这位传奇经理人谢世，曾拯救克莱斯勒

李·艾柯卡，曾经是福特公司的主管和销售大师，在加州贝莱尔过世，享年94岁。在20世纪60年代，他将野马系列车型加入到福特的生产线，20年后他又因拯救了克莱斯勒公司而成为英雄。

曾经与他一起工作过的两位克莱斯勒前主管——公司前任发言人巴德·利伯乐和前产品开发主管鲍勃·鲁兹说，是艾柯卡家族的一位亲密关系人告诉了他们艾柯卡过世的消息。

艾柯卡在汽车业工作了32年，先在福特，后在克莱斯勒，他曾经参与推出了一些底特律最热卖也最为标志性的车型，包括多功能休旅车、克莱斯勒K型车和福特护卫者等。他曾经直言，认为日本车商的贸易做法是不公平的。

艾柯卡是意大利移民的后代，他曾经达到的财富和名誉的高度，在汽车行业只有寥寥数人能够与之比肩。20世纪80年代，当他处于名誉的最高峰时，他做的电视广告和那句口号可谓脍炙人口：“要是你能找到一辆更好的车，就买下它！”他写过两本畅销书，并曾被推举为总统候选人。

但他最为人所记住的，应该是他开门见山的风格和抽着雪茄的形象。作为克莱斯勒的掌舵人，他引领了公司的大转型。

曾经在艾柯卡手下工作了10年的利伯乐说，艾柯卡确实风格独特引人注目。“他一进房间，气场就覆盖全场。”利伯乐说，“他很能说，他就是一个领袖。”

近几年里，艾柯卡一直在与帕金森综合症斗争，但利伯乐并不确定是什么导致了他的过世。

利伯乐记得，艾柯卡会因为一些他不喜欢的事情而责骂员工，但几分钟后他就像什么也没有发生过一样。

“他曾经痛骂我，有时候是在公开场合。”利伯乐回忆道。当人们问如何能够忍受这些时，利伯乐回答说：“艾柯卡会翻过这一页的。”

1979年，克莱斯勒身陷50亿美元的巨额债务，公司的生产系统臃肿，造出的“油老虎”车型并不适合市场需求。

银行拒绝贷款，艾柯卡和联合汽车工人工会一道，说服美国政府批准了一项15亿美元的贷款，让这家美国排第三的车厂得以维持下去。

利伯乐说，艾柯卡代表了一个时代，是最后一批强硬的、富有个人魅力并能产生实效的汽车业主管之一。“李有能力赚钱，他到了华盛顿许下了各种疯狂的承诺，并实现了这些承诺。”利伯乐说。

艾柯卡费了很大劲，让工会在员工工资上妥协，他关闭或者合并了20家工厂，解雇了数千名员工，并引进了新的车型。在电视广告中，他承认克莱斯勒犯了错，但同时他坚称公司已经做出了改变。

这一策略奏效了。沉稳的道奇Aries和普利茅斯Reliant基本款，价格实惠、省油还能容纳6人座。在1981年，这两款车占据了紧凑车型20%的市场份额。在1983年，克莱斯勒连本带息地偿还了政府贷款，比协定早了7年。

之后的1984年，艾柯卡引入了多功能休旅车，并创造了一个新的市场。

克莱斯勒的成功转型和艾柯卡的强势作风，让他成为了媒体的宠儿。他的两本书，《艾柯卡：一本自传》出版于1984年，他的《快言快语》出版于1988年。他甚至出现在了电影《迈阿密风云》中。

1987年1月的一项盖洛普民调显示，作为1988年美国总统选举的民主党候选人，艾柯卡获得了14%的支持率，仅次于科罗拉多州参议员加里·哈特。但他一直拒绝作“选艾柯卡当总统”的演讲。

同一时期，他主导成立了自由女神——爱丽丝岛基金会，主持了自由女神像的翻新工作，1986年翻新工作完成，1990年爱丽丝岛周边重新开放，成为了一个移民博物馆。

但在1992年他退休前的几年里，克莱斯勒的收入和艾柯卡的名望有所下降。追随着市场领导者福特和通用汽车的脚步，艾柯卡在公司搞多元化，进入了国防和航空领域，但多元化失败，未能帮助公司的主业。

另一些重大决策也可以算入艾柯卡的功绩，比如1987年克莱斯勒收购美国汽车公司。这笔15亿美元的交易在当时备受批评，但美国汽车公司的吉普品牌，时至今日依然是菲亚特·克莱斯勒公司的一个金矿，因为市场对于运动型多功能车的需求大涨。

1924年艾柯卡出生于宾西法尼亚州的艾伦镇，父母给他取名利多·安东尼·艾柯卡。他的父亲尼古拉，曾经在房产和其他生意中赚了不少钱，但在大萧条中几乎倾家荡产。

在普林斯顿大学获得机械工程的硕士学位后，艾柯卡于1946年开始在福特做实习工程师。但性格外向的他，很快对工程师职位感到厌倦，出乎寻常地转向做销售。

他自己曾经说道，他的职业生涯的转折点在1956年，当时他是费城区的销售经理助理，这一区域在福特全美的销售中排名垫底。艾柯卡设计了一个金融方案，叫做“56元买56款”，客户可以付20%定金购买一款1956年产的福特车，并在三年内每月支付56美元的按揭车款。于是这一区域的销售迅速提升到了第一名，艾柯卡也被迅速提拔到公司位于密西根州迪尔伯恩的总部，负责全美的市场营销。

1960年艾柯卡36岁时，他就担任了福特的副总裁和汽车部门的总经理。

“我们年轻气盛，目中无人。”他在自传中写道，“我们自认为是艺术家，将要创造出前所未见的最佳艺术品。”

艾柯卡开始声名大噪，来自于野马车型在1964年的亮相。他说服了他的上级，使其相信福特需要这样一款价格合适、款式时髦的双门汽车，来满足日益增长的年轻人买车需求。

他打破常规，在4月推出新款车型，而不是在通常的秋季。福特邀请了许多记者，参与了70辆野马车从纽约到迪尔伯恩的汽车拉力赛，这带了巨大的宣传效应。在同一周里，这款新车登上了《时代》和《新闻周刊》的封面。

1970年，艾柯卡被任命为福特总裁，他立即开始公司重组和削减成本，因为公司面临着外国厂商的竞争，以及上涨的油价。然而，艾柯卡与福特主席亨利·福特二世的关系不睦，1978年福特解雇了艾柯卡。亨利·福特二世后来评价艾柯卡说，他是“一个极端聪明的产品开发者，一个超级销售员”，同时他又“太自负，太以自我为中心，看不到大局”，这些话可见诸《底特律新闻》发表的一些采访稿。

艾柯卡还是笑到了最后，他在克莱斯勒备受尊荣，他成功引入的车型道奇Caravan和普利茅斯Voyager多功能休旅车，又进一步强化了他在20世纪80年代对克莱斯勒所作的转型。

2005年7月，艾柯卡又以克莱斯勒销售大师的身份，上了一次电视，并拍了一个令人印象深刻的广告，广告中他与说唱歌手史努比·狗狗一起打高尔夫球。

可后来克莱斯勒发展地并不顺。2007年在《领袖们都去哪儿了？》一书中，艾柯卡批评了1998年克莱斯勒被卖给德国戴姆勒公司一事，受此鞭策，克莱斯勒削减了成本。

经济萧条来临，销售状况更加恶化，不久克莱斯勒寻求了第二次的政府救助。2009年4月，克莱斯勒提请了破产保护。

“当看到我的老公司，对美国意味着很多的老公司，处境如此艰难，我很心痛。”艾柯卡说。

后来克莱斯勒摆脱了破产保护，由意大利车商菲亚特掌控。2009年艾柯卡接受美联社采访时，劝诫克莱斯勒的主管们，要“关心我们的客户，这是你们仅有的实实在在的东西”。

艾柯卡在晚年，仍然活跃于应对糖尿病的筹款活动中。他的第一任妻子玛丽，在他们婚后27年，也就是1983年死于糖尿病复发症。他们育有两个女儿，凯瑟琳和丽娅。

后来艾柯卡再婚两次，但均以离婚收场。（财富中文网）

译者：宣峰

Lee Iacocca, the auto executive and master pitchman who put the Mustang in Ford’s lineup in the 1960s and became a corporate folk hero when he resurrected Chrysler 20 years later, has died in Bel Air, Calif. He was 94.

Two former Chrysler executives who worked with him, Bud Liebler, the company’s former spokesman, and Bob Lutz, formerly its head of product development, said they were told of the death Tuesday by a close associate of Iacocca’s family.

In his 32-year career at Ford and then Chrysler, Iacocca helped launch some of Detroit’s best-selling and most significant vehicles, including the minivan, the Chrysler K-cars and the Ford Escort. He also spoke out against what he considered unfair trade practices by Japanese automakers.

The son of Italian immigrants, Iacocca reached a level of celebrity matched by few auto moguls. During the peak of his popularity in the ’80s, he was famous for his TV ads and catchy tagline: “If you can find a better car, buy it!” He wrote two best-selling books and was courted as a presidential candidate.

But he will be best remembered as the blunt-talking, cigar-chomping Chrysler chief who helped engineer a great corporate turnaround.

Liebler, who worked for Iacocca for a decade, said he had a larger-than-life presence that commanded attention. “He sucked the air out of the room whenever he walked into it,” Liebler said. “He always had something to say. He was a leader.”

In recent years Iacocca was battling Parkinson’s Disease, but Liebler was not sure what caused his death.

He remembers that Iacocca could condemn employees if they did something he didn’t like, but a few minutes later it would be like nothing had happened.

“He used to beat me up, sometimes in public,” Liebler remembered. When people asked how he could put up with that, Liebler would answer: “He’ll get over it.”

In 1979, Chrysler was floundering in $5 billion of debt. It had a bloated manufacturing system that was turning out gas-guzzlers that the public didn’t want.

When the banks turned him down, Iacocca and the United Auto Workers union helped persuade the government to approve $1.5 billion in loan guarantees that kept the No. 3 domestic automaker afloat.

Liebler said Iacocca is the last of an era of brash, charismatic executives who could produce results. “Lee made money. He went to Washington and made all these crazy promises, then he delivered on them,” Liebler said.

Iacocca wrung wage concessions from the union, closed or consolidated 20 plants, laid off thousands of workers and introduced new cars. In TV commercials, he admitted Chrysler’s mistakes but insisted the company had changed.

The strategy worked. The bland, basic Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant were affordable, fuel-efficient and had room for six. In 1981, they captured 20% of the market for compact cars. In 1983, Chrysler paid back its government loans, with interest, seven years early.

The following year, Iacocca introduced the minivan and created a new market.

The turnaround and Iacocca’s bravado made him a media star. His “Iacocca: An Autobiography,” released in 1984, and his “Talking Straight,” released in 1988, were best-sellers. He even appeared on “Miami Vice.”

A January 1987 Gallup Poll of potential Democratic presidential candidates for 1988 showed Iacocca was preferred by 14%, second only to Colorado Sen. Gary Hart. He continually said no to “draft Iacocca” talk.

Also during that time, he headed the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, presiding over the renovation of the statue, completed in 1986, and the reopening of nearby Ellis Island as a museum of immigration in 1990.

But in the years before his retirement in 1992, Chrysler’s earnings and Iacocca’s reputation faltered. Following the lead of Ford and General Motors, he undertook a risky diversification into the defense and aviation industries, but it failed to help the bottom line.

Still, he could take credit for such decisions as the 1987 purchase of American Motors Corp. Although the $1.5 billion acquisition was criticized at the time, AMC’s Jeep brand has become a gold mine for now Fiat Chrysler Automobiles as demand for SUVs surged.

Iacocca was born Lido Anthony Iacocca in 1924 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. His father, Nicola, became rich in real estate and other businesses, but the family lost nearly everything in the Depression.

After earning a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at Princeton University, Iacocca began his career as an engineering trainee with Ford in 1946. But the extrovert quickly became bored and took the unconventional step of switching to sales.

He said a turning point in his career came in 1956, when he was assistant sales manager of the Philadelphia district office ranked last in Ford sales nationwide. Iacocca’s devised a financing plan called “56 for 56,” under which customers could buy a 1956 Ford for 20% down and payments of $56 a month for three years. The district’s sales shot to the top, and Iacocca was quickly promoted to a national marketing job at company headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.

By 1960, at age 36, Iacocca was vice president and general manager of the Ford division.

“We were young and cocky,” he recalled in his autobiography. “We saw ourselves as artists, about to produce the finest masterpieces the world had ever seen.”

Iacocca’s first burst of fame came with the debut of the Mustang in 1964. He had convinced his superiors that Ford needed the affordable, stylish coupe to take advantage of the growing youth market.

He broke from tradition by launching the car in April rather than the fall. Ford invited reporters to a 70-car Mustang rally from New York to Dearborn, which generated huge publicity. The car made the covers of Time and Newsweek the same week.

In 1970, Iacocca was named Ford president and immediately undertook a restructuring to cut costs as the company struggled with foreign competition and rising gas prices. Iacocca’s relationship with Chairman Henry Ford II became strained, and in 1978, Ford fired Iacocca. Henry Ford II later described Iacocca as “an extremely intelligent product man, a super salesman” who was “too conceited, too self-centered to be able to see the broad picture,” according to interview transcripts published by The Detroit News.

Iacocca got the last laugh. He was strongly courted by Chrysler, and he helped cement its turnaround in the 1980s by introducing the wildly successful Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager minivans.

In July 2005, Iacocca returned to the airwaves as Chrysler’s pitchman, including a memorable ad in which he played golf with rapper Snoop Dogg.

Chrysler wasn’t faring well. In his 2007 book “Where Have All the Leaders Gone?” Iacocca criticized Chrysler’s 1998 sale to the Germany’s Daimler AG, which gutted much of Chrysler to cut costs.

As the recession began, sales worsened, and soon Chrysler was asking for a second government bailout. In April 2009, it filed for bankruptcy protection.

“It pains me to see my old company, which has meant so much to America, on the ropes,” Iacocca said.

Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy protection under the control of Italian automaker Fiat. In a 2009 interview with The Associated Press, he urged Chrysler executives to “take care of our customers. That’s the only solid thing you have.”

Iacocca was also active in later years in raising money to fight diabetes. His first wife, Mary, died of complications of the disease in 1983 after 27 years of marriage. The couple had two daughters, Kathryn and Lia.

Iacocca remarried twice, but both marriages ended in divorce.