Open finishing the book Iacocca: An Autobiography, I am quite moved by how much Lee Iacocca has done to this country and its auto industry. He is a true American legend, who brought innovation and clear vision to American auto industry and to his people. Father of Ford Mustang, the man who made seat belts possible, an innovator who was behind Chrysler K-Cars and Dodge Mini-vans, Iaccoca is a true innovator who was ahead of his time. For example, when seat belts was not a norm in auto industry, he was the only auto executive to push and add seat belt safety in all cars manafactured in the 60s and 70s.
In 1984, Iacocca also outlines how America needs to look for alternative energy sources to fuel its economy and not depend on foreign oil resources. Today in America, you see hydrogen cars and hybrids that have become hugely popular because of soaring oil prices.
In his book, he writes about how he rose through the ranks to become Ford’s President, how he got fired from Ford, how he turned around and saved Chrysler Corporation, how to fix economic problems of this country and how he envisions America to become great again.
Lee Iacocca is an inspiration to people from all backgrounds. He helped to save Chrysler in 1980s, tenth largest corporation in Americe which was virtually going bankrupt in 1979, saving hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country. Iacocca was also in charge of the restoration of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, which he successfully raised money and support across America for completing this project under the Reagan Administration.
Even today, Iacocca can’t sit still. He setup the Lee Iacocca Foundation to support and fund diabetes research at Massachusetts General Hospital. At this hospital, Dr. Denise Faustman’s work cured type 1 diabetes in mice, which was largely funded by donations from the Iacocca Foundation. His latest initiative Join Lee Now! campaigns for raising money to support the clinical trials investigating potential cure for diabetes type 1.
In 2000, Iacocca founded Olivio Premium Products. The company manufactures the Olivio line of food products made from olive oil and 25% of all profit from the company is donated to diabetes research as well.
In 2005, Iacocca partnered with Chrysler Corporation to appear in series of ads in exchange to create a fund raising program for diabetes research. Under this agreement all U.S. Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge Dealers will donate $1 for every car sold from November 2005 through December 2006 to Iacocca Foundation to continue funding for clinical trials of curing diabetes type 1 at Massachusetts General Hospital.
I highly recommend reading this book!
