Iacocca: Chrysler on "Right Path"
November 14, 2007

Former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca, credited with turning around the near-bankrupt automaker in the 1980s, says the New Chrysler is "on the right path for sure'' with owner Cerberus Capital Management LP and CEO Robert Nardelli in charge.

"They've got real problems yet. It's not solved, but it's looking up,'' Iacocca, 83, told Bloomberg News in an interview Tuesday at his Los Angeles home. Iacocca retired from Chrysler in 1993.

The former Chrysler CEO hasn't always agreed with the management of his former employer. Iacocca sued Chrysler over his stock options; Chrysler sued Iacocca for divulging company secrets to Las Vegas billionaire Kirk Kerkorian. Kerkorian attempted a takeover of Chrysler with the backing of Iacocca.

More recently, the relationship has improved, with Iacocca appearing in Chrysler ads with rapper Snoop Dogg.

Iacocca’s most recent comments about Chrysler came after he endorsed New Mexico Gov. and Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson. Both Iacocca and Richardson advocate universal health to help automakers and other companies. Iacocca told Bloomberg News that Detroit automakers "need assistance on health care. Health costs are what's killing them.''

Iacocca, long active in politics supporting candidates from both parties, is a harsh critic of the current administration. In his latest book Where Have All the Leaders Gone, released in May, Iacocca wrote:

"We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course." Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!"

And on the subject of hybrids -- Iacocca, who owned a piece of an electric bicycle company, said plug-in hybrids are the wave of the future -– not hydrogen fuel-cell cars.

Photo by Chrysler

Former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca (left) shooting a Chrysler commercial with rapper Snoop Dogg.

Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:01 AM under Chrysler , Commentary , Personalities | Comments (0) | digg this | Seed Newsvine