2007, and in 2008 also China , which in 2009 took the top spot (from Japan) with 13.8 million units, although the U.S. surpassed Japan in 2011, to become the second-largest automobile industry. In 2023, China had for the first time in history more than 30 million produced vehicles

5670-415: The UK. It was renamed the Talbot Sunbeam in 1979. The Matra Rancho (1977–84) was a leisure activity vehicle version of the Simca 1100 developed by the French automotive engineering firm Matra Automobiles in partnership with Chrysler Europe. Although a low-volume niche model based on an ageing car, it proved to be a sales success and can be viewed as a very early example of what would now be classified as

5775-496: The Volkswagen 1500 name. For the New Zealand market, the Avenger kept the Chrysler branding for 1980 after being rebranded elsewhere. Meanwhile, European sales of the Avenger ended in 1981. The American version of the Horizon continued to be produced in the United States as the Plymouth Horizon and Dodge Omni until 1990, three years after the last European model was made. The former Simca and Rootes assembly plants in Poissy and Ryton-on-Dunsmore , respectively, continued under

5880-420: The Wallace Memorial Fellowship and went to Princeton University , where he earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering in 1946. Iacocca then began his career at the Ford Motor Company , working at first as a Ford engineer. Iacocca joined Ford Motor Company in August 1946. After a brief stint in engineering, he asked to be moved to sales and marketing, where his career flourished. While working in

5985-432: The airwaves as Chrysler's pitchman, along with celebrities such as Jason Alexander and Snoop Dogg , to promote Chrysler's "Employee Pricing Plus" program; the ads reprise the "If you can find a better car, buy it" line, Iacocca's trademark of the 1980s. In return for his services, Iacocca and DaimlerChrysler agreed that his fees, plus a $ 1 donation per vehicle sold from July 1 through December 31, 2005, would be given to

6090-427: The big Imperial as the company's flagship. The new model had all of the newest technologies of the time, including fully electronic fuel injection and all-digital dashboard. Chrysler introduced the minivan, chiefly Sperlich's "baby", in late 1983. It led the automobile industry in sales for 25 years. Because of the K-cars and minivans, along with the reforms Iacocca implemented, the company turned around quickly and

6195-406: The brother of his future wife. Iacocca graduated with honors from Allentown High School in Allentown in 1942. He attended Lehigh University in neighboring Bethlehem, Pennsylvania , where he graduated with a degree in industrial engineering . At Lehigh University, he was a member of Tau Beta Pi , the engineering honor society, and Theta Chi fraternity. After graduating from Lehigh, he won

6300-538: The cars were sold as Chrysler-Simca. Chrysler used the Dodge marque on commercial vehicles produced by both Simca and Rootes ( Commer and Karrier , but in addition using rebadging to sell vehicles overseas under the Fargo and DeSoto brands). In addition, in some countries, such as Spain , the Dodge and Simca marques would be used for other vehicles, mostly Spanish-designed (ex-Barreiros) trucks and buses and locally-built versions of US-market vehicles or local versions of Simca cars. The company systematically retired

6405-494: The commercial vehicles were marketed as Dodges, apart from a few municipal vehicles which were still branded as Karriers. After sale of the commercial vehicle operations to Renault the Dodge name continued to be used until 1987, when the remaining Dodge models were re-branded as Renaults. Excluding badge-engineered derivatives, Chrysler Europe's British-built commercial vehicle range comprised: The Spanish-built heavy truck range inherited from Barreiros were rebranded Dodge 300 in

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6510-425: The company was losing millions already in North America. This was partially due to recalls of its Dodge Aspen and Plymouth Volare , both of which, Iacocca later said, were among the causes for Chrysler's woes and customer dissatisfaction. Iacocca joined Chrysler and began rebuilding the entire company from the ground up and bringing in many former associates from Ford. Also from Ford, Iacocca brought to Chrysler

6615-424: The company would be more likely to receive government aid under new management. His retirement took effect three days later and he was succeeded by Iacocca. Iacocca was able to obtain the guarantee, but Chrysler was required to reduce costs and abandon some longstanding projects, such as the turbine engine , which had been ready for consumer production in 1979 after nearly 20 years of development. Chrysler released

6720-476: The company. Chrysler was already in serious financial trouble back home in America, and were on the brink of bankruptcy. The company's incoming CEO, Lee Iacocca , had shown little interest in the European market from the outset (just as he had done during his period in charge of Ford ), and wasted no time in wielding the axe almost immediately. In 1978, Chrysler Europe was sold for a nominal US$ 1 (equivalent to $ 4.67 in 2023) to PSA Peugeot Citroën , who took on

6825-455: The death of Iacocca's wife Mary from type 1 diabetes , he became an active supporter of research for the disease. He was one of the main patrons of the research of Denise Faustman at Massachusetts General Hospital . In 2000, Iacocca founded Olivio Premium Products, which manufactures the Olivio line of food products made from olive oil . He donated all profits from the company to type 1 diabetes research. In 2004, Iacocca launched Join Lee Now,

6930-483: The demise of the Avenger left the Horizon as the only car of its size in the Talbot range. The Alpine spawned a saloon version, the Solara, in 1980, filling the gap left in the range by the demise of the Hunter, and recognising that there was still a high demand for traditional family saloons. But by 1987, the French giant had scrapped the Talbot marque on passenger cars due to falling sales – though retaining it for commercial vehicles until 1992. The car designed to succeed

7035-453: The first deliberately designed "World Cars", which resulted in the American and European cars looking nearly identical externally. However, underneath remarkably similar-looking sheetmetal, engines, transmissions, suspensions, bumpers, and interior design were quite different. Initially the U.S. cars even used VW -based engines (while the European models used Simca engines), as American Chrysler did not have an engine of an appropriate size for

7140-402: The first of the K-Car line, the Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant , in 1981. Similar to the later minivan, these compact automobiles were based on design proposals that Ford had rejected during Iacocca's (and Sperlich's) tenure. Released in the middle of the major 1980–1982 recession, the small, efficient, and inexpensive front-wheel drive cars sold rapidly. In addition, Iacocca re-introduced

7245-432: The first widely popular electric bicycle in the US. In 1999, Iacocca became the head of EV Global Motors. In May 1982, President Ronald Reagan appointed Iacocca to head the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, which was created to raise funds for the restoration of the Statue of Liberty and the renovation of Ellis Island . Iacocca continued to serve on the board of the foundation until his death. Following

7350-580: The former Chrysler and Rootes commercial vehicle ranges were merged, with production consolidated at the former Rootes plant at Dunstable. Chrysler also inherited a separate truck range from Barreiros in Spain. The naming of Chrysler Europe's commercial vehicles was particularly complicated due to the proliferation of badge-engineering . Chrysler's own range of British trucks were sold as Dodges (or Dodge Kew, to differentiate from American models) in Britain, but in some export markets they were badged DeSoto or Fargo . Rootes principal commercial vehicle brand

7455-418: The fortunes of arch rivals Ford and General Motors – who had both successfully managed to weave together their previously independent British and German subsidiaries. Chrysler Europe profits failed to materialize, although Simca on its own had been consistently profitable during its tenure under Chrysler ownership. It was the ailing former Rootes Group operations which were to prove to be the ultimate downfall of

7560-532: The introduction of the Mercury Cougar and Mercury Marquis . He promoted other ideas that did not reach the marketplace as Ford products, including cars ultimately introduced by Chrysler: the K car and the minivan . Iacocca also convinced company boss Henry Ford II to return to racing, claiming several wins at the Indianapolis 500 , NASCAR and the 24 Hours of Le Mans . Eventually, he became

7665-547: The liability for its huge debts as well as its factories and product line, with the former Chrysler models in Britain and Simca models in France both using the revived Talbot marque from August 1979. The Linwood factory in Scotland was closed by Peugeot in 1981 after just 18 years in use, marking the end of Avenger and Sunbeam production. The Sunbeam was replaced by the Peugeot 104 derived, French-built Talbot Samba , but

7770-488: The list below) currently possess the capability to design original production automobiles from the ground up, and 17 countries (listed below) have at least one million produced vehicles a year (as of 2023). These were the ten largest manufacturers by production volume as of 2017, of which the eight largest were in the top 8 positions since Fiat's 2013 acquisition of the Chrysler Corporation (although

7875-401: The motor vehicle or its spare parts. Safety for the automobiles themselves implies that there is no risk of damage. Safety in the automotive industry is particularly important and therefore highly regulated. Automobiles and other motor vehicles have to comply with a certain number of regulations, whether local or international, in order to be accepted on the market. The standard ISO 26262 ,

7980-560: The new 1307 replaced the conventional Simca 1301 model, in the UK Chrysler decided to keep the Hillman Hunter (a rear-wheel drive range of saloons and estates) in limited production as a traditional alternative to the Alpine. Introduction of the Alpine in 1976 required a complicated reorganisation of Chrysler's British assembly operations, with the Alpine replacing the Avenger at Ryton, Avenger assembly moving to Linwood replacing

8085-557: The now-Groupe PSA merged with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to form Stellantis , which has once again seen Peugeot branded vehicles produced in the United Kingdom (this time in a Vauxhall plant - thanks to PSA's earlier purchase of General Motors Europe ), and European designs marketed through Chrysler's distribution channels in the United States. CKD assembly of various American Dodge, Plymouth and Chrysler models took place at Chrysler's own Rotterdam factory until its closure in 1970, and Barreiros (later part of Chrysler Europe) assembled

8190-465: The operations of two of the United States' Big Three automakers . Iacocca authored or co-authored several books, including Iacocca: An Autobiography (with William Novak ), and Where Have All the Leaders Gone? . Iacocca was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania , to Nicola Iacocca and Antonietta Perrotta, Italian Americans from San Marco dei Cavoti , who settled in the steel producing region of

8295-587: The opposite; namely that the automotive industry was slowing down even in BRIC countries. In the United States, vehicle sales peaked in 2000, at 17.8 million units. In July 2021, the European Commission released its " Fit for 55 " legislation package, which contains important guidelines for the future of the automotive industry; all new cars on the European market must be zero-emission vehicles from 2035. The governments of 24 developed countries and

8400-591: The ownership of Peugeot, but Rootes' Linwood plant in Scotland was a casualty of the takeover – closing its doors in 1981. The former Rootes Ryton plant was closed in December 2006, with the production of the Peugeot 206 (made there since the summer of 1998) moved to Slovakia . Since 1985, it had also produced Peugeot's 309 , 405 and 306 ranges . It has since been demolished to make way for new factories. The former Rootes research and development site in Whitley

8505-492: The president of the Ford Motor Company, but he clashed with Henry Ford II. He was fired on July 13, 1978, even though the company posted a $ 2 billion profit for the year. In 1968, Iacocca foresaw the need for domestically produced, small, fuel-efficient vehicles, and proposed a vehicle that weighed less than 2,000 pounds and would be priced at less than $ 2,000 (~$ 17,523 in 2023). Although Ford's European subsidiary

8610-501: The previous marques from Rootes, including Hillman , Humber , Singer and Sunbeam in favour of the Chrysler name. The Simca brand was retained in its native France, but the Simca vehicles themselves were usually branded as either Chrysler-Simca or simply Chrysler outside France. In 1969, Chrysler Europe closed a deal with French engineering group Matra Automobiles to jointly develop Matra sports cars and subsequently sell them through

8715-780: The region. Brandenburg's Economy Minister Joerg Steinbach said that while water supply was sufficient during the first stage, more would be needed once Tesla expands the site. The factory would nearly double the water consumption in the Gruenheide area, with 1.4 million cubic meters being contracted from local authorities per year — enough for a city of around 40,000 people. Steinbach said that the authorities would like to drill for more water there and outsource any additional supply if necessary. 1960s : Post-war increase 1970s : Oil crisis and tighter safety and emission regulation 1990s : Production started in NICs . 2000s : Rise of China as

8820-707: The remaining Chrysler Europe assets still in existence are the former Simca factory in Poissy , the former Barreiros plant in the Madrid suburb Villaverde , which both serve as major Stellantis assembly plants, and the Rootes Group research and development complex in Whitley, Coventry , which is now the headquarters of Jaguar Land Rover . Chrysler Corporation had never had much success outside North America, contrasting with Ford 's worldwide reach and General Motors ' success with its Opel , Vauxhall , Bedford and Holden brands. Chrysler first established an interest in

8925-527: The top 20 as of 2017, except Mitsubishi which fell out of top 20 in 2016, while Geely fell out of the top 20 in 2014 and 2015 but re-entered it in 2016. It is common for automobile manufacturers to hold stakes in other automobile manufacturers. These ownerships can be explored under the detail for the individual companies. Notable current relationships include: Lee Iacocca Lido Anthony " Lee " Iacocca ( / ˌ aɪ . ə ˈ k oʊ k ə / EYE -ə- KOH -kə ; October 15, 1924 – July 2, 2019)

9030-406: The troubled company, and led it through a merger with Family Restaurants (owner of Chi-Chi's and El Torito ). He sat on the board of the merged company until stepping down in 1999. In 1997, Iacocca founded Iacocca, a company formed to develop and market electric bikes with a top speed of 15 mph and a range of 20 miles between recharging at wall outlets. They produced E-Bike SX, which became

9135-510: The two would make automotive history together. Iacocca arrived shortly after Chrysler's introduction of the subcompact Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon . Bearing a strong resemblance to the Volkswagen Rabbit , the front-wheel-drive Omni and Horizon became instant hits, selling over 300,000 units each in their debut year, showing what was to come for Chrysler. The Omni was a derivative of Chrysler Europe's Chrysler Horizon , one of

9240-611: The under-utilised Linwood plant, the British Government provided grants for the development of the Chrysler Sunbeam (1977–81), a three-door supermini hatchback based on a shortened Avenger floorplan. In contrast to the advanced Alpine the Sunbeam was rear-wheel drive and therefore somewhat dated compared to contemporary superminis such as the Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Polo , and it was rarely seen outside

9345-457: The world's largest-producing country in 2009. 2010s : India overtakes Korea, Canada, Spain to become 5th largest automobile producer. 2013 : The share of China (25.4%), India, Korea, Brazil, and Mexico rose to 43%, while the share of United States (12.7%), Japan, Germany, France, and United Kingdom fell to 34%. The OICA counts over 50 countries that assemble, manufacture, or disseminate automobiles. Of those, only 15 countries ( boldfaced in

9450-484: The world's three largest auto manufacturers for a time, and G.M. and Ford remaining the two largest until the mid-2000s. In 1929, before the Great Depression , the world had 32,028,500 automobiles in use, of which the U.S. automobile enterprises produced more than 90%. At that time, the U.S. had one car per 4.87 persons. After 1945, the U.S. produced around three-quarters of the world's auto production. In 1980,

9555-514: Was Commer , but the Karrier name was also used, especially for lighter trucks and for vehicles sold to municipal customers. After Chrysler acquired Rootes, some former Commer models became available as Dodges and Fargos, while the Dodge 500 also became available as a Commer. Outside France, the van and pick-up derivatives of the Simca 1100 were also marketed under the Dodge brand. From 1976 all of

9660-476: Was a five-door front-wheel drive hatchback similar in concept to the Volkswagen Golf . Chrysler continued to make its own versions of the Horizon in its American factories after withdrawing from Europe, and production continued there until 1990. Although the preceding Simca 1100 was front-wheel drive, at the time the Horizon was launched many comparable cars were still sold as rear-wheel drive saloons, so

9765-491: Was able to repay the government-backed loans seven years earlier than expected. Iacocca led Chrysler's acquisition of AMC in 1987, which brought the profitable Jeep division under the corporate umbrella. It created the short-lived Eagle division . By this time, AMC had already finished most of the work on the Jeep Grand Cherokee , which Iacocca wanted. The Grand Cherokee would not be released until 1992 for

9870-604: Was already selling such a model, the Ford Escort , a team of Ford designers was assigned to create the exterior and interior of an entirely new car, which would be named Pinto. The Pinto entered production beginning with the 1971 model year. Iacocca was described as the "moving force" behind the Ford Pinto . In 1977, there were allegations that the Pinto's structural design allowed its fuel-tank filler neck to break off and

9975-626: Was an American automobile executive best known for the development of the Ford Mustang , Continental Mark III , and Ford Pinto cars while at the Ford Motor Company in the 1960s, and for reviving the Chrysler Corporation as its CEO during the 1980s. He was president of Chrysler from 1978 to 1991 and chairman and CEO from 1979 until his retirement at the end of 1992. He was one of the few executives to preside over

10080-540: Was formally named "Chrysler (UK) Ltd." and Simca became "Chrysler (France)", with the Hillman marque finally being replaced by Chrysler on the UK market in 1976 and Simca surviving until after the PSA takeover in 1979. Although the original marques were retained at first, from 1976 British-built cars were badged as 'Chryslers', while the Simca badge appeared on French versions, though with the Chrysler pentastar, in some markets

10185-628: Was held on July 10, 2019, at St. Hugo of the Hills Roman Catholic Church and he was buried at White Chapel Memorial Cemetery in Troy, Michigan . In his 2007 book, Where Have All the Leaders Gone? , Iacocca described how he considered running for president in 1988 and was in the planning stages of a campaign with the slogan "I Like I", before ultimately being talked out of it by his friend Tip O'Neill . Pennsylvania Governor Bob Casey discussed with Iacocca an appointment to

10290-414: Was initially built in France, but due to disappointing sales its assembly was transferred to Spain as a successor to the Dodge 3700 in a market where protectionist trade policies guaranteed it some domestic sales. From 1977, the 180 was sold as a 'Chrysler-Simca' in most European markets (except Britain), and after the sale of Chrysler Europe to PSA it was rebadged again as a Talbot . Also launched in 1970

10395-664: Was named vice-president and general manager of the Ford Division; in January 1965 Ford's vice-president, car and truck group; in 1967, executive vice-president; and president on December 10, 1970. Iacocca participated in the design of several successful Ford automobiles, most notably the Ford Mustang , the Continental Mark III , the Ford Escort and the revival of the Mercury brand in the late 1960s, including

10500-473: Was not used in the public sphere due to the trouble of mispronunciation or misspelling. Iacocca was married to Mary McCleary on September 29, 1956. They had two daughters. Mary Iacocca died from type 1 diabetes on May 15, 1983. Before her death, Iacocca became a strong advocate for better medical treatment of type 1 diabetes patients, who frequently faced debilitating and fatal complications, and he continued this work after her death. Iacocca's second marriage

10605-518: Was sold in the UK as the Chrysler Alpine. The new pan-European model was assembled in France, Spain and Britain, and was voted European Car of the Year for 1976. Other influential designers who worked for the company in the 1970s and had a significant impact in car design in the 1980s were Geoff Matthews , Peter Horbury and Fergus Pollock . From this '70s period, two outstanding projects were

10710-422: Was sold to Jaguar in 1986, and continues as the headquarters of Jaguar Land Rover to the present day. The former Simca site in Poissy has also thrived, and is now one Peugeot's most important assembly plants. Decades after the sale, in 2021 Peugeot and Chrysler (the latter of which became part of Fiat in 2009 after another financial crisis led to its bankruptcy ) fell under the same corporate umbrella when

10815-536: Was the Hillman Avenger (1970-81), a medium-sized family car which fitted between the Imp and the Hunter in Chrysler's British range. The model sold well in Britain but was less successful in export markets, where it was sold under a variety of names including Sunbeam/Sunbeam Avenger/Chrysler Sunbeam (Europe) and Plymouth Cricket (North America). The Avenger was originally assembled at the Ryton plant (displacing

10920-470: Was the flagship model in the Chrysler Europe range, and it was the first European designed model to use the Chrysler name, which it was intended to establish as a premium marque above Simca and Humber. The 180 was intended to rival the likes of Audi 100 and Ford Granada during the 1970s, although unlike its competitors it was only available with 4-cylinder engines and lacked a prestige image. It

11025-481: Was to Peggy Johnson. They married on April 17, 1986, but in 1987, after nineteen months, Iacocca had the marriage annulled. He married for the third time in 1991 to Darrien Earle. They were divorced three years later. Iacocca resided in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles in his later years. He died at his home on July 2, 2019, at the age of 94. The cause was complications of Parkinson's disease . His funeral mass

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