Lee Iacocca is Mad as Hell

The geneology is not clear, but somehow the Iacocca and Iacono families may have common roots in Southern Italy. Or, maybe not. It would be nice to continue believing this, even if it isn't true.

Both the former Chrysler Chairman and your humble scribe attended Lehigh University, though he stuck around much longer and had buildings named after him. Maybe it was whole campuses.

Anyway, Lee Iacocca is in the the news again. From BusinessWeek comes this story where the octagenarian sounds none to pleased with leadership in America.

Lee Iacocca is mad as hell. "Let's tell 'em all we've had enough," writes the 82-year-old onetime savior of Chrysler, in Where Have All the Leaders Gone? to be published in April by Simon & Schuster's Scribner imprint.

What's wrong with America? Low voter turnout, the Iraq war (including Abu Ghraib), Dick Cheney's energy task force, unfair trade, the national debt, flabby education and children, Richard Grasso's pay package, and—as the title implies—inept leaders. High on that list: George W. Bush. "We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff," Iacocca opines.

Among Bush's failings, says the author, who supported the President in 2000: He alienated America's allies and, perhaps, Detroit—Iacocca is still steaming over the months-long delay preceding Bush's 2006 meeting with the heads of GM, Ford, and Chrysler. "Bush had time to meet with the winner of American Idol, but he couldn't squeeze in the leaders of the auto industry."

Iacocca lists "Nine C's of Leadership," by which he says Presidential and CEO candidates should be judged. (First, "curiosity;" last, "common sense.") And with talk of Chrysler being spun off from Daimler, readers may be interested to know that Iacocca likes current DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche. He also sketches a plan to revive the U.S. auto industry—one that involves cutting losses and the collaboration of carmakers, the unions, and government.

What prompted the book? Simon & Schuster CEO Jack Romanos says he called Iacocca after seeing his 2005 Chrysler TV ad that also featured rapper Snoop Dogg. "He definitely had something to say," says Romanos. The unhappiness with the Administration came as no surprise. "We expected him to unload on Washington, and he didn't disappoint," Romanos says. "He didn't sell 6 million copies of his previous work by pulling his punches."

Still feisty after all these years. It's a good thing he's over that electric bike phase, though they may be due for a comeback if the price of oil keeps rising.

ooo

A double-shot of cartoons from The Economist.



And a funny typo from Bloomberg.


Get out those platform shoes, we've just gone back to the 70s.